Taylor Dayne Does Grizabella, La Cage Aux Folles Gets Beachy & More Cross-Country Highlights

Broadway.com is your go-to destination for all kinds of stage scoop, including the top-notch productions being mounted at theaters across the country. In this week's Countrywide Guide, we highlight five can’t-miss picks for late summer fun, including Taylor Dayne slinking around in Cats, a tribute to Tony Bennett, the Pittsburgh premiere of In the Heights and more!


AUBURN, NY
Taylor Dayne Joins the Jellicle Tribe
Grammy nominee and Broadway alum Taylor Dayne will unleash her claws as Grizabella in Cats at the Merry-Go-Round Playhouse. Based on T.S. Eliot poems and featuring the enduring hit "Memory," Andrew Lloyd Webber's Tony-winning musical centers on a group of felines and their quest to reach "the heaviside layer." Directed and choreographed by Jacob Brent (who played Mr. Mistoffelees on Broadway, the West End and on film), Cats runs through September 11.


OAKBROOK TERRACE, IL
Next to Normal Rocks the Prairie State's Heartstrings
A rock musical about the devastating toll of mental illness on a suburban American family might seem off-putting, but Next to Normal turned out to be one of Broadway's most acclaimed hits. Directed by artistic director William Osetek, Drury Lane Theatre's production stars Broadway alum Susie McMonagle (Fantine in Les Miserables) as bi-polar mom Diana and Rod Thomas as her loving husband, Dan. Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey's Pulitzer Prize-winning drama is set to run through October 6.


MILWAUKEE, WI
Tony Bennett Leaves His Heart in Brew Town
One of the greatest pop vocalists of all time will get a musical tribute at the Milwaukee Repertory Theater, August 23 through October 20. I Left My Heart: A Salute to the Music of Tony Bennett is a jazzy revue from the team that created the Frank Sinatra tribute show My Way. Featuring three singers performing Bennett hits including "I Left My Heart In San Francisco," "Rags to Riches" and "Put On a Happy Face," I Left My Heart is sure to be an unforgettable walk down memory lane.


PITTSBURGH, PA
In the Heights Breaks New Ground in Steel City
The joyful rhythms of Washington Heights come to life in the Pittsburgh premiere of In the Heights at New Hazlett Theater. Lin-Manuel Miranda and Quiara Alegria Hudes' Tony-winning musical, which explores the importance of family and following dreams, features a cast of local actors joined by Broadway Heights alum Tony Chiroldes in the role of Kevin Rosario. Carrnivale Theatrics artistic director Justin Fortunato helms the production, running August 23 through September 1.


MATUNUCK, RI
Albin and George Go on a New England Getaway
Theatre By the Sea's 80th season culminates with Jerry Herman and Harvey Fierstein's Tony-winning La Cage Aux Folles, a flamboyant musical about love and life in a decidedly unconventional family. Directed by Charles Repole, the tuner will play through September 1, featuring Broadway alums Jonathan Hammond as Albin/Zaza and Peter Reardon as Georges. Don't miss this tuneful tribute to acceptance and dignity, featuring the stirring anthem "I Am What I Am."