See Broadway Stars in Concert in Small NYC Venues

I have found that many tourists are unaware that they can often see some of their favorite Broadway stars up close and personal in small cabaret rooms in Manhattan.

The likes of Betty Buckley, Patti LuPone, Jeremy Jordan, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Audra McDonald, Sutton Foster, and many more can sometimes be seen at these venues. If you’re planning a trip to see Broadway shows, it’s worth your while to check the schedules of the following venues to see if you can coordinate your trip with an appearance by one of your favs: 54 Below, Joe’s Pub, Café Carlyle, and The Green Room 42.

54 Below is so named because it’s in the basement under the location of the famous Studio 54 nightclub, where big stars danced the night away in the late 1970s and 1980s. It’s a beautiful room with great food. It will cost you as much as a Broadway show, but at least it includes dinner.

The cover charge varies depending on the popularity of the star and where you want to sit in the room, and the minimum food/drink charge is $25. That means you don’t have to eat a full meal, but you’ll have to have a couple of drinks (alcoholic or non-alcoholic) or one drink with an appetizer. It’s my favorite cabaret venue to see big names and is located on West 54th Street just north of the theater district and just south of Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center.

Joe’s Pub is named after Joseph Papp, who founded the Public Theater, which is famous for being the first theater to produce celebrated shows like Hair, Hamilton, A Chorus Line, and Fun Home, among others. It’s the small cabaret venue attached to the Public’s several theaters in a building on Lafayette Street in downtown Manhattan. The closest subway stops are Astor Place and Bleecker Street.

Prices at Joe’s Pub also vary, and there’s a two-drink or one-food-item minimum besides the cover charge. The food here is excellent as well. Try the burger and the curried cashews! It has a cool downtown vibe, and it caters to both classy and irreverent entertainment (not to imply that irreverent entertainment isn’t also classy). Bernadette Peters once sat at the table next to mine, so you never know who might be in the audience.

Café Carlyle is in the famous Carlyle Hotel and is the fanciest of all of these venues. It will cost you to go there, but it’s a wonderful experience with a tasty menu. As I write this, Tony Danza is set to do shows at this place. Reservations for his show are $200 a seat, but you’ll also shell out for food and drink.

This is noted on the page for booking Tony’s show. “For all performances, there is an additional USD95 two-course menu requirement per person. Beverages, tax and gratuity are additional. For Bar Seating, there is a food and beverage minimum of USD50 per person.” Like I said, it’s pricey and definitely less casual than the other three. Bar seating, by the way, usually means a stool by the bar.

The Green Room 42 is the new kid on the block (started in 2017), but it also often features Broadway stars in their own cabaret concerts. You can eat here, but there’s no minimum required, which is nice. It’s located in a beautiful room upstairs in the YOTEL Times Square hotel, so it’s conveniently located in Manhattan’s midtown theater district.

“Cabaret-style” seating means that if you sit at a table rather than at the bar, you might end up sitting with other people you don’t know. 54 Below also gives me credits when I have to cancel. As a local, I can transfer those funds to a later concert. This comes in handy if you get sick. I also find that if a friend of mine makes their reservation separately from mine, we can still ask to be seated together. (I haven’t tested these things out at the other locations, however – only at 54 Below.)

When you’re in New York City, I highly recommend checking out the calendars of each of these beautiful rooms where you can hear great music.