This WEEK AHEAD is dedicated to Shannon Tavarez! Shannon, former young Nala in Broadway’s The Lion King was diagnosed with AML leukemia last April. She now has to undergo regular chemotherapy treatments, which prevent her from performing. Shannon’s chances of beating this horrible disease will greatly increase with a bone marrow transplant.
The Lion King, Disney Theatrical Productions and DKMS are holding two special donor drives in the hopes of finding a match for Shannon and other patients like her.
Sunday, July 18, 10AM-4PM (St. Malachy’s – The Actors’ Chapel, Encore Senior Center, 239 West 49th Street)
Friday, July 23, 10AM-3PM (The Minskoff Theatre, home of Disney’s The Lion King, 200 West 45th Street).
You can also sign up for a DKMS registration kit online at GetSwabbed.org
For more information about Shannon, go to matchshannon.com
Stay strong, Shannon!
Love,
Your Pals at Playbill
Friday, July 16
GO→ The summer’s hottest dance party, the Fire Island Dance Festival returns to the isle of fire with a slew of performances from the hottest dancers in the world including, Marcelo Gomes (Principal, American Ballet Theatre), Travis Wall and members of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and the Merce Cunningham Dance Company. Proceeds from the fest benefit BC/EFA and Dancers Responding to AIDS. (Through July 18, Click here for a full schedule of events)
GO (FREE)→ Talk about an enchanted (and romantic) evening! The annual Concert in the Park (the Brooklyn edition) features the New York Philharmonic and the sweet sounds of Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story and Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet. (8pm, Prospect Park, enter at Bartel-Pritchard Circle or 9th St., Brooklyn, info)
GO→ Fondly Do We Hope…Fervently Do We Pray features the stunning and emotional choreography of Tony winner Bill T. Jones, with original music by Jerome Begin, Christopher Antonio William Lancaster and George Lewis, Jr. This new dance piece explores some key moments in the life of Abraham Lincoln and the struggle for civil rights throughout American history. (Through July 17, $30-$75, Lincoln Center, Frederick P. Rose Hall, Broadway at 60th St., info/tickets)
Saturday, July 17
GO→ With Superman flying high above the Dallas Theater Center on the songs of Strouse, and Spider-Man slowly spinning his web toward Broadway, what better time to get out and learn all you can about the history of these and other caped crusaders? Take the “Superhero Tour of New York” and visit places like the Green Goblin’s mansion and the apartment of Leonore Lemmon (who is suspected of killing the original Superman, George Reeves). (Starts at Jim Hanley’s Universe, 4 W. 33rd. St., opposite the Empire State Building, advance bookings only, $25, info)
Sunday, July 18
GO→ Alice Ripley will play her last Broadway performance in the show that gave her a Tony Award, Next to Normal. Tony nominee Marin Mazzie will take over starting Monday, July 19. Ripley will resume the role of Diana this fall for the national tour. (Booth Theatre, 222 West 45th St., btwn. Broadway & 8th Ave., Click here for Playbill Club discount tickets)
GO→ Oscar winner F. Murray Abraham and Wicked’s Mandy Gonzalez will join host Neil Berg for songs from Berg’s songbook, including tunes from The Prince and the Pauper, The 12 and the upcoming Grumpy Old Men. Berg’s wife, Rita Harvey, will also perform, as will Rob Evan, Laurence Clayton, Sophia Ramos and William Michals. (8:30 PM, Feinstein’s at Loews Regency, 540 Park Ave., at 61st St., $50-$71 with food/beverage minimum, info/tickets or call 212.339.4095)
Monday, July 19
BUY→ Addams Family matriarch, Morticia (aka Bebe Neuwirth) has designed a limited-edition, specialty trio of nail polishes based on her character’s love of the glamorously ghoulish. The box set will debut July 19 with only 5,000 pieces available for purchase. Proceeds will benefit The Actors Fund. ($30, purchase/info)
Tuesday, July 20
GO→ Rufus Wainwright takes to the stage at Prospect Park along with dad, folk legend Loudon Wainwright III. The younger Wainwright is said to be including songs from his Judy Garland tribute show and subsequent Grammy-nominated album. (7pm, Prospect Park Bandshell, 9th St & Prospect Park West, Brooklyn, NY, Click here for $20 Playbill Club discount tickets)
GO (FREE)→ Rising opera star, soprano Susanna Phillips will perform as part of The Metropolitan Opera’s Summer Recital Series. (7pm, Brooklyn Bridge Park, Pier 1, info/directions)
Wednesday, July 21
GO→ Theatrical designers partnered with scientists to create the arena spectacular Walking with Dinosaurs. More than 15 life-sized dinosaurs come alive to help tell the story of the reptiles’ 200 million-year domination on earth. It’s like “Jurassic Park” come to life! The show will continue on a national tour hitting Chicago, IL, Green Bay, WI, Duluth, MN, Anchorage, AK, Anaheim, CA, and Los Angeles, CA. (Through July 25, Madison Square Garden, $35-$99, info/tickets)
Thursday, July 22
GO (FREE)→ The third installment of the popular lunchtime event “Broadway in Bryant Park” will include performances by Chicago, Rock of Ages A Little Night Music and Falling for Eve. (12:30pm-1:30pm, Bryant Park, btwn. 40th and 42nd Sts. & 5th and 6th Aves., info)
GO→ Tony Award winning star and Playbill buddy Brian Stokes Mitchell visits Barnes & Nobel today to celebrate the release of a new young adults book he contributed to entitled Lights on Broadway: A Theatrical Tour of Broadway from A to Z. The book features words of wisdom from Stokes and some of his Broadway buddies like Chita Rivera, Cheyenne Jackson and Patti LuPone as well as a CD with a special ode-to-Broadway courtesy of Stokes and Steven Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens. (5pm, Lincoln Triangle, 1972 Broadway, near 66th Street, to purchase the book 
G
OPENING→ Fela!, the new Broadway show about the life and music of Nigerian Afro-Funk pioneer Fela Kuti opens this Monday transforming the O’Neill into the musician’s own Shrine Club. Director/Choreographer and co-conceiver, Tony winner Bill T. Jones, has created a masterpiece with this one and I have no doubt this show (with the help of producers Jay-Z and Will and Jada Smith) will help solidify Kuti’s legacy for decades to come. (Eugene O’Neill Theatre, 230 West 49th Street, between Broadway and 8th Avenues, for Playbill Club discount tickets, 
GO→ The pop musical the Marvelous Wonderettes celebrates its 500th show this Wednesday. This “cotton-candy colored musical blast from the past” features tunes from the ‘50s and ‘60s including “Lollipop,” “Dream Lover,” “Stupid Cupid,” “Lipstick on Your Collar,” “Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me,” “It’s My Party,” and “It’s In His Kiss (The Shoop Shoop Song)”. (Westside Theatre, 407 W. 43rd Street, between 9th and 10th Avenues, 
