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Starting this week, back by popular demand, Finding Dorothy Parker, an evening celebrating the wit and wisdom of Dorothy Parker, plays a week-long return engagement, January 15 – 22, 2026 at The Laurie Beechman Theatre at West Bank Café (407 W. 42nd Street, NYC). Compiled and directed by five-time Tony Award nominee Douglas Carter Beane, the evening features an all-star ensemble of Broadway favorites: Tony Award honoree Julie Halston (Tootsie, You Can’t Take It With You), Ann Harada (Avenue Q, Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella), Jackie Hoffman (Hairspray, The Addams Family, Xanadu), and Tony Award nominee Anika Larsen (Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, Rent). Finding Dorothy Parker plays January 15, 16, 17, 18, 20, 21 and 22 at 7PM, with a 2PM matinee on January 18. For tickets and information, visit TheBeechman.com.
Finding Dorothy Parker is a sparkling revue and whirlwind tour of Dorothy Parker’s hilarious and wise material performed by some of the funniest women on Broadway. Dorothy Parker was the razor-sharp wit of the Roaring Twenties, a cocktail-sipping literary firecracker who made her mark with her words and her style. Parker’s dazzling wit graced the pages of Vanity Fair (where she was a staff writer and theater critic), The New Yorker (where she was one of its earliest contributors), Vogue, Life, The Saturday Evening Post, and her short stories, poems, and reviews have been collected into several books. Whether she was penning scathing reviews, unforgettable one-liners, or melancholic poetry, Parker’s unapologetic brilliance and biting humor made her a legend. Dorothy Parker – An intoxicating mix of biting social commentary and campy fabulousness that continues to sparkle like a glass of champagne.
Finding Dorothy Parker features music by composer Alistair Wroe (Prince Faggotat Playwrights Horizon, choreography by Jeffrey Guggliotti, and musical direction by Brad Simmons.
“I have always wanted to do an evening of Dorothy Parker with four of Broadway’s funniest ladies in the style of Don Juan in Hell,”. Says Douglas Carter Beane. “Well we’re not in Hell now. We’re in Hell’s Kitchen. So hello, Vagina Monologues and Love, Loss and what I Wore. …Come meet your sassy sister!”
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JULIE HALSTON is one of New York’s busiest actresses and was the recipient of the 2021 Isabelle Stevenson Tony Award for her advocacy on behalf of The Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation. Her Broadway credits are numerous, including Tootsie, Hairspray, Gypsy, Anything Goes, and The Twentieth Century. She received the Richard Seff Award for her acclaimed performance in You Can’t Take it with You and has garnered four Drama Desk nominations for her Broadway and off-Broadway work. Miss Halston was a founding member of Charles Busch’s legendary theatre company and co-starred with Mr. Busch in many productions including The Divine Sister, Red Scare on Sunset, and The Lady in Question. They starred together in the independent feature film, The Sixth Reel. In addition, Miss Halston recently completed the independent feature films, Intermedium and Simchas and Sorrows and Chosen Family with Heather Graham. Television credits include a recurring role on the latest Gossip Girl, guest roles on The Good Fight, Almost Family and Divorce. In addition, she has reprised her role of the popular character, Bitsy Von Muffling on the Sex and The City reboot, And Just Like That on MAX. Miss Halston’s web series, Virtual Halston was a pandemic hit with over 40 YOUTUBE episodes.
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ANN HARADA originated the role of Christmas Eve in Avenue Q on Broadway and in the West End. Other Broadway: Cinderella, Into the Woods, 9 to 5, M. Butterfly, Seussical, Les Misérables. Selected Off-Broadway: The Welkin, Dear World, Fairycakes, Emojiland, Dropping Gumballs on Luke Wilson, Pacific Overtures, Brooklynite, Love, Loss, and What I Wore and The Counterfeit Opera. Regionally: Babbitt (La Jolla Playhouse, Shakespeare Theatre Company), The Closet (Williamstown), Matilda, Beauty and the Beast, & Mamma Mia (MUNY). Film: Jerry and Marge Go Large, Disenchanted, Sisters, Admission, Hope Springs. She is one of the stars of the Apple TV+ musical series Schmigadoon! Additional TV: Blue Eye Samurai, Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, Gotham, Blue Bloods (recurring), Younger, Jim Gaffigan Show, The Good Wife, 30 Rock, House of Cards, Master of None, and Smash. Other: Indoor Boys, Submissions Only (web series).
