This Week's Picks! Hit the Books with Lea Michele, Rock the Cradle with Patti LuPone & Stargaze in the Alley

Tired? Run down? Not this week, partner! You can get acquainted with your couch and remote control another time. There’s simply too much to do this week, including Patti LuPone revisiting a signature role, a diva’s musical tribute, a new book by a certain Gleek and a mid-day Broadway celebration. It’s all part of this week’s must-see list!


Attend a LuPone Family Reunion
May 19 at the Bernard Jacobs Theatre
You need a story to tell your grandkids besides that time you found an onion ring in your French fries. We’ve got one! For one night only, Patti LuPone will tackle one of her legendary roles: Moll in The Cradle Will Rock. Joining the Broadway icon is a starry cast, and LuPone’s son Josh Johnson and cousin Johann Carlo. The performance benefits the Acting Company. Click for tickets!


Join Vivian Reed’s Musical Celebration
May 20 at 54 Below
Adding a band to Vivian Reed’s (Bubbling Brown Sugar) powerful voice? The staff at 54 better fasten the roof, ‘cause it’s gonna get blown off. With help from special guests, the two-time Tony nominee will perform an array of her favorites from R&B to the works of Howard Arlen to a preview of songs from One for My Baby, a new musical in progress. Click for tickets!


Behold Lea Michele’s Literary Awakening
Hits store shelves May 20
Books rule. They’re fun, educational, and they’re a good distraction from smelly subway rides. These qualities definitely apply to Lea Michele’s Brunette Ambition. Here, the Spring Awakening and Glee star shares her “experiences and insider tips on beauty, fashion, inner strength, and more in an illustrated book that’s part memoir, part how-to, and part style guide.” Sounds great! But can she tell us how she sings like this?!


See Broadway’s Best Under the Sun
May 21 in Shubert Alley
The typical lunch hour features a limp sandwich, a mirthless cubicle, and your hope crushed to a fine powder. Not today, friend! You’re brown bagging it at Shubert Alley for "Stars in the Alley." At lunchtime, a 12-piece orchestra will accompany performances from 20 new Broadway shows and established favorites. The Phantom himself, Norm Lewis, hosts this free performance that will make your 9-to-5 come alive.


Start the Day with O’Dowd & Stewart
May 22, check local listings
Tony-nominated Of Mice and Men star Chris O’Dowd is visiting Live with Kelly & Michael! That alone is great. But adding Patrick Stewart totally makes our day—and it’s not even lunchtime! The cheeky star of stage and screen will likely be plugging his new movie, X-Men: Days of Future Past. But maybe he’ll perform some Waiting for Godot with BFF Ian McKellen. Or answer questions as Ebenezer Scrooge. Cross your fingers, you guys.