Star-Studded Telethon To Save Hell's Kitchen Cafe: Watch Here

HELL'S KITCHEN, NY — A preposterous number of stars from Broadway and beyond are coming together on Christmas Day in an effort to save the West Bank Cafe and Laurie Beechman Theatre in Hell's Kitchen, which are in danger of closing due to the pandemic.

Last week, Patch reported on the online fundraiser launched by friends of the storied cafe in an effort to save it — and which had raised more than $183,000 of its $250,000 goal by Thursday.

And that's only the beginning. Starting noon on Friday, the streamed telethon will feature performances, skits and speeches from dozens of celebrities who have patronized the West Bank in its 42 years of operation. Among the guests: Nathan Lane, Matthew Broderick, Pete Townshend, Debra Messing, Alice Ripley, and many, many more.

Even Al Pacino has lent his support, telling the New York Post that the West Bank "has always meant a great deal to me."

Watch here starting noon Friday:

Steve Olsen, who founded the cafe in 1978, told Patch last week that the beloved haunt was "out of money," like so many other venues during the pandemic.

That led Tom D'Angora, a Broadway producer and longtime customer who held his wedding rehearsal dinner and two birthday parties at the West Bank, to launch the GoFundMe. Olsen said the outpouring of support had been "unbelievable."

Over the years, the Laurie Beechman Theatre — which sits downstairs from the cafe — has produced thousands of off-Broadway shows. In 1983, it hosted early rehearsals for Stephen Sondheim's "Sunday in the Park with George."

Regulars have included Arthur Miller and Tennessee Williams, and the Laurie Beechman was a favorite venue of the comedian Joan Rivers, who gave her final performance there in 2014 — one day before she went into cardiac arrest during a medical procedure.

"There are very few places left in New York, that we can whole heartedly trust with our career and life milestones, the way we have always trusted the crew at West Bank Cafe," D'Angora wrote. "So many of us have celebrated birthdays, weddings, opening nights, closing nights, Tony wins, Tony losses, and everything in between."

Read more about the cafe, telethon and fundraiser at savewestbankcafe.com.

Related coverage: West Bank Cafe, Storied Hell's Kitchen Venue, Tries To Survive