In the Heights Returns, Drood Changes It Up & Once Gets Intimate in This Week's Datebook

Love is in the air this week, especially on the Great White Way! No date? No problem! We’ve got plenty to keep you occupied without raiding a heart-shaped box of chocolates. Read on for the inside scoop on the most exciting happenings in theater, music and movies in this week’s ultimate calendar of events for Broadway fans.


MONDAY, FEBRUARY 11
IN THE HEIGHTS COMES HOME
Get ready for a major carnaval del barrio as the original Broadway cast of the Tony-winning musical In the Heights reunites for a one-night-only benefit concert. Starring Tony winners Lin-Manuel Miranda and Karen Olivo as well as Christopher Jackson, Mandy Gonzalez and more, the musical about Washington Heights takes over the neighborhood's very own United Palace of Cultural Arts. Proceeds will benefit Viva Broadway.

ALSO: Theater royalty come out to salute Audra McDonald at the Drama League’s Musical Celebration of Broadway gala; Duncan Sheik (Spring Awakening) and Larry O’Keefe (Bat Boy) headline 92YTribeca’s Behind the Music-al; LCT3’s racially charged, time-traveling drama Luck of the Irish opens; Signature Theatre honors David Henry Hwang with a gala celebration; Playwright Craig Lucas and director Pam MacKinnon discuss The Lying Lesson at the Strand Book Store; Mike Daisey brings his new show Faster Better Social Click Like Touch Tweet Yes Yes!!1! (or, Our Slavery is Rich and Full) to Joe’s Pub; and Andrew Lippa, Kerry Butler, Julia Murney and more take the stage at 54 Below for the NAMT Songwriter Spotlight.


TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 12
DROOD WELCOMES A NEW SET OF KILLERS
Roundabout Theatre Company’s acclaimed revival of The Mystery of Edwin Drood welcomes two suspicious new stars: Broaway vets Andrew Samonsky and Erin Davie. Samonsky takes over the role of the fiery Neville Landless and Davie slips into the gowns of beautiful but deadly ingénue Rosa Bud. The musical mayhem continues at Studio 54 through March 10.

ALSO: Tony winner Patti LuPone begins her engagement of Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda…(Played That Part) at 54 Below; Willemijn Verkaik begins performances as Wicked's new Elphaba; Jersey Boys’ Matt Bogart and Really Really’s David Hull appear on Smash;  Bill Irwin and David Shiner reunite for a first performance of Old Hats at Signature Theatre; Keen Company's revival of A.R. Gurney’s The Old Boy begins previews off-Broadway; Amy Herzog’s Belleville starts performances at New York Theatre Workshop; Jersey Boys Tony winner John Lloyd Young kicks off his two-week concert series at Café Carlyle; it's CD release day for Shoshana Bean (O'Farrell Street) and Tom Wopat (I've Got Your Number). 

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 13
FOREVER DUSTY HOSTS A SING-ALONG
Dig out your go-go boots and tease your hair because off-Broadway’s Dusty Springfield bio-musical Forever Dusty is hosting a sing-along performance. Fans are encouraged to dress up and belt their hearts out with the show’s stars Kirsten Holly Smith and Christina Sajous. The evening of fun at New World Stages will be hosted by comic Seth Herzog and drag star Sherry Vine. If you can finish this lyric, you’re ready: “Billy-Ray was a preacher’s son…”

ALSO: Jill Paice and John Treacy Egan begin performances in Lend Me a Tenor at Paper Mill Playhouse.


THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 14
SONDHEIM AND JOHN DOYLE GET PASSIONATE
Spend time this Valentine’s Day with Sondheim and still have time for a dinner date! Tony and Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Stephen Sondheim and director John Doyle will chat with Elliot Forrest at Greene Space about the current off-Broadway revival of Sondheim’s dark musical Passion. The WQXR-sponsored event begins at noon and promises performances by Passion stars Judy Kuhn, Ryan Silverman and Melissa Errico.

ALSO: The New York premiere of Rajiv Joseph’s The North Pool begins previews at the Vineyard Theatre; Patti LuPone is offering dinner and a show for lovers at 54 Below.


FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 15
THE ARK SETS SAIL OFF-BROADWAY
Emmy winner Jason Alexander and Tony nominee Tovah Feldshuh lead York Theatre Company’s revival of the Noah’s Ark musical Two by Two, which is set before, during and after the famous Biblical tale. Co-starring Claybourne Elder, Elizabeth Stanley and Natalie Cortez, Two by Two plays five performances only at Saint Peter’s Church in Midtown East.

ALSO: Kristin Chenoweth headlines an American Songbook concert; Zelda at the Oasis closes off-Broadway; Jesse Eisenberg and Vanessa Redgrave begin previews for The Revisionist at Cherry Lane Theatre; Annie Baker’s The Flick begins at Playwrights Horizons; and PBS airs Ring Them Bells! Rob Fisher Celebrates Kander & Ebb with Chita Rivera, Joel Grey and more.


SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 16
MISSI PYLE GETS SEXY AT JOE’S PUB
Former Bare star Missi Pyle makes her solo show debut at downtown hotspot Joe’s Pub. The new show, titled Sexy as Hell, features original music and promises audiences “an evening of laughter, tears and booze, mixed with stories of love and loss, and an intimate look at Missi’s most recent slutty summer.” In addition to slutty summer stories, concertgoers can also expect appearances from Pyle’s former Bare co-stars.

ALSO: Patti LuPone plays her final performance of Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda…(Played That Part) at 54 Below.


SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17
THE CAST OF ONCE GOES UNDERGROUND
Can’t get enough of the Tony-winning musical Once and its fabulous stars Steve Kazee and Cristin Milioti? Well, get closer to them than ever before in a one-night-only concert at the intimate nightclub 54 Below. The cast of Once takes to the stage to perform original music, cover songs and unheard tunes from the show. Sounds like music to our ears.

ALSO: Aaron Carter plays his final performance in off-Broadway’s The Fantasticks; Donnybrook, starring James Barbour and Jenny Powers, opens at the Irish Repertory Theatre; and Atlantic’s roller-derby comedy closes off-Broadway.

To have your NYC-area event considered, send us an e-mail at datebook@broadway.com.