This Week's Picks! Play Ball with Idina Menzel, Crown a Winner at Pageant & Bring Lady Day Home

Hey, you! The one sitting by the fan, sticking to the furniture. Don’t you know there’s more stuff to do than sit and sweat? There’s the premiere of a cross-dressing beauty pageant musical, a chance to own Audra McDonald’s latest vocal masterpiece, and a legendary showstopper's return to 54 Below. It’s all part of this week’s picks!


Crown a Winner at Pageant: The Musical
Opens July 14, Davenport Theatre
Beauty pageants. Seen one, seen ‘em all: pleas for world peace, shiny teeth, and oh-so-much bronzer. The uproarious Pageant: The Musical, however, offers a refreshing take. First, the women in this “contest,” hosted by Broadway vet John Bolton? All men. Second, the audience gets to choose the winner each night. Oh, and there’s music from two-time Tony nominee Bill Russell and Frank Kelly. We’re in. Now where’s our sash? Click for tickets!


Celebrate the National Pastime with Idina
Airs July 15 on FOX
With baseball’s best taking the field in Minneapolis for the annual MLB All-Star Game, it’s only fitting that one of Broadway’s best steps up to the mic. So bring on Idina Menzel to perform the national anthem! (She’s also holding a pre-game concert.) Stick around after the rockets red glare, because Idina is the National League’s starting shortstop! We’re kidding. It’s Neil Patrick Harris. That dude is everywhere.


Seize the Lady Day Cast Recording
Available in stores July 15
Name a favorite Audra McDonald performance? Yeah right! You might as well ask us to select our favorite slice of pizza or most obnoxious subway ride. Let’s keep it simple. Just pick up the official cast recording of Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill and savor a master in top form. Billie Holiday is the  role McDonald won her friggin’ sixth Tony for, and you won't believe how much she sounds like the late jazz crooner.


Wish Lillias White a Happy Birthday
July 18 and 19, 54 Below
Lillias White returns to 54 Below with a new show for her birthday week. The Tony- and Emmy-winning dynamo (The Life, Dreamgirls) takes the stage for “Happy Birthday,” where she’ll perform songs—including rock covers and Studio 54-era chestnuts—about love’s highs and lows. So really, we're the ones receiving the present. Click for tickets!


Get Fresh Air & Free Entertainment
Starts July 20, Lincoln Center
“Lincoln Center Out of Doors” begins three weeks of eclectic entertainment that features music, dance, and even poetry. (Here’s the schedule.) The best part about this series, which takes place on Lincoln Center’s plazas, is that everything is absolutely free. If that doesn’t excite you, we’re not sure what will. Unicorns juggling chainsaws? Babies reciting Shakespeare? (If you find either of those things, drop us a line.)