Nathan Lane Tackles Burlesque, Alan Cumming Does Macbeth & Sutton Foster Returns to NYC in This Week’s Datebook

How do you know it’s mid-April in New York? There’s a star-studded Broadway opening (or two) nearly every night this week! The Nance, The Big Knife, The Assembled Parties, Orphans, Jekyll & Hyde, Macbeth and more are making their Main Stem bows in the next seven days. After this jam-packed week, Broadway’s going to need a nap. (Oh, wait: The same thing is happening next week, too!)


MONDAY, APRIL 15
NATHAN LANE GOES BURLESQUE
Two-time Tony winner Nathan Lane is making ‘em laugh and cry in The Nance, opening April 15 at Broadway’s Lyceum Theatre. In Douglas Carter Beane’s new play, Lane channels a 1930s “nance” burlesque performer who struggles to balance his onstage persona with his private life as a gay man. Lane, Jonny Orsini, Cady Huffman and more celebrate a starry opening.

ALSO: The Rascals: Once Upon a Dream begins performances on Broadway; Emilia Clarke chats Breakfast at Tiffany’s on TV’s Live With Kelly & Michael; Joe Iconis & Family perform at 54 Below.


TUESDAY, APRIL 16
EXPAND YOUR CD COLLECTION
Broadway music overload! Sarah Brightman’s ethereal new album Dreamchaser, Faith Prince’s solo project Total Faith, The Joe Iconis Rock & Roll Jamboree featuring Krysta Rodriguez, and Michael Feinstein’s Change of Heart: The Songs of Andre Previn are all hitting the shelves on the same day. Time to do a little iPod spring cleaning to make room for these new releases!

ALSO: Clifford Odets' The Big Knife, starring Bobby Cannavale, opens on Broadway; Joan Rivers scores laughs at the Laurie Beechman Theatre; Leave it to Jane and The Memory Show (starring Leslie Kritzer) begin performances off-Broadway.


WEDNESDAY, APRIL 17
JUDITH LIGHT PARTIES WITH JESSICA HECHT
You’re invited to Christmas dinner at the Bascovs! Richard Greenberg’s new play The Assembled Parties transforms the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre into a rambling Upper West Side apartment, complete with family drama galore—not to mention stellar performances by Tony winner Judith Light and Tony nominees Jessica Hecht and Jeremy Shamos.

ALSO: LaChanze channels Diana Ross at 54 Below; Alan Cumming talks Macbeth on The Colbert Report.


THURSDAY, APRIL 18
ORPHANS AND JEKYLL & HYDE SPLIT THE BILL
This week is so packed with Broadway openings, Orphans and Jekyll & Hyde are sharing their special night. Orphans marks Alec Baldwin’s return to Broadway, while Jekyll & Hyde features creepy special effects and Constantine Maroulis singing his face off. Either way, audiences can’t lose.

ALSO: Idina Menzel returns to TV's Glee; The Rascals: Once Upon a Dream opens on Broadway.


FRIDAY, APRIL 19
SUTTON FOSTER & JEREMY JORDAN TAKE ON THE ALLEN ROOM
Composers Kait Kerrigan and Brian Lowdermilk sure have a lot of talented friends! Sutton Foster (back in New York? Yay!), Jeremy Jordan, Nikki M. James, Michael Arden, Andy Mientus, Laura Michelle Kelly and more join the songwriting duo for their American Songbook concert at the Allen Room in Lincoln Center. Just thinking about this much talent in one room makes us dizzy.

ALSO: The Drawer Boy begins its off-Broadway run; last chance to see Passion off-Broadway.


SATURDAY, APRIL 20
RITA WILSON SPREADS THE LOVE
While her husband Tom Hanks fills the house in Lucky Guy, screen star and Chicago alum Rita Wilson is back in NYC for her very own solo show at on 54 Below in a week-long run that began on April 14. It's your last chance to see Wilson’s nostalgic tribute to soft rock, featuring tunes from her album AM/FM.

ALSO: Different Animals opens and Love Therapy (starring Alison Fraser) begins previews off-Broadway.


SUNDAY, APRIL 21
ALAN CUMMING GOES SOLO
Something wicked is opening on Broadway. No, not a show about gravity defying witches—Macbeth, starring Alan Cumming! In an imaginative new production, the Tony winner tackles nearly every role in the Bard’s classic thriller. But whatever you do, don't utter the name of the Scottish play inside the Barrymore Theatre. You've been warned.

ALSO: Breakfast at Tiffany's, starring Emilia Clarke, closes on Broadway; Sierra Boggess teaches Lessons in Love at Broadway Arts Factory; Ken Page and Carmel Dean croon at 54 Below; Lindsay Mendez and Michael Holland perform their new musical You’re Gonna Hate This at Joe’s Pub.