Jonathan Groff Gets Intimate, Fiorello! Rules NYC Again & Karen Akers Updates the American Songbook in This Week's Datebook

There’s still plenty of time to kill before hauling out the Super Bowl snacks, so clear your calendar for the top-notch theatrical events in the week ahead. Whether you’re a New Yorker or planning a visit to the city, there’s a can't-miss event just for you! So grab your warmest coat and scroll down to begin planning a fun-filled week as we kiss January good-bye.


MONDAY, JANUARY 28
JONATHAN GROFF GETS INTIMATE WITH BROADWAY’S BEST
An evening of cocktails, dinner and a cabaret show featuring five of Broadway’s hottest stars sounds like the best Monday night ever. Jonathan Groff, Sherie Rene Scott, Will Swenson, Lindsay Mendez and Betsy Wolfe will take the stage at Manhattan Theatre Club’s An Intimate Night winter gala at The Allen Room, home of Jazz at Lincoln Center and the Broadway.com Audience Choice Awards. You had us at Jonathan.

ALSO: The Skivvies (a.k.a. Lauren Molina and Nick Cearley) strip down at the Highline Ballroom with special guest Alice Ripley; Daniel Breaker breaks it down at 54 Below; The Theatre Hall of Fame welcomes new inductees at the Gershwin Theatre; Luck of the Irish starts at LCT's Claire Tow Theatre; Tony winner Catherine Zeta-Jones stops by The Tonight Show with Jay Leno; Sarah Paulson, Danny Burstein and more headline the benefit Living for Today: Back to the Drawing Board at Joe's Pub.


TUESDAY, JANUARY 29
TINA PACKER’S WOMEN OF WILL SHOW THE BARD WHO’S BOSS
Frailty, thy name is woman! From poisonous Lady Macbeth to winsome Juliet, Women of Will examines Shakespeare's female characters in the order they were written. Bard expert Tina Packer reenacts twenty or more journeys at the Gym at Judson in a fascinating five-part series.

ALSO: Rebecca Luker's new CD I Got Love (Songs of Jerome Kern) is available; the cast revival recording of The Mystery of Edwin Drood is available for digital purchase; Moose Murders starts at off-Broadway's Connelly Theatre; Girls star and Broadway vet Adam Driver yuks it up on Jimmy Kimmel Live.

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 30
ENCORES! CELEBRATES ITS 20TH ANNIVERSARY WITH FIORELLO!
The name's LaGuardia! Encores! 20th anniversary season kicks off with the show that started the concert series back in 1994: Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick's Tony and Pulitzer Prize-winning 1959 musical Fiorello! Featuring Danny Rutigliano, Kate Baldwin, Shuler Hensley, Erin Dilly, Emily Skinner and Jenn Gambatese, the show centers on NYC's most famous mayor, the colorful Fiorello H. LaGuardia.

ALSO: Lea Salonga lights up Lincoln Center's American Songbook series; Martin Moran's solo show All the Rage opens at the Peter Jay Sharp Theatre; Broadway favorite Neil Patrick Harris sits down with the ladies of The Talk.


THURSDAY, JANUARY 31
ZOSIA MAMET REALLY REALLY MAKES HER OFF-BROADWAY DEBUT
Rising star Zosia Mamet, who plays Shoshanna on the HBO series Girls and is the daughter of playwright David Mamet, makes her off-Broadway debut in the sizzling new drama Really, Really. Written by Paul Downs Colaizzo, the play centers on two college undergrads who, after a wild night of partying, find themselves the subject of ugly gossip. Head down to the Lortel Theatre for this MCC Theater production.

ALSO: Steven Pasquale's new Jekyll & Hyde-esque drama Do No Harm premieres on NBC; Hamish Linklater's The Vandal opens at the Flea Theatre; Tony nominee Meryl Streep narrates PBS' The ‘70s—Bold and Fearless; The Trip to Bountiful's Vanessa Williams swings by The Talk.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 1
KAREN AKERS OFFERS A FRESH SPIN ON THE AMERICAN SONGBOOK
Legendary cabaret star Karen Akers celebrates new classics in her American Songbook concert in The Allen Room at Jazz at Lincoln Center. In an evening titled "Time Flies," the Tony-nominated star of Nine and Grand Hotel will mix songs by Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey, John Bucchino, Cyndi Lauper and more with Sondheim classics. Don’t miss this sultry chanteuse!

ALSO: Zosia Mamet talks Girls and her off-Broadway debut in Really Really on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.  


SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 2
THE SPIRITS OF EXIT ELEVEN STRIP DOWN ONE LAST TIME
Strip clubs! Pizza parlors! Halloween! Michael Puzzo's bizarre new play The Spirits of Exit Eleven, the tale of a misfit band of outcasts who struggle to keep their dignity and livelihood in New Jersey, plays its final performance at The Lion Theatre. 
 


SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 3
ONCE UPON A TIME IN NEW YORK CITY 2 TAKES OVER JOE’S PUB
Ain't it great the way it all begins 
in New York City? Corey Cott, Krysta Rodriguez, Jenni Barber, Andrea Burns and more will perform at Once Upon a Time In New York City 2, a benefit concert at Joe’s Pub. The show spotlights songs about someone who has changed the singer's idea of the Big Apple, written by well-known and up-and-coming musical theater composers including David Austin, Michael Arden and Nick Blaemire.

ALSO: The revamped revival of Bare closes at New World Stages; Beyonce headlines halftime at the Super Bowl (singing live this time, we're hoping!). Will she welcome Chicago stage vet (and Destiny's Child bandmate) Michelle Williams?