To Life (Outside Your Apartment)!: 5 Top Picks for the Week of August 19 to 25

This week, you’ll find fantastic singers in the clubs and YouTube sensations in the flesh. Here are our top five ways to spend the week of August 19 through 25.

MONDAY, AUGUST 19
HE'S OLD FASHIONED (BUT WE DON'T MIND IT!)
Something magical happened when Max von Essen donned a top hat and tux on Broadway back in 2015, to lead the ensemble of An American in Paris in the Gershwin brothers showstopper “I’ll Build a Stairway to Paradise.” Not only did he finally have a big Broadway moment worthy of his talents (earning a Tony nom), but he looked and sounded really good in the show’s ‘40s esthetic. Although von Essen is absolutely a modern man (he was fantastic as Marvin in the just-wrapped national tour of Falsettos), he’s latching onto his period charms with his first solo recording, Call Me Old Fashioned: The Broadway Standard. Irving Berlin, Johnny Mercer, Jerome Kern and the Gershwins are all present, along with some Broadway selections from shows like Brigadoon, She Loves Me, Jersey Boys and Evita. Join von Essen at Birdland on August 19 for a concert celebration, with maestro Billy Strich leading the band. .
INFO: 7PM at Birdland (315 West 44th Street). $65/$45 cover charge and $10 food/drink minimum per person. More info here.

TUESDAY, AUGUST 20
DAWN AND OGIE GET INTERNET FAMOUS
Between them, they boast 22 million subscribers on YouTube and over four billion video views and have become international sensations and beacons of positivity. And on August 20, they’ll start playing out the adorably dorky love story of Dawn and Ogie for a little over 1,000 a night in Waitress. They are, of course, Broadway newcomer Colleen Ballinger (aka super-confident internet and Netflix sensation "Miranda Sings") and stage vet Todrick Hall (creator of favorite summer pride bop “"Nails, Hair, Hips, Heels") and their buzzy pairing is one of the most genius casting coups in the run of the hit Sara Bareilles musical. They join the show’s top-notch current cast (including new lead lovers Alison Luff and Mark Evans and longtime favorites Charity Angel Dawson, Ben Thompson and Benny Elledge, as well as Three’s Company sitcom icon Richard Kline as Old Joe) for a limited four-week engagement.
INFO: Ballinger and Hall appear through September 15 at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre (256 West 47th Street). Tickets start at $79.

THURSDAY, AUGUST 22
MANY A NEW DAY FOR OK!
There are countless recordings of the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic Oklahoma!, but none of them ever have sounded like this. The Decca Broadway original cast album of the Tony Award-winning revival currently at the Circle in the Square Theatre is fresh, stripped-down and, when it comes to Track 12 ("Dream Ballet"), downright revolutionary. It’s the work of orchestrator Daniel Kluger that shines here, along with the strong vocals of performers like Damon Daunno as Curly, Rebecca Naomi Jones as Laurey, James Davis as Will Parker and Ali Stroker (winner of the Tony for Best Featured Actress in a Musical) as Ado Annie. All four of them are set to promote the album’s physical release on August 22 at a special in-store performance and signing at Barnes & Noble. BYO cornbread and chili.
INFO: Event starts at 3:30PM at Barnes & Noble (150 East 86th Street). Wristbands for entry are distributed on a first-come, first-served basis starting at 9AM at the store.

FRIDAY, AUGUST 23
NOW WE HAVE EVERYTHING
It’s a Broadway legend and it’s finally getting the proper documentary treatment. Director Max Lewkowicz’s Fiddler: A Miracle of Miracles lands in movie theaters on August 23, telling the origin story of the 1964 musical that gave us Tevye the milkman and his unforgettable family, dancing while balancing bottles on heads and a lush Broadway score for the ages by Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick. 95-year-old Harnick is featured in the film, along with late producer Hal Prince, original star Austin Pendleton, past Tevyes Chaim Topol and Harvey Fierstein, as well as Lin-Manuel Miranda, who famously surprised his bride with a semi-staged "To Life" at his wedding. Also interviewed for the film is Tony winner Joel Grey, who directed the current hit off-Broadway revival of Fiddler in Yiddish. Coincidentally, that production’s cast recording on Time Life Music hits stores on the same day. L’Chaim!
INFO: Catch the film in New York City at The Landmark at 57 West and Quad Cinema. Find out more here.

SATURDAY, AUGUST 24
SHOSHANA DELIVERS THE GOODS
Although she possesses one of the biggest, beltiest, showiest voices around, Shoshana Bean hasn’t always been known to deliver show tunes for her fans in live appearances, instead favoring the R&B songs she’s recorded and, more recently, the swinging, big band of her Spectrum jazz smash. Well, get ready, theater fans. For her six-night engagement at Feinstein’s/54 Below, Bean is promising an all-Broadway set, including songs from roles she’s played ((you can probably bank on hearing from Elphaba, Fanny Brice and Waitress’ Jenna), roles she wants to play and roles she’ll never play! James Sampliner will lead the band for this must-see run, which is selling out briskly. Trust us, “Sho” puts on quite the show!
INFO: 7PM at Feinstein's/54 Below (254 West 54th Street). Additional shows August 27, 29, 30 and 31 and September 3. Tickets start at $85 plus $25 food and beverage minimum. Tickets and more info here.

Illustrations by Tug Rice for Broadway.com