Creative Chat with Dr. Judi Bloom and Richard Skipper: Laurie Beechman 3/08/2023

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“Just Because Your Light Flickers Does Not Mean It’s About To Go Out.” – Yohancé Salimu

Laurie Hope Beechman was an actress and singer, known for her work in Broadway musicals. She also had a career as a cabaret performer and recording artist. After her passing, the West Bank Cafe Downstairs Theater Bar in New York was renamed the Laurie Beechman Theatre. She passed on 24 years ago today.

Today, we will celebrate LISTEN TO HER HEART: The Life and Music Of Laurie Beechman.

Director: Gaylen Ross; Executive Producer: Neil Mazzella; Narrator: Rosie O'Donnell; Writer: Jesse Green;

A Tony and Drama Desk nominee, Laurie was the incomparable performer with a once in a lifetime voice that hit the rafters in such celebrated musicals as Annie, Joseph and the Amazing Color Dreamcoat, Cats, and Les Miserables. Andrew Lloyd Webber praised her “not just for her extraordinary voice, but also her remarkable contribution to musical theatre” and the New York Times hailed her as “the best young emotive belter in the dramatic tradition of Judy Garland and Barbara Streisand.” At the height of her career Laurie was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 1989, the year that comedian Gilda Radner died of the same disease. Laurie faced not only a life-threatening illness, but also the prospect of never working again on the stage. Instead Laurie lived and performed with cancer for nine years. “My middle name is Hope,” Laurie said. “My mother named me well.” Winner, Creative Excellence, U.S. International Film and Video Festival Cine Gold Eagle