Of Thee I Sing (and dance and act!)
Blake

Friday, February 19th
GO? Billie Holiday died in 1959 at the age of 45. She lived a life of alcohol-and-drug-induced excess, but like many artists who met an untimely death, the work she left behind is what most people remember her for. Her last performance (in May of '59), as witnessed by playwright Reenie Upchurch, is what is documented in Yesterdays: An Evening with Billie Holiday. The songs that made her famous (including "My Man" and "Yesterdays") are featured in the show, as are the demons that made her infamous. Vanessa Rubin stars as Holiday, Woodie King, Jr. directs. (Through Feb. 21, National Black Theatre, 2031 Fifth Avenue, at 125th Street, $20, call 1-866-811-4111 for tickets)

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Saturday, February 20th
OPENING? Stunning soprano Anna Netrebko stars in the classic Puccini opera La Bohème, (as imagined by the legendary Franco Zeffirelli) at the Met. (Through March 20, The Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, Columbus Avenue between 62nd and 65th Streets, info/tickets)

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Sunday, February 21st:
OPENING? As the old saying goes, we all want to "keep up with the Joneses," but who exactly are the Joneses? Bruce Norris' Clybourne Park explores the many different types of "Joneses" that make up a Chicago community as it moves from a mostly white neighborhood in the 1950s to a multi-racial community of today. Inspired by Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun, Clybourne Park takes a darkly comedic and provocative look at how society's feelings towards race and gentrification have (or have not) changed. (Through March 7, Playwrights Horizons Mainstage, 416 West 42nd Street, Click here for Playbill Club discount tickets)

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="166" caption="1994 revival of Show Boat directed by Harold Prince"][/caption]

Monday, February 22nd
GO? Town Hall’s Broadway By The Year series returns with Broadway Musicals of 1927, which includes songs from Show Boat, Hit the Deck!, the Ziegfeld Follies and others, sung by some of Broadway’s biggest voices, including Chad Kimball (Memphis), Christopher Fitzgerald and Kate Baldwin (Finian’s Rainbow) and Ragtime's Quentin Earl Darrington, Christiane Noll, and Bobby Steggert. (8pm, The Town Hall, 123 West 43rd Street, between Sixth Avenue and Broadway, $45-$55, info/tickets)

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GO? Len Cariou, Raul Esparza, Tony Goldwyn, Julia Murney, Becki Newton, Tituss Burgess, Lea Salonga, Bruce Vilanch and a host of other Broadway celebs throw caution (and convention) to the wind for the Fifth Annual Broadway Backwards concert, which benefits Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center on 13th Street. As per usual, expect some great "gender-bending" performances with women singing songs written for men and vice versa. Florence Henderson is back as host. (8pm, Lincoln Center Theater at the Vivian Beaumont, 50 Lincoln Square Plaza, info/tickets)

GO? The Theater for the New City hosts its seventh annual Love 'n Courage benefit, which this year will honor Eli Wallach and Anne Jackson (who also celebrate their 62nd wedding anniversary next month). The evening boasts performances by Laura Linney, F. Murray Abraham, Elaine Stritch, Marian Seldes and the honorees themselves. Hosted by Charles Busch and Julie Halston. (7:30pm, The National Arts Club, 15 Gramercy Park South, $125 (tax deductible), info/tickets)

Tuesday, February 23rd

GO? The New York City Ballet celebrates the work of one of its most prolific members with the return of All Robbins, a show featuring famous Jerome Robbins choreography. Expected pieces from West Side Story, and Dances at a Gathering, his ballet masterpiece set to the music of Chopin. (From Feb. 18-February 24, David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center, Columbus Avenue and 63rd Street, info/tickets)

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Wednesday, February 24th
GO (FESTIVAL)? The FRIGID Festival kicks off its fourth year of bringing New Yorkers out of the cold and entertaining them with over 150 different performances in three spaces in downtown NYC. (Through March 7, Full Schedule of Events)

Thursday, February 25th
GO (FREE)? Great Evenings in the Great Hall will celebrate the 150th Anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s “Right Makes Might” speech with a reading (at the very same lectern Lincoln used) by Oscar winner Richard Dreyfuss, Tony winner André DeShields, former Gov. Mario Cuomo, Kathleen Chalfant and Stephen Lang. (6:30pm, arrive at 4pm for free tickets, Cooper Union’s Foundation Building, East 7th Street between 3rd and 4th Avenues, info)