Looking for something fun to do this (cross your fingers) rain-free weekend? Try some of these theatre-related picks!

Blake

Friday, July 31:

GO→ Guys and Dolls in Concert at the Hollywood Bowl opens tonight! The show is directed by Playbill friend, Richard Jay-Alexander and is choreographed by Tony winner, Donna McKechnie.  The all-star cast includes Jessica Biel as Sarah Brown, Brian Stokes Mitchell as Sky Masterson, Scott Bakula as Nathan Detroit and Ellen Greene as Miss Adelaide. If you’re in Cali, this is one not to miss.  Catch it before it’s gone on Sunday. (8:30pm, Hollywood Bowl, 2301 North Highland Ave., tickets and info)

WATCH→ The rockin’ cast of Rock of Ages will take over Friday’s The View! (11am EST, WABC-7 in New York)

Saturday, August 1:

WATCH→ Jake Wilson’s hilarious online web series, The Battery’s Down, will have a few special (Tony winning) guests on Saturday—Whoopi Goldberg and Sutton Foster!  (watch)

Sunday, August 2:

BEFORE IT CLOSES→ New York International Fringe Festival graduate Krapp, 39 will finish its current Off-Broadway run at the SoHo Playhouse this Sunday.  This one-man show (which draws inspiration from Beckett’s Krapp’s Last Tape) is brilliantly performed by its writer, Michael Laurence. (3pm, SoHo Playhouse, 15 Vandam St., tickets)

Monday, August 3:

WATCH→  With the passing of dance legend, Merce Cunningham, the Company’s Monday’s with Merce webcasts become all the more treasured.  Watch episodes of the master himself teaching technique and conducting rehearsals at the famed dance studio that bears his name.  (watch)

Tuesday, August 4:

GO→  The fabulously ferocious funny-lady, Joan Rivers, is back in New York starting Tuesday!  Love her and can’t wait to see her roast on Comedy Central! (9pm, Laurie Beechman Theatre, 407 W 42 st., Tuesday and Wednesday performances through Aug. 20, info)

Wednesday, August 5:

GO (FREE)→  Lincoln Center kicks off three weeks of free outdoor performances aptly named “Out of Doors”.  Performing on Wednesday is the Asphalt Orchestra, a 12-piece band that plays songs from “every corner of the music world” including arrangements by Bjork and Stew. Also performing that evening is Iraqi-American trumpeter Amir ElSaffar and his “jazz-cum-Arabic” music ensemble along with pianist Dave Brubeck and his quartet.  (Asphalt Orchestra will perform at 7pm on the Broadway Plaza–in front of Alice Tully Hall.  Amir ElSaffar and The Dave Brubeck Quartet will perform at 7:30pm at Damrosch Park– southwest corner of Lincoln Center Plaza at 62nd St. btwn Columbus and Amsterdam. Full schedule, trough August 23)

Thursday, August 6:

GO (FREE)→ As a part of the 35th annual Harlem Week, The Harlem Summer Shakespeare Project is presenting A Midsummer Night’s Dream, which will tour all around Harlem throughout August. (through Aug. 29^th, full performance schedule and locations). 

RETURNING TO NYC→  Risqué (to say the least) show, Puppetry of the Penis, returns to New York at the Bleecker Street Theatre.  Oh, and this is fun! If you’re an origami enthusiast with a low threshold for pain, the Puppetry gang is looking for new “puppeteers”… or as they put it “blokes with a total lack of shame”.   A little bit of advice, see the show before auditioning.  You’ll thank me later.  (8pm, 45 Bleecker Street, east of Lafayette, tickets).

This past Saturday, Howard McGillin took his final bow as the Phantom in The Phantom of the Opera. After 2,500+ performances and nearly a decade, Howard holds the title as the longest running Phantom in Broadway history.

He’ll hand his mask over to the very talented John Cudia, no stranger to the role himself having starred in the National Tour production for years.

