This Week’s Picks! Trade Zs for Kristin C., See Taye Diggs in Heels, Shake(speare) Up Your Summer & More

Hey, you, hiding under the bed! Those summer thunderstorms aren’t going to hurt you, though all the dust might. (Seriously, when was the last time you vacuumed?) Do yourself—and your allergies—a favor and brave the storms. There’s so much to enjoy, including a new Hedwig, a show from one of On the Town’s sailors, and Shakespeare in the Park. Get ready for this week’s picks!


Enjoy Clyde Alves’ Shore Leave
July 20 at Birdland
Clyde Alves is a master at multitasking, a concept that makes us yearn for a stiff drink and therapy session. He has shone in two musicals this year (On the Town and Oklahoma!) and keeps adding gigs. We’re not going to stop him. In “Broadway Song & Dance Man,” Alves, an accomplished songwriter and guitar player, performs a “set of his most intimate music drawn from personal and professional highs and lows.” Click for tickets!


See Taye Rock the Fishnets
Beginning July 22 at the Belasco Theatre
We dread the day when Hedwig runs out of kickass actors to play our favorite East German transgender rock star and has to resort to Starbucks baristas. Thankfully, Taye Diggs is ready to don the heels as Broadway’s first African-American Hedwig. The handsome and talented Rent alum succeeds Glee alum Darren Criss. Click for tickets!


Stay Up Late with Kristin Chenoweth
July 22 on CBS
On the Twentieth Century has completed its journey, but thankfully, Kristin Chenoweth isn’t headed back to Oklahoma anytime soon. Before she stars in Disney Channel’s Descendants, she’ll visit James Corden on The Late Late Show. The two will probably discuss man’s eternal struggle to be heard in a world of emotional tumult—or they’ll act like a couple of goofballs. Bet on the latter.


Park it with the Bard
Begins July 23 at the Delacorte Theatre
New York City has its summer traditions: rooftop parties, runs along the reservoirs and rivers, and of course, shirtless cabbies. But the best is Shakespeare in the Park, which wraps up its latest season with Cymbeline, the Bard’s fairytale involving love, cross-dressing, poison, and other good stuff. Real-life couple Hamish Linklater and Lily Rabe star. The best part: it’s free! You have until August 23 to get thou keister uptown. Click for tickets!


Meet Charles Busch’s Two Sides
July 23 at 54 Below
You know how there are some New York treasures that you’ve never gotten around to seeing? Or maybe it’s been too long? Well, screw Ellis Island and check out the final performance of Charles Busch’s That Girl/That Boy instead. The final 54 Below performance of Busch's song-and-story show features the vaunted cabaret performer both in and out of drag, accompanied by his longtime musical director, Tom Judson. Click for tickets!