Rory Kinnear’s Hamlet: Sondheim tested/Sondheim approved…The Osmonds take Manhattan… Michael Feinstein, swingin' in the festivities… and the 22nd Annual Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS’ Gypsy of the Year Competition!

I’m dreaming of a Broadway Christmas!
Blake

Saturday, Dec. 4
GO (KIDS)? The timeless fairytale “Beauty & the Beast” has gone to the puppets thanks to the puppet masters at Puppetworks. This French fantasy features music by the classic composer Jules Massenet and marionettes designed by puppeteer Nicolas Coppola. Can’t make it to Brooklyn? Head to Puppetworks’ Manhattan shop at Macy’s Puppet Theatre for the Christmas classic Miracle on 34th Street, which features the voices of Tony winners Brian Stokes Mitchell and Victoria Clark. (Beauty & the Beast playing through Dec. 19, 338 Sixth Ave., Brooklyn, $7/child, group rates available. Manhattan location at Macy’s Herald Square, through Dec. 24, $5/ticket, group rates available, click here for info on both shows)

Sunday, Dec. 5
LAST CHANCE? Jeremy Sisto stars as an air traffic controller tasked with talking a passenger-driven plane to a safe landing after its pilot suffers a heart attack in Beau Willimon’s Spirit Control. (NY City Center, Stage I, 131 W. 55th St., Click here for Playbill Club discount tickets)
Monday, Dec. 6
GO? Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS’ Gypsy of the Year competition enters its 22nd year of being one of Broadway’s most time-honored traditions. After six weeks of industry-wide fundraising, companies from different Broadway, Off-Broadway and touring productions come together to put on a grand affair! This year’s show features an opening number by the inimitable Carol Channing with celebrity presenters including Cherry Jones (Mrs. Warren’s Profession), T.R. Knight (A Life in the Theatre), Judith Light (Lombardi), Bernadette Peters (A Little Night Music), David Hyde Pierce (La Bête), Billy Porter (Angels in America), Colin Quinn (Long Story Short) and Elizabeth Stanley (Million Dollar Quartet). (4:30 PM and Dec. 7 at 2 PM, New Amsterdam Theatre, 214 W. 42nd St., btwn. Broadway & 8th Aves., info/tickets or call 212-840-0770 Ext. 268)

GO (FREE)? AracaWorks' five-day series of new play readings features a starry ensemble including Aaron Tveit, T.R. Knight, Michael McGrath, Chris Coffey and other actors known on the New York theatre scene. The series includes works by newcomers Greg Kotis, Catherine Trieschmann, Robert Zander Norman, Ayad Akhtar and Andrew Hinderaker (whose Suicide, Incorporated is directed by Tony-winning director Doug Hughes). (7 PM, Through Dec. 10, The Black Box Theatre in the Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre, 111 W. 46th St., btwn. 6th and 7th Aves., info)

GO/WATCH? Kristin Chenoweth hosts “A More Perfect Union: Stories of Prejudice and Power,” an evening of storytelling dedicated to combating discrimination. USA Network's Characters Unite program joins forces with the non-profit organization The Moth to create the evening, which will feature Chenoweth, Peter Gallagher, Mos, Dulé Hill, Tom Brokaw and Barney's creative director Simon Doonan (among other notables) sharing personal experiences of facing bigotry and discrimination. (7:30 PM, New York Public Library, this event is currently sold-out, but can be viewed online at Charactersunite.com)

Tuesday, Dec. 7
GO? A few blocks south of the theatre district is New York City’s fashion district, so it’s only natural that their worlds collide every now and again. The New York Public Library special exhibit “On Stage in Fashion” features a collection of garments, sketches, photographs and media from fashion’s heyday on the stage, when big-name fashion designers such as Coco Chanel, Bill Blass, Christian Lacroix and Halston designed for the Broadway stage and beyond. The collection also features the work of contemporary fashion icons such as Isaac Mizrahi and Norma Kamali, who have both collaborated with choreographer Twyla Tharp for stage creations. (Through Jan. 22, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center, Donald and Mary Oenslager Gallery, 40 Lincoln Center Plaza, info)

Wednesday, Dec. 8
GO? If you haven’t gotten your Beatles fill with the Broadway show Rain, currently running at the Neil Simon, head over to The Paley Center for Media for “This Boy Lennon,” a series of documentaries about the group’s most outspoken member, John Lennon. This tribute is in celebration of what would have been Lennon’s 70th birthday. (Through Dec. 31, The Paley Center for Media, 25 W. 52nd St., btwn. 5th & 6th Aves., info/tickets)

Thursday, Dec. 9
OPENING? Celebrate the holidays with America’s most cheerful brother-sister team, Donny and Marie Osmond. The pair promises to transform the “Osmond Family Christmas” — made famous courtesy of their 1970s TV variety shows — into a big, Broadway spectacular. (Through Dec. 30, Marquis Theatre, Broadway & 46th St., Click here for Playbill Club discount tickets)

WATCH? Theatre god Stephen Sondheim has called the Nicholas Hytner's production of Shakespere’s Hamlet, which played at London’s National Theatre, the “most enjoyable evening in the theatre.” Talk about a ringing endorsement! Theatre-lovers on this side of the Atlantic will get their chance to experience this knock-out production, starring Rory Kinnear as the doomed Prince of Denmark, courtesy of the National Theatre Live series. Special screenings will take place throughout the U.S. in select movie theatres. (Click here for screening locations/dates/times)

Friday, Dec. 10
GO? Michael Feinstein returns to his cabaret namesake for Swing In The Holidays featuring the crooner with a stunning 12-piece big band. The show promises holiday and classic standards as well as a tribute to Jerry Herman, who will celebrate his 80th birthday next year. (Through Dec. 30, Feinstein’s at Loews Regency, 540 Park Ave., at 61st St., info/tickets)