The 8-show a week grind is notoriously difficult for most actors to sustain for months let alone years…and especially the role of Phantom!  I asked Howard to keep a diary of one of his last performances for PLAYBILL’s “Day in the Life” feature which will be in the August issue.  He chose one of his last matinee performances (which consists of a morning trip to the gym, 1+ hours of makeup, a 2+hour show, a quick refueling and nap, another 1+hours of makeup and another 2+hour show).  Yeesh.  I’m tired just typing that!

Here is a sneak peek of the feature with some exclusive pics from the man himself.  You can read all about Howard’s life as the Phantom and see more photos in August’s PLAYBILL.

Congrats to Howard on this wonderful feat…we can’t wait to see what’s next for you!

Looking for something fun to do this weekend? Here are some suggestions on what to see, what to do and what not to miss all around town this week.

Happy Friday!
Blake

Friday, July 24

GO–> The original piano lady, the great Barbara Carroll will play Feinstein’s Friday and Saturday night.  At 84, she is a force of nature and a true legend.  (Feinstein’s at the Regency, 540 Park Ave at 61^st st, call 212-339-4095 for tickets)

Saturday, July 25

GO–> Lincoln Center’s annual  Midsummer Night Swing dance party will boogie its last dance on Saturday night.  (Dance lessons start at 6:30pm with live music from the Harlem Renaissance Orchestra starting at 7:30pm, Damrosch Park, 62^nd Street Between Columbus and Amsterdam)

Sunday, July 26

BEFORE IT CLOSES–> The acclaimed, Tony Award winning revival of Alan Ayckbourn’s The Norman Conquests will close this Sunday. (Circle in the Square, 1633 Broadway at 50^th Street, tickets)

BEFORE IT CLOSES (and opens again)–> The hit, Tony winning show God of Carnage will go on a summer hiatus before returning  September 8^th. (Bernard Jacobs Theatre, 242 W 45^th st., godofcarnage.com)

Monday, July 27

GO–> Hair hottie, Gavin Creel, will play back-to-back performances at Joe’s Pub this Monday.  Tickets for the 9:30pm show are already sold out with the 11:30pm not far behind, so get your tickets soon.  (Joe’s Pub at the Public Theatre, 425 Lafayette Street, www.joespub.com or call (212) 967-7555)

OPENING–>The Columbine Project moves from LA to 47^th street this Monday night.  The play examines the tragedy of what happened at Columbine High School some 10 years ago through the minds of several students including the killers. (8pm, The Actors’ Temple Theatre, 339 W 47^th st., for tickets call 212.289.6200)

Tuesday, July 28

OPENING–> Cusi Cram’s A Lifetime Burning will makes its world premiere at Primary Stages on Tuesday.  The play is loosely inspired by the 2008 literary scandal surrounding Margaret B. Jones, who penned a critically acclaimed memoir about her life as a bi-racial former gang member who grew up in a foster family in Southern California.  The world soon found out (through the author’s sister) that she had lied and that Margaret Jones was actually Margaret Seltzer, a white suburbanite who went to private school and was raised by her biological parents in Sherman Oaks.  (7pm, Primary Stages, 59 East 59th St., info)

OPENING (FREE)–> Gather up the tots and get thee to the theatre! Click, Clack, Moo opens at the Lucille Lortel Theatre on Tuesday.  The opening night performance is a benefit for Theatreworks USA, which makes it possible for the rest of this run to be free!  (Lucille Lortel Theatre, 121 Christopher St., btwn. 7th Ave. and Hudson, all other performances are free and tickets are available 1 hour prior to curtain, info)

GO–>Gay Single’s night at The Temperamentals is this Tuesday, so if you’re looking to see a great show (and it is a fabulous one)…AND meet someone…kill two birds with one stone!  (info)

