Broadway Gets Kinky, Sondheim Talks Show Tunes and Elaine Stritch Takes Her Final Bow in This Week's Datebook
Ever been to Broadway in April? It’s a jam-packed month, as shows vying for Tony eligibility raise the curtain before deadline. That explains why this week holds starry beginnings for Lucky Guy, Kinky Boots, Jekyll & Hyde, and more, plus a ton of other theater-related events in the Big Apple. Read through our Datebook and mark your calendars!
MONDAY, APRIL 1
TOM HANKS GETS LUCKY
Megawatt movie star Tom Hanks finally makes his Broadway debut in Nora Ephron’s final play, Lucky Guy, opening on April 1. The show tells the true story of famed tabloid journalist Mike McAlary with a cast that includes Maura Tierney, Peter Scolari, Christopher McDonald and a dozen theater vets. So…impressed yet? The stage door crowds certainly are.
ALSO: Patti LuPone’s episode of Masterclass premieres on HBO; Emilia Clarke (Breakfast at Tiffany’s) and Alec Baldwin (Orphans) chat up Jimmy Fallon; Sigourney Weaver (Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike) stops by The Colbert Report.
TUESDAY, APRIL 2
LOVE LIES AT THE PUBLIC
Here’s something you won’t see every day: David Byrne and Fatboy Slim’s brand new musical Here Lies Love, an experimental piece of theater that makes a giant splash at the Public Theater on April 2. The throbbing dance club atmosphere may be a first for theatergoers, who will be required to move along with the actors in the standing-only show. Maybe leave the stilettos at home for this one.
ALSO: Jason Robert Brown's The Last Five Years opens off-Broadway at Second Stage; the complete libretto of In the Heights hits bookstores; Hello, Dolly! sings its way to Blu-Ray; the cast of Cinderella performs on Late Show With David Letterman.
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 3
ALEXANDRA SILBER HITS THE BOOKS
California-born Alexandra Silber jumped from West End headliner (Carousel) to a Broadway debut in the recent revival of Master Class opposite Tyne Daly. Now she’s standing on her own with her 54 Below debut Alexandra Silber: Exlibris — A Trip to the Library. An avid blogger, she will celebrate all things bookish. (Does anybody still remember a book?)
THURSDAY, APRIL 4
BROADWAY FEELS KINKY
Whoever said Broadway was prude can go bite a ball gag on opening night of the drag-tastic new musical Kinky Boots. Written by dream team Harvey Fierstein and Cyndi Lauper, the show promises to bring all the campy, kinky fun you would expect of the hit 2005 film comedy—plus plenty of soaring vocals from leading diva Billy Porter.
ALSO: Michael Cerveris-led Nikolai and the Others, the latest play by Richard Greenberg, starts at Lincoln Center; Tony nominee Christiane Noll croons at 54 Below.
FRIDAY, APRIL 5
TALKIN’ SONGS WITH SONDHEIM
Michael Feinstein will sit down with Stephen Sondheim, Angela Lansbury and Christine Ebersole for the “Show Tunes” episode of his PBS series Michael Feinstein’s American Songbook. Sondheim is set to discuss the composers he admires, while Lansbury will look back on her career and Ebersole will belt out show tunes with Feinstein. Um, can you set a DVR to “Never Ever Ever Delete”?
ALSO: Bette Midler returns to Broadway as I’ll Eat You Last: A Chat with Sue Mengers begins previews; Jekyll & Hyde settles into its Broadway home as performances begin.
SATURDAY, APRIL 6
FAREWELL, ELAINE!
Four-time Tony nominee Elaine Stritch is packing up her bags for her final engagement at Café Carlyle, where she has lived for a decade and performed for even longer. Elaine Stritch at the Carlyle: Movin’ Over and Out will mark the diva’s swan song as she prepares to leave New York and relocate to Michigan. We’ll miss you, Broadway baby!
ALSO: Taking a Chance on Love: The Music of Vernon Duke premieres at 92nd Street Y; Big Ang makes her encore in My Big Gay Italian Wedding; Laura Jordan joins Silence! The Musical.
SUNDAY, APRIL 7
FOUR YEARS OF ROCK
If you only see one ‘80s rock jukebox musical at the Helen Hayes Theatre, make it Rock of Ages, which celebrates its four year anniversary today. Since opening back in 2009, the show has delighted theatergoers ranging from drunken diehard music fans to drunken Broadway enthusiasts. Either way, they have at least one thing in common, drinks in seats!
ALSO: Macbeth, starring Alan Cumming, starts at the Barrymore Theatre; Passion closes at CSC; the extended run of The Flick ends at Playwrights Horizons; Forever Dusty ends its run; Broadway vets John Slattery, Elisabeth Moss and Robert Morse return to AMC in Mad Men’s sixth season premiere.