This Week’s Picks! Behold the New Spring Awakening, Enjoy Matilda’s New Talent & More!

Hey, you, sweating over what to do with your last day off of the summer. Relax! It’s not like you’re going to the electric chair. Besides, with all your nervousness you’re prone to miss out on Broadway’s good stuff. There’s Jason Robert Brown’s latest concert at SubCulture, new additions to Matilda and Linda Lavin’s new show. Get ready for this week’s picks!


Restart with Linda Lavin
September 7 and 10-12 at 54 Below
People who only know Linda Lavin for her work on Alice? Child, please. Fans of the Great White Way knows Lavin’s true value wasn’t battling Vic Tayback, but being a dynamo in a number of Broadway shows, including Gypsy?. And you bet they’ll be at 54 Below, where Lavin (and her band) will perform an array of songs in her show, “Starting Over.” You should join them. Click for tickets!


Meet Matilda’s New Class
Begins September 8 at Shubert Theatre
In theory, it’s nice to have a cast be with the same show forever, but actors need to challenge themselves. Otherwise they’d be filing their nails in between lines. That can’t happen, especially at a show as good as Matilda, which gets a batch of terrific new adult talent: Allison Case as Miss Honey, Amy Spanger as Mrs. Wormwood, Rick Holmes as Mr. Wormwood and Natalie Venetia Belcon as Mrs. Phelps. Click for tickets!


Say Guten Tag to Spring Awakening
Begins September 8 at Brooks Atkinson Theatre
Isn’t it too soon for a revival of Spring Awakening? Nonsense! First, the show is awesome. Second, it’s hard to argue with the revival’s ingenious wrinkle: deaf actors play the confused teenagers (American Sign Language is incorporated into the performance) while speaking actors provide the voices. How’s that for a metaphor on being young? The large cast, which features vets and newcomers, includes Marlee Matlin, Camryn Manheim, Andy Mientus, Krysta Rodriguez and Patrick Page. Click for tickets!


Get Educated at Daddy Long Legs
Begins September 10 at the Davenport Theatre
In this musical, Megan McGinnis plays an aging orphan who gets a break: an anonymous, rich donor (Paul Alexander Nolan) sends her to college. There’s one catch: she has to write a letter to this mystery man, whom she calls Daddy Long Legs, every month. Who is Daddy Long Legs? What was college like in the early 20th century? Will Nolan don his wacky socks? There’s only one way to find out. Click for tickets!


Join JRB and His Talented Friends
September 11 at SubCulture
There are two certainties with Jason Robert Brown’s concert series at SubCulture. First, they will sell out very quickly. Two, it’s going to feature positively kick-ass guests. Tonight is no exception as In the Heights alums Andrea Burns and Tony nominee Joshua Henry join Brown. The only way this would be better is if there were a unicorn. That’s not happening. Everyone knows Sparkles is touring with The Sound of Music. Click for tickets!