Alice Ripley Reflects, Little Miss Sunshine Sings & Love & Murder Mingle in This Week’s Datebook

Get out your calendars, folks, because it’s time to make note of the hottest openings and theatrical events on and off Broadway! This week, the Tony-nominated stars of Side Show head (separately) to 54 Below, Billy Crystal celebrates his second Broadway opening, two new musicals take their official bows, and more.


MONDAY, NOVEMBER 11
ROCKY OFFERS A KNOCKOUT PREVIEW
Broadway.com Editor-in-Chief Paul Wontorek moderates an invitation-only sneak peek at the forthcoming Broadway musical Rocky, featuring performances by title star Andy Karl and Margo Seibert. If you’re one of the lucky winners of our social media ticket giveaway, we’ll see you there!

ALSO: Michael Cerveris, Constantine Maroulis, Lesli Margherita and more headline the Rockers on Broadway 20 benefit at (le) Poisson Rouge; Two-time Tony nominee Vivian Reed plays 54 Below; original cast recording of London’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory gets its U.S. release; Billy Crystal visits Late Night With Jimmy Fallon.


TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 12
ALICE RIPLEY LOOKS BACK—AND FORWARD
The always unpredictable Alice Ripley is returning to 54 Below with a brand new evening, Ripley Reflects, and we can’t wait to see what this Tony-winning star has up her musical sleeve! Look for tunes from Tommy, Side Show, Susnset Boulevard, The Rocky Horror Show and Next to Normal, plus original tunes.

ALSO: If/Then’s Idina Menzel and Evita alum Ricky Martin visit Live With Kelly and Michael; Far From Heaven original cast recording is released; Jennifer Ashley Tepper’s book Untold Stories of Broadway is published.


WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 13
BERNADETTE, JEREMY & NORM SING SONDHEIM
In an exciting musical collaboration, Jazz at Lincoln Center music director Wynton Marsalis reimagines more than two dozen Sondheim songs in A Bed and a Chair: A New York Love Affair at New York City Center. Bernadette Peters, Norm Lewis, Jeremy Jordan and Cyrille Aimee headline this exciting Encores! concert event, directed by John Doyle.

ALSO: Billy Crystal opens on Broadway in 700 Sundays; first off-Broadway previews for Stars of David (at DR2) and Shea: Prince of Christmas (at St. Luke’s); Emily Skinner and Katie Rose Clarke offer solo concerts at 54 Below; Laura Benanti guest-stars on Law & Order: SVU; last chance to see Il Divo and Heather Headley’s Musical Affair at Broadway’s Marquis Theatre


THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 14
LET THE SUNSHINE IN
With a score by William Finn, a book by James Lapine and a cast led by Tony nominees Will Swenson, Stephanie J. Block and Rory O’Malley, Little Miss Sunshine is one of the most anticapted shows of the fall season. Hop on the bus with the Hoover family at Second Stage Theatre, where the musical officially opens tonight.

ALSO: Off-Broadway comedy Every Day a Visitor opens at the Clurman Theatre; Broadway vets Margaret Colin, Johanna Day and Jordan Gelber guest-star on Elementary, Joel Grey and Brooke Shields are named “Living Landmarks” at the New York Landmarks Conservancy’s gala at the Plaza.


FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 15
OH, WHAT A BEAUTIFUL CURLY
Get your DVR ready for one of Hugh Jackman’s early musical triumphs, as PBS broadcasts Trevor Nunn’s 1999 National Theatre production of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma!. Jackman leasds the cast as Curly, with Josefina Gabrielle as Laurey and future Tony winner Shuler Hensley as poor Jud Fry. O-K-L-A-H-O-M-A, Oklahoma! Yeeow!

ALSO: Broadway vets Taye Diggs, Terrence Howard and Sanaa Lathan light up the big screen in The Best Man Holiday.


SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 16
AN APPLE A DAY MAKES US LOVE OFF-BROADWAY
Regular Singing, the final of Richard Nelson’s four topical dramas centering on the Apple siblings of Rhinebeck, NY, begins previews at the Public Theater. Set on the 50th anniversary of John F. Kennedy’s assassination, the play will officially open on that date, November 22.

ALSO: Patrick Barlow's adaptation of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol begins performances at Theatre at St. Clement’s; Lin-Manuel Miranda, Christopher Jackson & the guys of Freestyle Love Supreme perform hip-hop improv at Joe’s Pub; last chance to see Tony winner Paulo Szot at 54 Below.


SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 17
WHAT A GENTLEMAN!
Opening night has arrived for Tony winner Jefferson Mays’ latest tour-de-force, juggling eight roles in the new musical A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder. Bryce Pinkham plays the would-be murderer in this hilarious rom centering on the battle to inherit a British earldom.

ALSO: Luce ends its LCT3 run at the Claire Tow Theater; Jarrod Spector gives his final concert at 54 Below.