Blake
Saturday, January 29 
BEFORE IT CLOSES? Christine Ebersole dazzles one last evening at the Café Carlyle. Expect songs like “Young at Heart,” “Ding, Dong the Witch is dead” from “The Wizard of Oz” and of course, selections from the show that gave her a second Tony Award, Grey Gardens. Picking up the Carlyle baton on Feb. 1 is another Tony winner, Paulo Szot. (8:45 PM & 10:45 PM, The Café Carlyle at the Carlyle Hotel, 35 E. 76th St., at Park Ave., info/tickets or call 212-744-1600)
Sunday, January 30 
BEFORE IT CLOSES? Laura Linney takes one last “click” as an injured war photographer dealing with the struggles of life without a war in Time Stands Still (for which she was nominated for her third Tony Award). Co-starring Brian d’Arcy James, Eric Bogosian and Christina Ricci and directed by Daniel Sullivan. (Cort Theatre, 138 W. 48th St., btwn 6th & 7th Aves., Click here for Playbill Club discount tickets)
Monday, January 31 
OPENING? There’s a new playwright in town, and he’s taking New York by storm. Pulitzer Prize finalist Rajiv Joseph’s play Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo makes a high-profile roar onto Broadway this spring with Robin Williams. But first, Joseph makes an equally exciting Off-Broadway splash with Gruesome Playground Injuries, which chronicles the lives of Kayleen (“Dexter”’s Jennifer Carpenter) and Doug (Pablo Shreiber) through their scars both physical and emotional. Directed by Scott Ellis (Curtains). (Second Stage, 305 W. 43rd St., corner of 8th Ave., info/tickets)
Tuesday, February 1 
OPENING? Andre Braugher stars in Matthew Lopez’s historical drama The Whipping Man, about two newly freed slaves following the Civil War, who find themselves breaking bread (well, in this case, matzah) for Passover with their former master, a confederate solider (who just happens to also be Jewish). Go figure! Doug Hughes (Doubt, A View From the Bridge) directs. (NY City Center, 131 W. 55th St., btwn 6th & 7th Aves., Click here for Playbill Club discount tickets)
Wednesday, February 2 
GO? Stunning beauty Brooke Shields proved she was more than just a pretty face when she ventured into the world of song and dance in shows like Grease, Cabaret, and Chicago. Most recently, Shields starred in the world premiere of Alan Menken’s Leap of Faith (rumored to be making a Broadway transfer). Now, she’ll take on a more intimate stage when she makes her cabaret debut with In My Life, a show that will feature pop songs, standards, and of course, a Broadway tune or two. (Through February 12, Feinstein’s at Loews Regency, 540 Park Ave., at 61st St., info/tickets or call 212-339-4095)
Thursday, February 3 
OPENING? It all started with an email that read: “We want you write musical. How much?” Thus stared the journey for Stephen Cole & David Krane to create the first American musical to premiere in the Middle East. Five years later, Cole and Krane set their madcap adventures through the Mid-East to music with the musical The Road to Qatar! (York Theatre, 619 Lexington Ave, corner of 54th St., info/tickets)
Friday, February 4 
GO (FREE)? Professor David Savran (Graduate Center, CUNY) hosts a free forum on the contributions of songwriters Kurt Weill and Maxwell Anderson (Knickerbocker Holiday, Lost in the Stars). Joining Savran for Kurt Weill + Maxwell Anderson: Collaboration in Musical Theatre will be Stephen Hinton, Elmar Juchem and Kim H. Kowalke. (5 PM, Martin E. Segal Theatre Center, 365 5th Ave., at 34th St., info)
