Oh...Those Su-hmer Niiights, 
Blake

Friday, September 4
GO? If Burn the Floor has you burning and yearning to hit the dance floor, then the New York International Salsa Congress’ Dance Festival might be for you! Learn to shake your groove thang at dozens of different workshops all weekend long. (info) 

Saturday, September 5
GO? Tony Award winner Brian Stokes Mitchell will be taking his magical baritone out to the Hamptons this weekend for a performance at the Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center. He is (as Tina Turner once said) simply the best. If you haven’t yet witnessed the splendor that is Stokes, do yourself a favor and go see this show! (8:30pm, WHBPAC, 76 Main Street, Westhampton Beach, tickets)

Sunday, September 6
BEFORE IT CLOSES? 9 to 5 will drink its last cup of ambition this Sunday. Dolly Parton’s score is infectious and the performances are superb! (The Marquis Theatre, 1535 Broadway @ Broadway, tickets)

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="94" caption="Joan Marcus"][/caption]

BEFORE IT CLOSES? Lynn Nottage’s Pulitzer Prize winning masterpiece, Ruined, will finally close after eight record-breaking extensions. This immensely important play shows the harsh reality of life in the war-torn region of the Congo. This story of one group of women and their struggle to survive amidst brutal conflict, ongoing sexual assault and displacement is a heartbreaking one, but one that must be told. (New York City Center, 131 West 55th Street, tickets) 

BEFORE IT CLOSES? The Tin Pan Alley Rag will play its final performance this Sunday. The fictional story of a meeting between real-life Ragtime kings, Irving Berlin and Scott Joplin, is underscored by the music that made both these men legends. (Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre, 111 West 46th Street between 6th & 7th Aves, tickets)

Monday, September 7
GO (TOUR)? The touring company of The Color Purple is launching a fundraising effort with the New Orleans-based group St. Bernard Project to help build homes for displaced families in New Orleans. Audience members will have the opportunity to contribute to the effort for the remainder of the Tour’s 2009 stops. Writer Alice Walker and The Color Purple creative team will kick-off the show’s efforts by contributing three houses on behalf of the production. (information on tickets and contributions) 

BACK IN BUSINESS? Next to Normal will welcome back Aaron Tveit when he returns to the show after headlining the West Coast premiere of Catch Me If You Can. (Booth Theatre Box Office, 222 West 45th St. between Broadway & 8th Ave., tickets)

Tuesday, September 8
GO (BACK IN BUSINESS)? After a summer hiatus, the fighting families of God of Carnage are back on the Main Stage ready to duke (and puke) it out! (Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre, 242 W. 45th St, tickets)

GO (BACK IN BUSINESS)? The musical Blind Lemon Blues will return to Off-Broadway this Tuesday. The score combines the soulful sound of country blues singer Blind Lemon Jefferson with the contemporary sounds of soul, doo-wop and even rap. (Through October 4, The Theatre at St. Peter’s Church, 619 Lexington Ave, tickets or call 212.935-5820)

Wednesday, September 9

GO? Michael Feinstein and Christine Ebersole will perform at the 9th Annual Music Has Power Awards at the house that Feinstein Built, Feinstein’s at Loews Regency. (Feinstein’s at the Loews Regency, 540 Park Avenue at 61st Street, info)

Thursday, September 10
GO (OPENING)? Pulling inspiration from her own military family, playwright Bekah Brunstetter will debut a new play, OOHRAH!, at Atlantic Stages this Thursday. It explores the lives of Marines fighting in the war and the people they leave behind. (Through September 27, Atlantic Stage Two, 330 W. 16th St, tickets)