This Week’s Picks! Kick Off 2015 with Idina Menzel, Anika Noni Rose, Motown Legends & More

Hey, you, waiting on line to return a bag of gifts from your colorblind aunt who still thinks you’re a size too small and a foot too tall. Leave that line and hit the town! There is a concert with Motown legends, a pre-New Year’s celebration with a Jersey Boy, and New Year’s Eve awesomeness with Charles Busch and Laura Benanti. Get ready for this week’s picks!


See (the Real) Motown on Broadway
Begins December 29 at the Palace Theatre
You loved Motown the Musical, right? Well, here’s your chance to see two of the vocal groups responsible for that show’s terrific music as the Temptations and The Four Tops hit the stage. You have until January 4 to see these showmen unleash a half-century of classic hits—let’s see today’s pop acts display that staying power. We’ll wait, Katy Perry. Click for tickets!


Pregame with Erich Bergen
December 29 at Birdland
Going out on New Year’s Eve is risky. You can’t get a cab, the subways are packed, and the chance of a random stranger puking on your shoes increases by 32 percent. Let singer-actor Erich Bergen (Bob Gaudio in the Jersey Boys film) ease your pain. His Early New Year’s Eve Party will feature numbers from his stage and screen career as well as his two EPs. Click for tickets!


Rock New Year’s Eve with Idina
December 31 on ABC
At every holiday or civic event Idina Menzel is there, whether it’s singing the national anthem at baseball’s All-Star Game or celebrating the holiday windows at Bloomingdale’s. Of course, she’s going to perform on New Year’s Rockin’ Eve. And, of course, she’ll sing “Let it Go.” And, of course, we’ll belt along, pretending to be the newly independent Elsa. Man, there's nothing better than spending the holidays with people we love.


Spend NYE with Two Favorites
December 31 at 54 Below
There is no worse feeling in the world than expecting a night of New Year’s Eve revelry only to discover the “revelry” involves lukewarm spinach dip and stilted conversation. 54 Below, fortunately, has two options for a guaranteed kickass evening. First, playwright and drag legend Charles Busch unleashes a special New Year’s Eve show. Then, the always-game Laura Benanti rings in the New Year. Take that, boredom! Click for tickets here and here!


Stay In with Jason Robert Brown
January 2 on PBS
You’ll probably still be recharging from the social destruction you unleashed on New Year’s Eve—but that doesn’t mean you can’t entertain yourself. Make some tea, settle on the couch, and watch Jason Robert Brown in Concert, where the Tony-winning composer teams up with Anika Noni Rose and a team of Broadway musicians to perform songs from his impressive career. Expect songs from 13, The Last Five Years and Honeymoon in Vegas.