Love Never Dies dies a little...Frank Langella goes one-on-one with Ted Koppel… Miranda Sings with Andrew Rannells… and Porgy and Bess Redux finally opens.
Stay safe, NYC!
Blake
Saturday, August 27 
LAST CHANCE? Andrew Lloyd Webber’s much talked-about Phantom sequel, Love Never Dies, closes in London. But not to fret Webber fans — Love Never Dies isn’t completely dead. The show is currently in Australia with a new design team, including director Simon Philips, working out a revised vision of the show which places the masked menace and his lost love Christine Daaé in Coney Island. It seems that should the kinks that plagued the show’s London debut get ironed out, it could move to Broadway as originally planned. (Adelphi Theatre, West End, info/tickets)
Sunday, August 28 
WATCH? If you’re in New York this weekend and find yourself stuck indoors due to Hurricane Irene, tune-in to “Ted Koppel/Frank Langella — One on One” a sit-down interview between the famous newsman and the three-time Tony Award-winning actor. Langella, who will star in the upcoming Broadway revival of Terence Rattigan’s Man and Boy this fall, will talk about his long and varied career both onstage and in films.(10:30 PM EST, PBS, Check your local listings, info)
Monday, August 29 
GO? The Book of Mormon’s Tony nominated leading man Andrew Rannells will join YouTube sensation Miranda Sings for her eighth concert appearance at Birdland. Miranda, the alter ego of Colleen Ballinger, became an Internet comedy sensation with her unabashed self-promotion of her God-awful singing. It’s a hilarious bit and Rannells is sure to bring an extra dimension to the live show. (7PM, Birdland, 315 W. 44th St., btwn. 8th & 9th Aves., $24-$35 plus food/drink minimum, info/tickets)
Tuesday, August 30 
GO (FREE)? The Metropolitan Opera’s Summer HD Festival continues with a free screening of Puccini's La Rondine starring Angela Gheorghiu and Roberto Alagna. One of Puccini’s lesser-known works, the opera returned to the Met in 2008 for the first time in over 70 years. The fest continues through September with screenings of Nixon in China, Carmen, and Don Carlo. (8 PM, Lincoln Center Plaza, info)
Wednesday, August 31 
OPENING? Four-time Tony Award winner Audra McDonald and Broadway vet Norm Lewis star in the re-imagined (and much debated-over) version of Porgy and Bess at American Repertory Theater. The famous George and Ira Gershwin-DuBose Heyward folk opera has been revamped into a two-and-a-half-hour musical with dialogue and has been renamed The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess. Tony-winning director Diane Paulus, Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks and Pulitzer Prize nominee Diedre Murray have taken up the task of updating the classic work for modern audiences. The show will transfer to Broadway’s Richard Rodgers Theatre in December. (Through October 2, Loeb Drama Center, 64 Brattle St., Cambridge, MA, info/tickets)
Thursday, September 1 
GO (FREE)? A new “bad boy” has emerged in classical music. Charles Yang — a musical virtuoso who plays the violin, guitar, electric violin, and sings — has been hailed as one of classical music’s foremost crossover artists, playing everything from Rachmaninov to Michael Jackson. Yang presents a free concert as a part of Lincoln Center’s Target Free Thursdays. (8:30 PM, David Rubenstein Atrium at Lincoln Center, Broadway at 62nd St., info)
Friday, September 2 
GO? Rapper, comedian and performance artist Baba Brinkman raps his way through the development of mankind and hip-hop music in The Rap Guide to Evolution. Brinkman’s acclaimed one-man show takes on everything from Darwinism to urban warfare. (Through Oct. 2, SoHo Playhouse, 15 Vandam St., btwn. 6th & 7th Aves., Click here for Playbill Club discount tickets)