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Best known for her Emmy nominated role of Mamacita from FX’s “Feud: Betty and Joan,” JACKIE HOFFMAN can currently be seen in HULU’s “Only Murders in the Building” (SAG Nomination), NBC’s “Night Court,” Amazon’s “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” and in the Netflix films, You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah and Glass Onion. On Broadway, Jackie has co-starred in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, On The Town, The Addams Family, Xanadu, and Hairspray. Off-Broadway, she starred as Yente in the critically acclaimed Yiddish production of Fiddler on the Roof. Her solo album, “Live at Joe’s Pub,” is available for streaming. www.jackiehoffman.com; Follow: @jackiehoffman16
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ANIKA LARSEN has performed on Broadway in Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, Avenue Q, Xanadu, All Shook Up and Rent. Off-Broadway, she was in Zanna, Don’t!, Myths and Hymns, Closer Than Ever, Miracle Brothers, How to Save the World…, Disaster! and Unbroken Circle. Anika grew up in Cambridge, MA with nine brothers and sisters from different races and countries, and she majored in theater at Yale University. She released an album of lullabies for all ages called Sing You to Sleep and she is a proud member of Actors’ Equity and the board of NYC Children’s Theater.
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DOUGLAS CARTER BEANE’s (Compiled by / Director) credits include Lysistrata Jones, Sister Act, Xanadu (Tony Nom., Drama Desk Best Book, Outer Critics Circle Best Musical), and Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella. Plays: The Little Dog Laughed (Tony Nom., Olivier Nom. GLAAD Media Best Play), As Bees In Honey Drown (Outer Critics Circle), Mr. & Mrs. Fitch, Music From a Sparkling Planet, The Country Club, Advice From a Caterpillar, The Cartells, Fairycakes and The Nance. Revues: White Lies, Mondo Drama. Screenplays: To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything, Julie Newmar; Advice From a Caterpillar. He is married to Lewis Flinn and is the proud father of Cooper and Gaby.
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ALISTAIR WROE (Composer) is a London-based music producer and dancer working across sound and movement. He was recently invited to perform at SXSW London alongside musician Malthus at Shoreditch Town Hall (London). He also contributed music to Jordan Tannahill’s current production of Prince Faggot (2025). Other recent work includes original music for Amrou Al-Kadhi’s film Layla which premiered at Sundance Film Festival 2024. As a dancer, Alistair has appeared across Europe and the US, with performances at Carnegie Hall (New York), Halle am Berghain (Berlin), and Trauma Bar und Kino (Berlin).
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THE LAURIE BEECHMAN THEATRE opened in 1978, with Lewis Black as Artistic Director and known as the “Downstairs Theatre Bar” beneath West Bank Cafe. It quickly became a hub for emerging talent with over 1,500 one-act plays produced in its first 14 years. It was where Aaron Sorkin developed his first plays, where future stars like Tony Shalhoub, Holly Hunter, Mary Testa, Nathan Lane, and Mark Linn-Baker honed their craft, where the Tony winning Side Man starring Edie Falco was developed, and where Sondheim first played “Finishing the Hat” for Bernadette Peters and Mandy Patinkin during Sunday in the Park with George rehearsals. After the passing of beloved Broadway star, Laurie Beechman, the venue was renamed in her honor and the theatre has since become a premier cabaret and concert space. In the past twenty years stars from all areas of entertainment have graced the stage, like Joan Rivers (who did over 200 sets at The Beechman and told her final joke on the stage), Jinkx Monsoon, André De Shields, The Who, Ariana Grande, Cyndi Lauper, and many more. Under new owners, Tom and Michael D’Angora, the venue underwent a redesign by Tony winning designer, David Rockwell, and the Rockwell Group draws inspiration from late ’70s Times Square, featuring a bold all-blue aesthetic with disco-inspired mirrored walls.
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