From West Side Story to Cirque du Soleil, Our 5 Must-Do Events for the Week of December 9 to 15 Offer Excitement for Everyone

Two world premiere plays, a reinvented classic musical and a high-flying holiday special are among the treats on tap at NYC theater this week. Read on for all the details on our five must-do events for December 9 through 15.

MONDAY, DECEMBER 9
STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN
Stephen Adly Guirgis chronicles the lives of down-on-their-luck New Yorkers in vividly titled plays such as The Motherf**ker With the Hat, Our Lady of 121st Street and the Pulitzer Prize-winning Between Riverside and Crazy. His first new play in five years, Halfway Bitches Go Straight to Heaven, takes audiences inside a women’s halfway house filled with the kinds of colorful characters that Guirgis (a former violence prevention specialist) knows and loves. A co-production of Atlantic Theater Company and LAByrinth Theater Company, this world premiere opens on December 9 with an 18-person cast that includes the playwright’s frequent collaborators Elizabeth Rodriguez, Liza Colon-Zayas and Elizabeth Canavan, directed by his friend and colleague of more than 30 years, John Ortiz. 
INFO: Limited run through December 29 at Atlantic Theater Company’s Linda Gross Theater (336 West 20th Street). Tickets start at $81.50. For more details, click here.

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 10
IT ALL BEGINS TONIGHT
After radically re-envisioning plays such as A View From the Bridge, The Crucible and A Streetcar Named Desire, Tony-winning director Ivo van Hove is tackling his first musical, a Broadway revival of the all-American classic West Side Story. The Belgian-born van Hove announced plans to compress the show’s timeline into 48 hours, cut the intermission and introduce new choreography by Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, among other changes. Lyricist Stephen Sondheim signed off on the elimination of "I Feel Pretty," saying that van Hove’s talent for reinterpreting iconic works "makes for something to look forward to with excitement." The multicultural cast includes Isaac Powell as Tony, Shereen Pimentel as Maria, Amar Ramasar as Bernardo and Yesenia Ayala as Anita. 
INFO: Open run at the Broadway Theatre (1680 Broadway at 53rd Street). Tickets start at $39.

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 10
INSIDE AN EPIDEMIC
The opening description in Donja R. Love’s bio—"Black, Queer, HIV+ and Surviving"—previews his new play, One in Two. The title comes from the startling statistic that half of black gay men will be diagnosed with HIV in their lifetime. Love began work on this world premiere piece while navigating a depression that emerged on the 10th anniversary of his own HIV diagnosis; he realized that what initially seemed like a personal script might be used to enlighten, inform and empower audiences. Jamyl Dobson, Leland Fowler and Edward Mawere star in The New Group’s production, directed by Stevie Walker-Webb in partnership with the National Queer Theater, opening on December 10. 
INFO: Limited run through January 12 at the Pershing Square Signature Center (480 West 42nd Street). Tickets start at $48. For more details, click here. 

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 10
THE MARVELOUS MRS. HAMILTON
Work, work! A new Schuyler sister is headed to Hamilton on December 10, when Krystal Joy Brown (left) joins the Broadway company as Eliza. The role of Alexander’s "Helpless" bride offers an exciting contrast with Brown’s most recent Main Stem turn as Diana Ross in Motown: The Musical. Don’t be surprised if this dynamic leading lady brings extra sass to Andy Blankenbuehler’s Tony-winning choreography: Brown is a two-time Astaire Award nominee for Outstanding Female Dancer in a Broadway Show for her performances in Big Fish and Leap of Faith. We’re especially looking forward to her sure-to-be-fiery delivery of Eliza’s show-stopping second act ballad, “Burn."
INFO: Open run at the Richard Rodgers Theatre (226 West 46th Street). Tickets start at $199.

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12
CIRQUE FOR CHRISTMAS
Cirque de Soleil conquered Las Vegas with a series of sexy, surrealistic spectacles before taking a stab at Broadway in 2016 with the musical Paramour. Now the Montreal-based company is turning its attention to family audiences with a new holiday attraction, ’Twas the Night Before…, at MSG’s Hulu Theater. As the title suggests, the show is inspired by Clement Clarke Moore’s beloved poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas,” but you won’t see any cardboard chimneys or fake trees. Instead, expert aerialists, acrobats, dancers, diabolo artists and a clown on a giant bed wow the crowd in this kid-friendly production. As usual, the costumes, lighting and music are state-of-the-art, including a climactic appearance by St. Nick and his Cirque-style reindeer. 
INFO: Limited run through December 29 at the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden (4 Penn Plaza). Tickets start at $40. 

Illustrations by Tug Rice for Broadway.com