Buone Feste!
Blake
Friday, December 18 
GO? When Nine opened on Broadway in 1982, it starred Raul Julia and won five Tony Awards, including one for director Tommy Tune and composer Maury Yeston. Today, Nine gets a full Hollywood makeover courtesy of Rob Marshall and a tasters choice of celebs including Daniel Day-Lewis, Marion Cotillard, Penélope Cruz, Nicole Kidman, Sophia Loren, Dame Judi Dench and Kate Hudson. (Opens today nationwide)
GO? Martin Sheen, Olympia Dukakis and Ray Manzarek (of The Doors) will all be on hand for a benefit at for The Living Theater. Performances will follow cocktails, dinner and a screening of select scenes from the new doc Babbleonia featuring Al Pacino. (6pm, The Players Club, 16 Gramercy Park South, off of Irving Place, $60 plus your contribution to the theatre, tickets/info)
Saturday, December 19 
GO? Ave. Q former front man, John Tartaglia, joins the New York Pops and the Young People’s Chorus of NYC, for a special concert version of the holiday children’s classic, The Polar Express. This is a perfect event for those of you with kids (or mushy Christmas lovers such as myself). (2pm, Carnegie Hall, 154 West 57 Street at 7th Avenue, tickets from $9, info/tickets)
BEFORE IT CLOSES? Matthew Broderick teamed up with his childhood friend, Academy Award nominee, Kenneth Lonergan, for The Starry Messenger, closing this Sunday. Messenger follows an mid-life crisis stricken astronomy teacher, who contemplates the disappointments of his life, as well as an affair with a young nurse, played by Oscar nominee, Catalina Sandino Moreno. (The Acorn Theatre, 410 West 42nd Street, near 9th Avenue, call 212-714-2442 for tickets)
Sunday, December 20 
GO?Tony winner Victoria Clark joins the New York City Gay Men’s Chorus for their annual holiday show. On the docket are carols and holiday cheer, and (what else?) show tunes! (3pm and 8pm, Town Hall, 23 West 43rd Street, between Broadway & 6th Avenues, info/tickets)
Monday, December 21 
GO? So You Think You Can Dance?'s “woo-hooing”, Mary Murphy, steps out from behind the judges table and onto the stage to join the cast of Broadway’s Burn the Floor. (Which currently includes other TV-turned-Broadway dancers, Maks & Kym from Dancing with the Stars.) (Through January 10, Longacre Theatre, 220 w. 48th Street, for Playbill Club discount tickets, click here)
Tuesday, December 22
GO? Barrow Street Theatre’s Our Town, which recently claimed the title of longest-running version of the play in its 71-year history, will welcome back David Cromer to the role of Stage Manager. Cromer, who also directed the record-breaking Thornton Wilder classic, earned rave reviews for his stripped–down/contemporary staging that puts the audience in the middle of the action. (Through January 3, Barrow Street Theatre, 27 Barrow Street at 7th Avenue, For Playbill Club discount tickets, click here)
GO? Cult-classic King and Hairspray and Cry Baby visionary, John Waters, celebrates Christmas the adult-way, with a special holiday show that claims to “put the X in Xmas”. (8pm show is sold out, 11pm still on sale, B.B Kings, 247 West 42nd Street, $39.50-$100, info/tickets)
Wednesday, December 23
GO? Celebrate the holidays with Charlie Chaplin at the Film Society of Lincoln Center as they alternately screen the Chaplin staples City Lights and Modern Times in a series called Charlie for the Holidays. ($9-15, The Film Society of Lincoln Center/Walter Reade Theater, 165 West 65th Street, between Broadway and Amsterdam Avenues, full schedule/tickets)
Thursday, December 24 
GO? Just because it’s the holidays, doesn’t mean Broadway shuts down. Check out Playbill’s Christmas Week Schedule for a list of shows that are open on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
