Hot Nights in the City! 5 Must-Do Events for the Week of August 26 to September 1

Features

by Kathy Henderson • Aug 25, 2019

Summer may be ending, but the fun is just beginning on a trio of outdoor stages around the Big Apple, plus an evening with Broadway dads and a date with Elton John. Check out our five must-do events for the week of August 26 through September 1.

MONDAY, AUGUST 26
DADS' NIGHT OUT
Billy Bigelow, Captain Van Trapp, Daddy Warbucks… The lives of fathers make for great stage drama, but what about the real-life Broadway dads that raise kids while doing eight shows a week? To get an inside look at the busy lives of 10 talented theatrical papas, book a table at Feinstein’s/54 Below for a celebration of “Broadway Daddies,” featuring dad stories, dad jokes and maybe even some dad songs (“Wheels of a Dream,” anyone?). The night is hosted by Broadway vet Claybourne Elder (Bonnie and Clyde) and his producer husband Eric Rosen—who have a toddler son at home—and features Tony nominee Bryce Pinkham (The Great Society), Cleve Asbury, Andrew Kober (Beautiful: The Carole King Musical), Raymond J. Lee (Aladdin), Kevin Massey, Paul Oakley Stovall, Ben Thompson (Waitress) and Michael Williams. Proceeds benefit About Face Youth Theatre, a community-focused LGBTQIA arts organization. Bring your dad—or your mom!
INFO: 9:30PM at 54 Below (254 West 54th Street). Tickets start at $25, plus $25 food and beverage minimum. Click for more info.

TUESDAY, AUGUST 27
FLYING TO BROADWAY NEXT?
In this era of jukebox musicals, Rocketman practically screams to be let loose on Broadway. The hit Elton John biopic boasts a script by Tony winner Lee Hall (Billy Elliot) and uber-theatrical direction by Dexter Fletcher that critics compared to the work of Baz Luhrmann. And then there’s the music, a glorious string of pop hits by Sir Elton, who went on to win a Best Score Tony for Aida and Tony nods for The Lion King and Billy Elliot. If you missed the movie in theaters, or just want to savor anew Taron Egerton’s award-worthy performance, snap up a DVD and dance along to “Saturday Night’s Alright (For Fighting).” Egerton, a graduate of London’s Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, did his own singing, setting the stage—we wish!—for a bedazzling Broadway debut.
INFO: DVD or digital purchase available from Amazon; click here.

FRIDAY, AUGUST 30
SHAKESPEARE IN A DIFFERENT PARK
The title general in Othello is destroyed by jealousy, “the green-eyed monster” stirred up by his disloyal lieutenant Iago. Shakespeare’s tragic and timely tale of how love curdles into violence will get a free outdoor staging courtesy of The Drilling Company, creators of Shakespeare in the Parking Lot. The downtown troupe sets up shop in Bryant Park on Friday and Saturday of Labor Day weekend, performing rain or shine. Drilling Company headliner Emmanuel Elpenord stars as the Moorish war hero, with Liz Livingston as his doomed young wife, Desdemona, and David Marantz as Iago. To encourage picnicking, the park will lend out 250 free blankets for audience members to enjoy while lounging on the lawn.
INFO: 7PM on the stage of the Bryant Park lawn (40th to 42nd Streets between 5th and 6th Avenues) on August 30 and 31; no tickets required.

SATURDAY, AUGUST 31
ZERO TO STAGE HERO
Who put the glad in gladiator? Fans have clamored for a stage version of Disney’s 1997 animated hit Hercules, and now a cast of 200 (!) will join forces for seven performances at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park, led by Frozen original star Jelani Aladdin. Presented as part of the Public Theater’s Public Works initiative, Hercules pairs Broadway pros with everyday New Yorkers to create an epic theatrical event. The cast includes Tony winner Roger Bart, who sang the title role on screen and now plays the evil Hades, Krysta Rodriguez as Meg, Tony winner James Monroe Iglehart as Phil, Jeff Hiller as Panic, Tamika Lawrence as Calliope and Rema Webb as Terpsichore, directed by Lear deBessonet. Free tickets are available only via lottery, so enter by August 28 for the chance to hear Aladdin & Co. deliver Alan Menken and David Zippel’s R&B-flavored score.
INFO: 8PM in Central Park on August 31 and September 1, 2, 5, 6, 7 and 8; for details on entering the Advance Digital Lottery and In-Person Standby Lottery, click here.

SATURDAY, AUGUST 31
A PRACTICALLY PERFECT PLAN
The nanny we all wish we’d had (especially when she looks and sounds like Emily Blunt) is set to fly into lower Manhattan for a free screening of Mary Poppins Returns. Grab a blanket and head to Corlears Hook Park to enjoy the quintessentially NYC experience of watching Rob Marshall’s hit musical, with a score by Tony winners Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, under the stars. Speaking of Tony winners, the movie features four—Lin-Manuel Miranda, Angela Lansbury, Dick Van Dyke and Jim Norton—plus Tony nominees Meryl Streep and Noma Dumezweni. It’s a lavish, theatrical extravaganza tailor-made for viewing on a gigantic outdoor screen with a tub of popcorn or a thermos of tea.
INFO: 7:30PM; space available on a first-come, first-served basis; for details and directions, click here.