Wednesday, July 29

GO–> If you’re a fan of The Daily Show, head to Comix on Wednesday for “The Daily Show & Friends”.  John Oliver and Wyatt Cenac join writers and producers from the show in what promises to be a very funny evening (8pm, Comix, 353 W. 14th St at 9th ave., tickets)

Thursday, July 30

GO–> Lucille’s at B.B Kings boasts great performances to go with the great down-home Southern cooking.   This Thursday is no exception with a performance by Fred Thomas (long time bassist for James Brown).  (8pm, Lucille’s, 237 W. 42^nd St btwn. 7^th and 8^th Ave, schedule)

Rumors of an adaptation of the Nicholas Sparks’ tear jerker The Notebook becoming a musical seem to be true.  According to  thenotebookmusical.com, Bethany Joy Galeotti (a regular on the CW’s One Tree Hill) and Rob Aniello (an award-winning record producer) have teamed up to compose the score.  They are casting now for the workshop which they say is a “preliminary step toward an eventual opening in New York”.   Please someone tell me Ryan Gosling can sing.

Last night I decided to switch up my usual glam summer Monday night routine of catching up on my TiVO and cleaning out my fridge to see Next Fall.    A word on the show before I get helpful.  It was a truly stunning and touching piece of theater.  It is one of those plays that sticks in your head like a good meal sticks to your ribs.   If you haven’t already, you should see it  before it closes August 8^th. 

And Next Fall isn’t the only great show available to us New Yorkers on Monday nights.  Here is some of what’s on the boards both On and Off Broadway on Monday nights.

BROADWAY:

Avenue Q

Phantom

Rock of Ages

Next to Normal

OFF-BROADWAY:

Altar Boyz

Checking In

Click, Clack, Moo

Columbine Project

Fantasticks

For Lovers Only (Love Songs Nothing But Love Songs)

Next Fall

Marvelous Wonderettes

Perfect Crime

The Temperamentals

The Toxic Avenger

Wildflower

Forty years ago today, America landed on the moon.   As the New York Times beautifully summarized, 1969 proved to be a watershed year by many accounts.

It was a year marked by many milestones: Golda Meir became the forth Prime Minister of Israel; the Stonewall Riots broke new ground for the gay rights movement; Woodstock gave us peace and love; the murder of Sharon Tate gave us tragedy; kids were entertained by The Brady Bunch and Sesame Street; New York ruled the sports world with both the Mets and Jets taking home their respective top prizes.

It was also a pretty good year on Broadway—one with a lot of congruencies to this year. A few highlights…

• A 22 year-old Ft. Worth native, Betty Lynn Buckley hopped off a bus in New York City and right onto a Broadway stage in 1776.  The show went on to win 3 Tony Awards that year, including Best Musical.
• Katharine Hepburn starred as designer Coco Chanel in the musical, Coco.  It would be her only Broadway musical.
• The Kander and Ebb musical Zorba was playing on Broadway until August of ’69.
• The original Broadway production of Hair was at the Biltmore.
• James Earl Jones took home his first Tony Award for The Great White Hope.
• Linda Lavin was starring in Neil Simon’s Last of the Red Hot Lovers.  Lavin later won a Tony in the original production of Simon’s Broadway Bound, which will come back to Broadway this fall along side Brighton Beach Memoirs. 
• Simon’s Promises, Promises (also on Broadway that year), got one hell of a score courtesy of Burt Bacharach and Hal David.  Its Broadway run lasted four years.
• Two 2009 Tony winners, Angela Lansbury and Jerry Herman, teamed-up for Dear World. At the time, Herman had three shows—Hello, Dolly!, Mame and Dear World—running simultaneously on Broadway.

…nice to meet’cha!

The staff of Playbill.com is entering blogdom with two new blogs!  Whether you’re looking to scope out the best this city has to offer, cheat-sheets on what’s coming up on B’way and beyond, or general musings to get you through your day–I’ve got you covered!

Welcome to Inside Track!  Here’s what’s going on this weekend in NYC.