A Slice of Broadway in the Hudson Valley

By ERIK PIEPENBURG

When the Broadway supper club 54 Below opened in June in Manhattan's Theater District, Lee Tannen decided it was time to take his plans for a similar space in a new direction: north.

Just not as north as the name Helsinki on Broadway suggests.

What sounds like a Finnish musical revue is actually a new cabaret series at Helsinki Hudson, a restaurant and music space in Hudson, N.Y., that's become a popular nightspot for the Hudson Valley's growing population of artists. Mr. Tannen and his partner, Tom Wells, are owners of Showstoppers New York, a catering, entertainment production and event planning company. Last year the couple bought a home in Smith's Landing, N.Y., between Saugerties and Catskill in the Hudson Valley, after decades of vowing never to live outside Manhattan.

The idea for an old-school musical theater evening was hatched one night after Mr. Tannen and Mr. Wells struck up a conversation with the owners of Helsinki Hudson, where the programming has mostly focused on jazz, rock and indie bands. “They told us they presented every kind of music except the American Songbook and Broadway show tunes,” said Mr. Tannen, the author of “I Loved Lucy,” a memoir about his friendship with Lucille Ball. “We told them that Broadway was all we knew.”

Starting on Aug. 26, selected Sunday nights will be devoted to Helsinki on Broadway, a cabaret series featuring Broadway veterans. Already booked are Victoria Clark, Brent Barrett, Dee Hoty, Ann Hampton Callaway, Charles Busch and Liz Callaway. The Tony Award-winning actress Faith Prince (“Guys and Dolls”) and the actor Jason Graae (“Forever Plaid”) got the job for opening night.

Cover charges range from $20 for spots at the bar to $35 for table seating. There are no minimums, but patrons with table reservations are asked to order from the menu, which includes burgers, m ac and cheese, and ice cream.

When the show is over, a wall separating the performance space from the restaurant proper opens up, allowing patrons to “hobnob with the stars,” Mr. Tannen said.

He added that so far he's had good feedback from gay residents of the Hudson Valley, many of them New York City transplants with Broadway backgrounds. “In having dinner with them, they said the only thing they miss is Broadway and cabaret,” Mr. Tannen said. “We felt the same way.”

Ultimately the aim is to attract theater fans and music lovers who live within a 40-mile radius of Hudson, a town Mr. Tannen likens to “Greenwich Village in the '50s and '60s.” “It's a cool place where artists are hanging out,” he said. “But we found that on Sunday night that the locals don't have a lot to do.”

With a 7 p.m. curtain, he's also hoping Helsinki on Broadway becomes a nightcap for carless New Yorkers who visit the area for a day trip or a weekend. †œYou can see the show, finish at 8:15, catch the 9:35 train and be back in New York at 11:30,” he said. “I've done it many times.”