This Week’s Picks: See Jennifer Hudson’s Purple Reign, Enjoy Misery with Company & Solve a Hair-Raising Murder!

Hey, you, upset that the Mets lost the World Series! You are this close to the holidays. That’s six weeks of celebrations, fueled by alcohol, butter and presents. And it’s sports-free! Until then, let Broadway tide you over. There’s Andrew Lloyd Webber’s latest musical, Jennifer Hudson and Bruce Willis’ Great White Way debuts and Annaleigh Ashford’s new CD. Get ready for this week’s picks!


Attend School of Rock
Begins November 9 at Winter Garden Theatre
Andrew Lloyd Webber has the touch. He could turn a science textbook into a crowd pleaser, a shopping list into an epic. Thankfully, the legend has chosen something more accessible. School of Rock is an adaptation of the 2003 hit movie. A rock ‘n’ roll wannabe (Alex Brightman) poses as a substitute teacher at a prep school class and remakes the young students in his own image. Click for tickets!


Paint Broadway Purple
Begins November 10 at Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre
The novel won the Pulitzer Prize. The movie was nominated for 11 Oscars. Now, The Color Purple returns to Broadway as a musical, complete with a book written by a Pulitzer Prize and Tony winner, music and lyrics written by Tony winners, and an Oscar-winning as one of the headliners. (That would be Jennifer Hudson, who’s making her Broadway debut.) Do you see a pattern here? Yup, this should be tremendous. Get going. Click for tickets!


Lather, Rinse and Deceit at Shear Madness
Opens November 10 at New World Stages
Going to plays is fun, but it requires a certain amount of decorum. You can’t talk, text—and God forbid you join in during “Cell Block Tango.” Shear Madness, the longest-running play in U.S. history, let’s you comb through the clues and question the murder suspects, who congregate in a New York hair salon. And it’s off-Broadway! Finally, we are free from the tyranny of politeness! Click for tickets!


Stay Home with Annaleigh Ashford
On sale November 13
You’re going to have a very active week. Take it easy, tonight. Pour a glass of wine, turn down the lights and unfurl on the couch with an old friend. Ah, baby, it’s on. The music is on. That’s Annaleigh Ashford’s show “Lost in the Stars,” performed live at 54 Below, released on CD today. Hear the Tony winner and Sylvia star tackle everyone from Sondheim to Alanis Morrisette.


Enjoy Misery (Really!)
Opens November 15 at the Broadhurst Theatre
When he’s not busy propelling from skyscrapers and running from explosions, Bruce Willis is an actor of surprising depth and bottomless charm. Leave it to Broadway to give him a forum. Willis stars in Misery, the stage adaptation of Stephen King’s novel about a famous romance writer (Willis) who has the grave misfortune of having his “Number One Fan” (Laurie Metcalf) rescue him from a car crash. Click for tickets!