Zachary Levi Pays the Tab, Maks & Karina Tango Away & Carly Rose Sonenclar Comes Home in This Week’s Datebook
August has officially begun, and you know what that means—there are only four more weeks until Labor Day, the unofficial end of summer! Luckily, theater fans can find plenty of red-hot attractions on (and off) Broadway, from Zachary Levi’s First Date with Krysta Rodriguez to a totally awesome new star in Rock of Ages. Check out this week's Datebook, and don't forget to mark your calendars!
MONDAY, AUGUST 5
PAULO SZOT HAS SOME ENCHANTED EVENING
Five years ago, opera star Paulo Szot made his Broadway debut in South Pacific, but since the show closed, there has been a serious shortage of Brazilian hunks on the Great White Way. Thankfully, the Tony winner is premiering his new solo concert at theater hotspot 54 Below beginning August 5. Szot will croon American Songbook standards, Brazilian tunes and jazz favorites all week long.
ALSO: Encore performances of We’re Gonna Die begin at Lincoln Center Theater; class is in session for Triple Arts theater camp, founded by Pippin stars Terrence Mann and Charlotte d’Amboise; college students shine at the Barely Legal Showtune extravaganza at le Poisson Rouge.
TUESDAY, AUGUST 6
GET SMASH-ED ON DVD
Whether you actually loved it or just loved to hate it, Smash is back—sorta. Season two is now available on DVD, which means you can finally get around to playing that Smash drinking game you kept meaning to try. When Ivy pops pills, take a drink. When Jeremy Jordan (what’s his character’s name again?) has a temper tantrum, take a drink. If anyone dares to utter Ellis’ name, take a drink. When Karen does something boring, turn it off.
ALSO: Alfie Boe's new album Storyteller and Icon, a compilation of Andrew Lloyd Webber songs, hit store shelves; Creed Garnick begins performances as boy-toy Spike in Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike.
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 7
LIN-MANUEL MIRANDA SPREADS THE LOVE AT JOE’S PUB
On Broadway, there’s no one better at turning a phrase than Lin-Manuel Miranda, and if you loved In the Heights, those awesome Tony raps and roughly half of the songs from Bring It On, head downtown to Joe’s Pub to see the Tony-winning composer and pals do their thing as Freestyle Love Supreme. Featuring Miranda, In the Heights orchestrator Bill Sherman, co-star Chris Jackson and more, FLS is a hip hop improv extravaganza not to be missed.
ALSO: Final Analysis and Breakfast with Mugabe begin performances at the Pershing Square Signature Center, Glee star Chris Colfer chats with Kelly & Michael.
THURSDAY, AUGUST 8
A FIRST FOR ZACHARY LEVI
You’ve seen Zachary Levi break CIA codes on TV’s Chuck—now see him break some hearts (probably yours) in First Date! The lighthearted new musical features Levi as Aaron, an uptight geek who gets set up with serial dater Casey (Smash and Broadway vet Krysta Rodriguez). See the sparks fly between this adorable onstage pair on opening night at the Longacre Theatre.
ALSO: Last chance to catch Colin Quinn: Unconstitutional.
FRIDAY, AUGUST 9
THE BOURBON ROOM GETS A NEW BARKEEP
We can’t fight this feeling anymore! Aaron C. Finley will make his headbanging Broadway debut as Drew, a Los Angeles bartender with rock star dreams in the hit jukebox tuner Rock of Ages. Escape the "Heat of the Moment" this summer at the Helen Hayes Theatre, where you can shotgun a beer, rock out to some classic ‘80s jams and sit in some killer air conditioning.
ALSO: Admission, starring Broadway alum Paul Rudd, is released on Blu-Ray.
SATURDAY, AUGUST 10
CARLY ROSE SONENCLAR ROCKS NYC
Before Carly Rose Sonenclar was a reality TV sensation, she was a Broadway baby, starring in Wonderland and Les Miserables. Now that she’s taken the world by storm as The X Factor's wunderkind, she’s headlining her own Stand Up for a Cure concert at the Best Buy Theater in Times Square. Hmm, we wonder if Simon Cowell will be in the audience…
SUNDAY, AUGUST 11
KARINA & MAKS DANCE INTO THE SUNSET
Speaking of reality TV personalities, it’s your last chance to see smoldering Dancing with the Stars duo Karina Smirnoff and Maksim Chmerkovskiy turn up the heat in Forever Tango. The sensuous show features a rotating star vocalist, an 11-piece orchestra and 14 tango dancers in addition to Smirnoff and Chmerkovskiy. The passionate pair will have their last dance today at the Walter Kerr Theatre.
ALSO: Enstein opens at the Theatre at St. Clement’s; Steve Kazee brings his soulful tunes to Birdland.
