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Saturday, July 13
GO (FREE)→ If you're a Broadway lover with a penchant for pooches, Bernadette Peters and Mary Tyler Moore's Broadway Barks! annual adopt-a-thon is the place for you to be on Saturday! Dozens of dogs and cats from Manhattan-area shelters will invade Broadway's Shubert Alley in the hopes of finding a loving home. Broadway stars like Andrew Rannells, Michael Urie, Sigourney Weaver, Bebe Neuwirth, Billy Porter, Harvey Fierstein and more will make appearances. Peters will also be signing special editions of the Broadway Barks! posters from noon-2 PM. (3:30 PM, Shubert Alley, 44th and 45th Sts. btwn. Broadway & 8th Ave. Info.)
LAST CHANCE→ It's your last chance to swing at Lincoln Center with the annual Midsummer Night Swing. The final event of the 25th year of this well-known summer dance party includes the Harlem Renaissance Orchestra playing tunes from Count Basie, Duke Ellington and Lionel Hampton. Dancers can enjoy lessons prior to the live event. (Lessons begin at 6:30 PM, live music at 7:30 PM, Lincoln Center’s Damrosch Park, 60 Lincoln Center Plaza, 63rd St. btwn. Columbus and Amsterdam Aves., $17 general admission. Info.)
Sunday, July 14
LAST CHANCE→ Alan Cumming gives a tour-de-force performance in his adaptation of Macbeth, which finds the Tony winner playing 15 characters in the famous Shakespearean tragedy. Set in a mental ward of a hospital, the critically acclaimed, nearly solo work is co-directed by Once's John Tiffany and Andrew Goldberg. (Barrymore Theatre, 243 W. 47th St., btwn. Broadway & 8th Ave. Click here for Playbill Club discount tickets.)
OPENING→ Forever Tango, Luis Bravo's renowned dance show dedicated to the steamy, Latin dance for lovers, returns to Broadway. Karina Smirnoff and Maksim Chmerkovskiy, of "Dancing With the Stars" fame, take center stage, with Grammy-winning musician Gilberto Santa Rosa performing. (Walter Kerr Theatre, 219 W. 48th St., btwn. Broadway & 8th Ave. Click here for Playbill Club discount tickets.) Monday, July 15
GO→ Alice Ripley, Christiane Noll, Sierra Boggess, Caissie Levy, Betsy Wolfe and others join musical director Mary-Mitchell Campbell for a night dedicated to representing women songwriters. An Evening Celebrating Emerging Female Composers will feature the songs of up-and-coming talents like Jennifer Lucy Cook, Shoshana Greenberg, Kathryn Hathaway, Janine McGuire, Julia Meinwald, Nicky Phillips, Sarah M. Underwood and more. (7 PM, Helen Mills Theater, 137-139 W. 26th St., btwn. 6th & 7th Aves., $20. Info/tickets.)
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OPENING→ Bill W. and Dr. Bob returns to Off-Broadway. Patrick Boll and Timothy Crowe star as Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith — two former addicts who founded Alcoholics Anonymous after years of drinking and failed treatments. As part of the run, the play will host several “12 Steps” evenings, a series of post-show talkbacks exploring the various paths of sobriety and faith. (SoHo Playhouse, 15 Vandam, btwn. Varick St. and 6th Ave. Info/tickets.)
Wednesday, July 17
PREVIEWS→ The story of the "Rock Star Rabbi," Shlomo Carlebach (Eric Anderson), and his embracing of popular soul music via an unusual friendship with Nina Simone (Amber Iman), comes to musical life in Soul Doctor. The late Carlebach escaped Nazi Germany and went on to gain a following of millions through his popular Jewish songs. Jeremy Chess, David Schechter and Daniel S. Wise, along with contributions from Carlebach's daughter, Neshama, round out the creative team. Officially opens Aug. 15. (Circle in the Square Theatre, 1633 Broadway, at 50th St. Click here for Playbill Club discount tickets.)
GO→ Sutton Foster, Christopher Sieber, Joshua Henry and more star in a one-night-only concert production of Jeanine Tesori's musical Violet, a special presentation for the new Encores! Off-Center series. Leigh Silverman directs the story about a scarred young woman who escapes her small town on a Greyhound bus in the hopes of finding a famous TV evangelist who can cure her disfigurement. (7:30 PM, New York City Center, 131 W. 55th St., btwn. 6th & 7th Aves. Info/tickets.)
Thursday, July 18
WATCH→ Brian Stokes Mitchell, Linda Eder, Stephen Schwartz, Micky Dolenz, Marc Shaiman, Michael Cerveris, Frank Wildhorn, Nikki Blonsky, cast members from "Sesame Street" and more came together for From Broadway With Love: A Benefit Concert for Sandy Hook. Hundreds of students from the Newtown area, including members of the Sandy Hook Elementary choir, joined these stars for a night of song, with proceeds going to the Newtown-Sandy Hook Community Foundation. The concert, which was performed in January, airs Thursday on PBS and includes highlights like composer Stephen Schwartz performing "Beautiful City" from his first musical, Godspell; Brian Stokes Mitchell reprising "The Impossible Dream" from Man of La Mancha; Michael Cerveris and the Newtown High School Chamber Choir singing "Sunday," from Sunday in the Park with George; and songwriters Marc Shaiman and Scott Witman joining Hairspray star Nikki Blonsky and hundreds of dancers from the Newtown area in a Hairspray medley. (10 PM, WNET/13. Info.)
Friday, July 19
CASTING→Tony winner Faith Prince assumes the role of evil orphanage proprietress Miss Hannigan in the Broadway revival of Annie. Prince takes over for "Glee" star Jane Lynch, who plays her final performance July 14. (Palace Theatre, 1564 Broadway btwn. 46th & 47th Sts. Click here for Playbill Club discount tickets.)
GO→ The Summer Shorts annual one-act play festival returns to NYC for its seventh year, promising world-premieres from Neil LaBute, Paul Weitz, Alan Zweibel, Tina Howe and others. (Through Aug. 31, 59E59 Theaters, 59 E. 59th St., btwn. Park Ave. and Madison. Info/tickets.)
Blake Ross is the editor of Playbill magazine. Follow her on Twitter @PlaybillBlake.
Watch highlights of Broadway's Macbeth:
