Also… Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong takes one last run at “sainthood” at the St. James… Ben Stiller and Edie Falco play House… Joe Mantello makes a rare return to acting… and the sweet sounds of the Shirelles take over the Broadhurst.

Happy Easter!
Blake

Sunday, April 24
LAST CHANCE? Green Day’s foray on the Great White Way, American Idiot, comes to an end. The Grammy-winning punk band’s lead singer (and show’s co-author) Billie Joe Armstrong has remained a presence throughout the show’s yearlong run — frequently guest starring as drug dealer St. Jimmy. Armstrong will play the show’s final performance at the St. James Theatre before sending it off for a national tour later this fall. (St. James Theatre, 246 W. 44th St., btwn. Broadway & 8th Ave., info/tickets)

OPENING? Jim Belushi, Robert Sean Leonard and newcomer Nina Arianda star in Garson Kanin’s 1940s comedy Born Yesterday. Belushi plays Harry Brock, an “uncouth” businessman who comes to Washington, D.C. to strong-arm a dirty congressman into playing by his rules. Brock's decision to hire a journalist (Leonard) to play Henry Higgins to his ditzy Doolittle-esque girlfriend (Arianda) proves to be a big, albeit funny, mistake. (Cort Theatre, 138 W. 48th St., btwn. 6th & 7th Aves., Click here for Playbill Club discount tickets)

Monday, April 25
OPENING? Ben Stiller and Edie Falco star in the revival of John Guare’s classic tragicomedy The House of Blue Leaves. Stiller, who made his Broadway debut in the original Broadway production 25-years ago, upgrades to leading man Artie Shaughnessy, a zookeeper who dreams of becoming famous and hobnobbing with the Pope. Falco plays his wife Bananas (talk about a woman on the verge of a nervous breakdown) with Jennifer Jason Leigh adding to the drama as ditzy mistress, Bunny. (Walter Kerr Theatre, 219 W. 48th St., btwn Broadway & 8th Ave., info/tickets)

Go? Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS’ 25th Annual Easter Bonnet Competition promises a bevy of star talent including: La Cage’s Harvey Fierstein, Anything Goes’ Sutton Foster, How to Succeed’s Daniel Radcliffe, Begal Tiger’s Robin Williams, Ghetto Klown’s John Leguizamo, High’s Kathleen Turner and Book of Mormon’s Josh Gad and Andrew Rannalls. Catch Me If You Can's Kerry Butler will do the honors of singing the BC/EFA anthem "Help Is On the Way." (April 25th at 4:30 PM and April 26th at 2 PM, Minskoff Theatre, 200 W. 45th St., btwn. Broadway & 8th, info/tickets)

Tuesday, April 26

CLICK? Tony winner Tyne Daly and Tony nominee Brian d'Arcy James will announce the nominees for this season’s Outer Critics Circle Awards. Playbill.com will post the nominees immediately following the live announcement at the Algonquin Hotel at 11 AM. Be sure to check in to see if your favorites made the Critics’ cut!

Wednesday, April 27

OPENING? Tony winner Beth Leavel stars as housewife turned music mogul Florence Greenberg in the new jukebox musical Baby It’s You! Featuring classic hits from the groups Greenberg discovered — namely the Shirelles — including "Dedicated to the One I Love," "Duke of Earl," "He's So Fine," "I Say a Little Prayer," "It's My Party," "Louie Louie," "Mama Said," "Shout," "Sixteen Candles," "Stop in the Name of Love," "Twist and Shout" and many more. (Broadhurst Theatre, 235 W. 44th St., btwn. Broadway & 8th Ave., Click here for Playbill Club discount tickets)

OPENING? Larry Kramer’s seminal drama The Normal Heart finally receives a Broadway debut — 25 years in the making. Heart chronicles the life of early AIDS activist Ned Weeks played by Joe Mantello. Joel Grey, currently playing Moonface Martin in the revival of Anything Goes, co-directs the production that also stars Ellen Barkin, Emmy winner Jim Parsons, Patrick Breen, John Benjamin Hickey, Lee Pace and Wayne Wilcox. (John Golden Theatre, 252 W. 45th St., btwn. Broadway & 8th Ave., Click here for Playbill Club discount tickets)

Thursday, April 28
OPENING? The People in the Picture, a new musical by Iris Rainer Dart (the novelist of "Beaches"), Mike Stoller (Smokey Joe's Café) and Artie Butler, officially opens starring two-time Tony winner Donna Murphy as a grandmother recalling her dicey past as a Yiddish stage star in pre-war Poland. (Studio 54, 254 W. 54th St., btwn. Broadway & 8th Ave., Click here for Playbill Club discount tickets)

GO (FREE)? The Musicians of Lenox Hill, under the artistic direction of Soo-Kyung Park, will play a free concert featuring the music of Chopin, Borodin and a recovered piece of music from Holocaust victim Marcel Tyberg. Tyberg’s “Piano Trio” will be played for the first time in New York City. (Temple Israel of the City of New York, 112 W. 75th St., btwn. Lexington & Park Aves., suggested donation of $20, info)
Friday, April 29
GO? Telly Leung (Pacific Overtures, Wicked, Rent), Ann Sanders (Avenue Q, Beauty and the Beast) and television star George Takei headline Tomo Yo — which means “my friend” in Japanese — a benefit concert for the victims of the recent earthquake in Japan. (Joe’s Pub, 425 Lafayette St., $20, info/tickets)