Harry Potter dances!... Arcadia enters a new century… the Academy Awards got stage cred… and a former President finds his funny
Roar,
Blake
Saturday, February 26
PREVIEWS? Daniel Radcliffe stars as a window washer with dreams (and schemes) of making it big in business in the 50th Anniversary revival of Frank Loesser’s How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying directed by Tony winner Rob Ashford and co-starring Emmy winner John Larroquette. (Al Hirschfeld Theatre, 302 West 45th St., btwn. 8th & 9th Aves., Click here for Playbill Club discounted preview tickets)
PREVIEWS? Another Main Stem comeback/homecoming entering previews is Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia, returning to Broadway after 16 years. The cast stars Raul Esparza, Grace Gummer, Bel Powley, Noah Robbins, Margaret Colin, Tom Riley and Tony-winner Billy Crudup (who made his Broadway debut in the original Arcadia in 1995, and also won a Tony Award in another Stoppard classic The Coast of Utopia). (Barrymore Theatre, 243 W. 47th St., btwn. Broadway & 8th Ave., Click here for Playbill Club discounted preview tickets)
Sunday, February 27
WATCH? The 83rd Annual Academy Awards airs live from the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles. And while this marks Hollywood’s biggest night, lots of Broadway luminaries will be present, including nominees Geoffrey Rush (“The King’s Speech”), Nicole Kidman (“Rabbit Hole”) and Natalie Portman (“Black Swan”). Host Anne Hathaway made a big New York theatre splash when she starred in the Public Theater's production of Twelfth Night a few summers ago, and her co-host James Franco is set to make his Broadway debut later this year in the revival of Tennessee Williams' Sweet Bird of Youth. (8 PM on ABC, info)
Monday, February 28
PREVIEWS? Priscilla Queen of the Desert takes up residency at a fitting Broadway theatre — the Palace — “dragging” with her Tony Sheldon (playing bereaved transsexual Bernadette), Will Swenson (as a closeted drag performer with a secret) and Nick Adams (as the saucy Felicia). Official opens March 10. (Palace Theatre, 1564 Broadway, btwn. 46th & 47th Sts., Click here for Playbill Club discounted preview tickets)
GO? Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane honor their Producers director-choreographer Susan Stroman for the Vineyard Theatre’s annual benefit gala. Stroman, you’ll remember, recently directed the critically-acclaimed musical The Scottsboro Boys, which got its start at the Off-Broadway theatre before moving on to Broadway. The gala boasts performances and appearances by Roger Bart, Gary Beach, Boyd Gaines, Debra Monk, Karen Ziemba, John Kander and others. (8:30 PM, Hudson Theatre at the Millennium Broadway Hotel, 145 W. 44th St., btwn. 6th & 7th Aves., tickets start at $125, info/tickets)
Tuesday, March 1
GO? Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson star Benjamin Walker, no stranger to “the funny,” continues his search for those hilarious diamond in the rough comics, musicians and writers with his monthly variety show Find the Funny. (Joe’s Pub, 425 Lafayette St., $10, info/tickets)
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Wednesday, March 2
GO (FREE)? Bryan Batt, Jerry Dixon, Harriet D. Foy and Brian Charles Rooney star in a free reading of a new musical about the early career of Tennessee Williams, Becoming Tennessee. (E-mail [email protected] or call 212-246-5877 for reservations)
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Thursday, March 3
OPENING? David Lindsay-Abaire’s newest play, Good People, opens on Broadway starring Frances McDormand as a down on her luck gal from the Southie section of Boston, and Tate Donovan as her former lover and the local “guy who got out.” Oscar winner Estelle Parsons, Becky Ann Baker, and Renée Elise Goldsberry also star. (Through May 8, Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, 261 W. 47th St., btwn. Broadway & 8th Ave., Click here for Playbill Club discount tickets)
Friday, March 4
GO? The classic Georges Bizet opera Carmen gets a modern-day makeover courtesy of AMC Theatres and The Royal Opera House. The film chain will debut a 3D version of the Francesca Zambello-directed opera in movie theatres around the country. (info)