Here's a list of the best (in this reviewer's humble opinion) currently running shows on Broadway to blow away all those summertime blues.
Death Becomes Her
If you want to see what gifted comedy actors can do with a Broadway musical (based on a hit film), then you can't go wrong with "Death Becomes Her."
You know the story about the two fading beauties who take supernatural steps to stay young, but nothing will prepare you for the high levels of camp and chaos hitting the stage in this glorious over-the-top romp.
Featuring two all-electric performances from the leads Megan Hilty as Madeline Ashton and Jennifer Simard as Helen Sharp, it's a festival of wit and bitter wisecracks from start to finish.
Camp, caustic, and clever, the book and the songs work in service to the plot: how hard it is for two ambitious dames to make it in a man's world without a little help from above (or is that below?)
Add Grammy winner Michelle Williams to the mix as an untrustworthy maker of dreams that don't quite come true and you have the makings of a truly fun night out. If you only see one Broadway show this summer, make it this one.
Gypsy
Multiple Tony winner Audra McDonald's performance as Mama Rose in "Gypsy" has the stuff of legend in it. Watching her own the stage in Stephen Sondheim's classic show is an I-Was-There moment you will tell your loved ones about in decades to come. You have two weeks left to catch it before the show closes on August 17.
This is not your by-the-numbers production of the now classic show, but instead – in McDonald's hands – it's an incendiary portrayal of the price demanded by one woman's American Dream, which her character pursues year after year with the kind of focus that can burn holes in the people that get in her way. It's an electrifying and unforgettable performance.
Just In Time
Jonathan Groff seems to believe in the power of Broadway the way Peter Pan believes in Never Never Land, and five minutes into this foot-tapping night on the tiles, you will understand why.
Based on the life and music of the 1960s icon Bobby Darin, it's an all-singing all all-dancing celebration of his impressive contribution to the American songbook.
But it's also a chance to catch one of Broadway's brightest lights in a vehicle that seems designed for him to elevate to the stratosphere. Funny, affecting, full of tunes that will light up your night, and far more moving than you anticipate, it's a perfect night out and a time machine to an age when America understood its own assignment: wow 'em.
Hell's Kitchen
Based on the impressive pop catalogue of Alicia Keys, this jukebox musical manages the rare trick of telling a compelling and emotionally coherent semi-autobiographical story of her rise to fame in the 1990s.
But it's the performances and the sheer heart under the hood that you won't forget, with a helicopter dad who only stays long enough to break your heart all over, a girl crush on a drummer that hits the rights notes and a piano teacher called Miss Liza Jane (played by the gifted Kecia Lewis) who sees every thread of the fabric that has brought this young pupil to her doors, it's a gorgeous and black bohemian night out.
The Outsiders
Remember how to stay gold with S.E. Hinton's classic story that pits the preppy Socs against the poor kids Greasers in a (for the time) surprisingly blistering coming of age tale.
The Broadway version is faithful and affecting to the original material with particularly strong and anchoring turns provided by Brody Grant as Ponyboy Curtis and Sky Lakota-Lynch as Johnny Cade.
The music is delightful and in service to the deep emotions this story stir, highlighting the utter pointlessness of the from the cradle hostility that exists between the people born on either side of the tracks. You'll be so moved by the this sweeping tale that you'll think about if for days after.
Chicago
I confidently predict there'll be a production of this classic John Kander and Fred Ebb musical playing on Broadway in 500 years, so why fight it? If you've already seen it, you need to return stat, and if you are one of the few people left on earth who still haven't, then get on down to the Ambassador theatre to catch this 1920s set caper filled with booze, broads, and bad manners. It's endured this long because it's a foundational text of how to write the perfect musical.