Your WEEK AHEAD has arrived!
Shakespeare in the Park 2011 ends… Hairspray goes Hollywood… Carrie resurrected!… and Judy! Judy! Judy!
Blake
Saturday, July 30
LAST CHANCE→ One of New York’s most beloved summer institutions — Shakespeare in the Park — closes out its 2011 season with the Bard’s classic about politics, religion and mistaken identity, Measure for Measure. Starring John Cullum, Tonya Pinkins, Danai Gurira, Michael Hayden, André Holland, Lorenzo Pisoni, Reg Rogers and Annie Parisse. As always, admission is free! (8 PM, Delacorte Theater, Mid- Central Park at 80th St, info)
Sunday, July 31
LAST CHANCE→ Rain, the Beatles tribute show, closes on Broadway and heads to Johannesburg. The show spans the fab four’s career from their renowned appearance on “The Ed Sullivan Show” in 1964 to their last studio album. Includes hits like “I Want To Hold Your Hand,” “Hard Day’s Night,” “Yesterday,” “Twist and Shout,” “With A Little Help From My Friends,” “Eleanor Rigby,” “Strawberry Fields,” “While My Guitar Gently Weeps,” “Hey Jude,” “When I’m 64,” “I Am The Walrus,” “Revolution” and “Come Together.” (Brooks Atkinson, 256 W. 47th St., btwn. Broadway & 8th Ave., Click here for Playbil Club discount tickets)
Monday, August 1
GO→ MCC Theatre has taken on the ambitious task of bringing Carrie (one of Broadway’s biggest bombs) back to the stage. Before its January 2012 bow, the theatre will host a sneak preview of what will be the new (and hopefully improved) version of the musical based on the Stephen King novel about a young girl with telekinetic powers. The show’s stars Molly Ranson (Carrie) and Marin Mazzie (Carrie’s mother, Margaret) will perform. Director Stafford Arima, librettist Lawrence D. Cohen, composer Michael Gore and lyricist Dean Pitchford will be on hand to discuss how they hope to transform this infamous flop into a hit. (7PM, Lucille Lortel Theatre,
121 Christopher St., btwn. Bleecker & 8th Ave., info/tickets)
GO→ Playwright Jon Robin Baitz (Other Desert Cities, “Brothers & Sisters”) will host a special conversation with Tony and Oscar winner Joel Grey. The talk will touch upon Grey’s career from Cabaret to his newest hit performance in the revival of Anything Goes, as well as his other talent as a photographer. (6:30 PM, Museum of the City of New York, 1220 5th Ave.,$15-$20, info/tickets)
Tuesday, August 2 (more…)
GO→ Broadway’s pet-friendliest pair — Bernadette Peters and Mary Tyler Moore — come together once again (along with some famous pals) to help find homes for city-shelter animals. Celebrity pet “handlers” showing off the cute pooches that are up for adoption include Nick Adams, Nina Arianda, Heidi Blickenstaff, Kerry Butler, Norbert Leo Butz, Bobby Cannavale, Victoria Clark, Sutton Foster, Joel Grey, John Benjamin Hickey, Jackie Hoffman, Nikki M. James, John Larroquette, Beth Leavel, Joe Mantello, John McMartin, Patina Miller, Bebe Neuwirth, Andrew Rannells, Elizabeth Rodriguez, Annabella Sciorra, Alexandra Silber, Will Swenson, Aaron Tveit and Yul Vazquez. (3:30 PM-6:30 PM, Shubert Alley, 44th St. & 45th St. btwn. 8th Ave. & Broadway, 
LAST CHANCE→ John Leguizamo recounts his days as an up-and-coming actor navigating his way through a toughHollywood system in his newest one-man show Ghetto Klown. The Tony-nominated funnyman uses the stage as a therapy session, airing his (and his family’s) dirty, but very funny, laundry. (Lyceum Theatre, 149 W. 45th St., btwn. 6th & 7th Aves., 
LAST CHANCE→ After 26 years, Larry Kramer’s gut-wrenching semi-autobiographical play about the beginnings of the AIDS crisis, The Normal Heart, finally made it to Broadway earlier this year. With its all-star cast — including Joe Mantello, Lee Pace, Jim Parsons, John Benjamin Hickey and Ellen Barkin (who both received 2011 Tony Awards for their featured performances) — the show nabbed this year’s Tony Award for Best Revival. Directed by Joel Grey and George C. Wolfe. (Golden Theatre, 252 W. 45th St., btwn. Broadway & 8th Ave., 
GO→ The Royal Shakespeare Company felt like spending the summer in New York, so they packed up their actors, crew, creatives and even their stage (!) and shipped it all to the Big Apple for a summer “vacation” at the Park Avenue Armory. Opening this week is Romeo and Juliet playing in rep with four other shows throughout the summer including As You Like It, The Winter’s Tale, King Lear and Julius Caesar. (Through Aug. 14, Park Avenue Armory, 643 Park Ave, btwn. 66th & 67th Sts., 
GO→ Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell star in “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes,” the classic movie musical based on the 1949 Broadway show of the same name, which originally starred Carol Channing. Includes the classic tunes “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend” and “Little Girl from Little Rock.” (Through August 12, The Film Forum, 209 W. Houston St., btwn. 6th & 7th Aves., 
GO (FREE)→ Have you always wanted to learn how to swing, but couldn’t afford dance lessons? Well here’s your chance to learn from the experts for free! Hudson River MoonDance provides an enchanted evening of dancing under the stars. (6:30pm, Pier 54, West St. and 14th St., 
BEFORE IT CLOSES→ Falling For Eve, featuring a book by Memphis’ Tony-winning songwriter-librettist Joe DiPietro and a score by Brett Simmons and David Howard, is a lighthearted re-telling of the story of Adam and Eve starring Ragtime’s Stephanie Umoh and Jose Llana. (York Theatre, 619 Lexington Ave., corner of 54th St., 
OPENING→ The Flying Karamazov Brothers return to the stage with a new, family-friendly show called 4Play. You may remember these juggling “brothers” from their shows on Broadway in the ’80s or their appearance on the sitcom “Seinfeld.” This new show combines the troupe’s classic campy humor and impressive musical talents with the awe-inspiring juggling that made these guys famous. (Minetta Lane Theatre, 18 Minetta Lane, btwn. 6th Ave. and MacDougal St., 
GO→ Kelli O’Hara returns to the role that nabbed her a third Tony nomination, Nellie Forbush in South Pacific. O’Hara will join former co-star Paulo Szot for the last two weeks of the show’s run at Lincoln Center, and will also be a part of a special taping for PBS on August 18. (Through August 22, Vivian Beaumont Theater, 50 Lincoln Center Plaza, 
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, 
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, 
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, 
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, 
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, 
