*
Saturday, October 5
TOUR→ Sally Struthers saunters into the role of Dolly Levi in the 50th anniversary tour of Hello, Dolly!, kicking off at the Edward Nash Theatre in New Jersey. Over 70 cities are planned for the tour traveling throughout the country in 2013-14. (Info/tickets.)
Sunday, October 6
OPENING→ Big Fish, the Susan Stroman-helmed musical based on the colorful 2003 Tim Burton movie of the same name, opens on Broadway. Two-time Tony winner Norbert Leo Butz stars as traveling salesman Edward Bloom, an aging father who tells “big fish tales” much to the chagrin of his wife, Sandra (Kate Baldwin), and son, Will (Bobby Steggert). Andrew Lippa writes the tunes to accompany writer John August’s story. (Neil Simon Theatre, 250 W. 52nd St., btwn. Broadway and 8th Ave. Click here for Playbill Club discount tickets.)
Monday, October 7
GO→ A gaggle of Broadway’s best wish the legendary Chita Rivera a happy 80th birthday with a one-night-only concert benefiting Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. Terrence McNally writes and Graciela Daniele directs Chita: A Legendary Celebration, which will feature appearances and performances by Rivera, Tommy Tune, Ben Vereen and dancers from Kiss of the Spider Woman, The Dancer's Life and Kinky Boots. (8 PM, August Wilson Theatre, 245 W. 52nd St., btwn. 8th & 9th Aves. Info/tickets.)
GO (FREE)→ Catch up with Tony winner Tyne Daly at a free public chat with the Master Class, Gypsy and “Cagney & Lacey” star. Daly will discuss her life on the stage with John Fahey. Presented in conjunction with The League of Professional Theatre Women. (6 PM, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Bruno Walter Auditorium, 65th & Amsterdam Ave. Info.)
 |
 |
|
| Jessie Mueller |
OPENING (CA)→ Beautiful: The Carole King Musical will open its pre-Broadway tryout at San Francisco’s Curran Theatre prior to its run at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre next month. Tony nominee Jessie Mueller stars as the titular songstress who penned some of the greatest love songs of her day, including “Natural Woman,” “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?,” “I Feel the Earth Move” and “Beautiful.” (Through Oct. 20, Curan Theatre, 445 Geary Street, San Francisco, CA. Info/tickets.)
Wednesday, October 9
LAST CHANCE→ It’s your last chance to catch Cicely Tyson in her Tony Award-winning turn in Horton Foote’s The Trip to Bountiful. Vanessa Williams co-stars along with Tyson in Foote’s touching play that follows an elderly woman, tired of living with her son and daughter-in-law, who travels to her hometown of Bountiful in order to reconnect with her roots. (Stephen Sondheim Theatre, 124 W. 43rd St., btwn. 6th & 7th Aves. Click here for Playbill Club discount tickets.)
PREVIEWS→ The buzz on David Adjmi's Marie Antoinette, starring downtown theatre wunderkind and Tony nominee Marin Ireland, has been strong enough to warrant an extension despite it not even being open yet! Rebecca Taichman directs the fantastical tale based on France’s infamous young queen. Soho Rep promises 99-cent tickets to select Sunday performances as part of their 99-cent Sundays program. Officially opens Oct. 20. (Soho Rep, 46 Walker St., btwn. Broadway & Church Sts. Info/tickets.)
Thursday, October 10
OPENING→ The music of rock and soul pioneer Janis Joplin is at the center of the aptly-titled A Night With Janis Joplin. Mary Bridget-Davies gives an eerily accurate performance as the eponymous rocker who ruled the music scene in the 1960s before her untimely death at the age of 27. Expect famous Joplin tunes like “Piece of My Heart,” “Mercedes Benz,” the Gershwins’ “Summertime” and “Cry Baby.” (Lyceum Theatre, 149 W. 45th St., btwn., 6th & 7th Aves. Click here for Playbill Club discount tickets.)
TOUR→ The Stephen King-John Mellencamp-T Bone Burnett musical Ghost Brothers of Darkland County hits the road on a Midwest and Southeast tour launching in Bloomington, IN. Tony nominee Emily Skinner and Bruce Greenwood star in the macabre southern rock and folk musical. (Indiana University Auditorium, 1211 E. 7th St. Bloomington, IN. Info/tickets.)
Friday, October 11
GO→ The story behind getting Green Day’s American Idiot to Broadway is the subject of the new documentary "Broadway Idiot." Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong is front and center in this doc that goes from the rehearsal room to opening night to Armstrong’s own appearance in the musical. (On Demand in the US and Canada and in NYC theatres, opens wide Oct. 18. Info.)
PREVIEWS→ “That 70’s Show” star Debra Jo Rupp is famous sex therapist Dr. Ruth Westheimer in Becoming Dr. Ruth. Westheimer, who fled Nazi Germany as a child to come to America and become a radio and TV personality, is the latest subject to fall under writer and historical fiction buff Mark St. Germain’s theatrical microscope. Officially opens Oct. 29. (Westside Theatre, 407 W. 43rd St., Click here for Playbill Club discount tickets.)
Blake Ross is the editor of Playbill magazine. Follow her on Twitter @PlaybillBlake.
Watch Playbill Video's highlights of Big Fish:
