City Picks: Broadway, Archive, Underneath the Lintel, Hunter Family Crest

THEATER | Broadway on John Street

Going to New York City to see a Broadway show, with today’s economic situation, is not a reasonable venture. The show tickets alone — never mind plane tickets and hotel reservations — would burn deep holes into anyone’s pocket. So instead, check out Broadway Showstoppers at the Charleston Music Hall, where for the price of the nosebleed seats at the Majestic Theater, you can see and hear the best of Broadway. Brad and Jennifer Moranz, both vets of the Great White Way, created the revue originally for the American Music Theatre in Lancaster, Pa. It ran there for five months, receiving standing ovations every night. Brad Moranz says they “researched every popular Broadway show that has ever occurred,” which led them to choose an excellent and well-varied set list. The audience can look forward to songs by Gershwin, Rodgers and Hammerstein, and yes, even ABBA. “There is such a warm reaction to so many favorites,” Moranz says. How can you not be thrilled by seeing “Memory” from Cats and “Who Loves You” from Jersey Boys in the course of one evening? —Susan Cohen Through July 13. $31.50, $28.50/seniors, military, $21.50/students, $19.50/kids 12 and under, (800) 514-3849, www.charlestonmusichall.com. Charleston Music Hall, 37 John St.

THEATER | Adventures of a librarian

Underneath the Lentel, written by Glen Berger, is returning to PURE after a successful run at Piccolo Spoleto 2006, when it was deemed the Best One-Person Play by our critics in Best of Charleston. It’s the tale of a librarian hero who finds a 113-year overdue book, Baedeker’s Travel Guide, which sparks a life-altering journey across the world in search of the culprit with the belated fine. The librarian, played by Rodney Lee Rogers, experiences life in many cultures from the town of Hoofddorp in The Netherlands, to China, Australia, Germany, and America. He sees Les Miserables in three languages, learns to swing dance, tastes marzipan, and muses about the life that he just started to truly live. PURE Director Sharon Graci says in the press release, “Underneath the Lentel is one of my favorite plays that PURE has produced.” The theater doesn’t usually reopen plays that have already been performed, but with Lentil, the time, talent, and the opportunity are available for a reopening. Lucky us. PURE is sponsoring two “Pay-What-You-Can” performances, one for the preview night of July 9, and another on July 23. —Caitlin Baker Through July 25, 7:30 p.m. $25, (843) 723-4444, www.puretheatre.org. Circular Congregational Church, 150 Meeting St. (843) 577-6400, www.circularchurch.org.

COMEDY | Cool off with some comedy

After a mini summer vacay, Theatre 99 is back in action, and they’ve got visitors. Chicago’s iO Theater brought down some impressive acts for Piccolo Fringe in May (The Reckoning, I Live Next Door to Horses), and the company returns with another offering that’s sure to be just as hilarious. Hunter Family Crest is a one-year-old improv group featuring nine members specializing in the Harold. Don’t remember your Spoleto comedy primer? Basically, they take a one-word audience suggestion and run with it. They’ll perform three scenes, followed by an onstage game, followed by three more scenes. We had trouble digging up much more info on the group (they’re from Chicago, they perform improv), but judging from their lineage (iO has been home to greats like Bill Murray, Mike Myers, and Tina Fey) they will be funny. And you can’t beat this non-Spoleto price. —Erica Jackson July 11-12, 10 p.m. $10. Theatre 99, 280 Meeting St. (843) 853-6687, www.thehavenots.com.

MUSIC | Just stringin’ along

The concert music scene slows down quite a bit in the summer months, but Chamber Music Charleston doesn’t want fans to go hungry. On Monday, Chamber Music Charleston’s string quartet will perform a Kiawah Island House Concert at the Hilstad Home (22 Marsh Edge Lane). Then on Tuesday, you can catch the second installment of the Old Exchange Summer Concert Series. After a wine and cheese reception at 6 p.m., the string quartet will perform in the historic Great Hall, where George Washington enjoyed similar music back in the day. Make like a historical figure as the stringy sounds wash over you — the program includes music from Prokofiev and Beethoven, and it should last about an hour. The final concert of the Old Exchange Series is Aug. 19. CMC founder Sandra Nikolajevs tells us that the series is really catching on, so reserve your tix today. —Erica Jackson Mon., July 14, 7 p.m. $25, (843) 763-4941

ART | An impressive archive

One thing that frequenters of art openings can come to expect, besides wine and cheese and well-dressed hipsters, is the show’s out-there title. Something fancy and esoteric that most people are probably only pretending to understand. But at Tim Hussey’s Archive, what you read is what you get. It is literally, fully, and completely an archive of Hussey’s work: paintings from the last eight years and photography from the past year. Hussey says he has no particular theme, but he will show how his different works overlap. The two mediums will be split in the Trusted Palate, with 16-18 paintings displayed in the front of the wine bar and 25 photographs in the back. In his 15 years as an artist, Hussey has worked in graphic design, illustration, fine art, and photography. “Each time I go to one, I bring back something new to the other,” he said. The genres influence each other in Hussey’s work; for example, at the show, both painted and photographed portraits will be on view. —Susan Cohen July 16-Aug. 13, 7-9 p.m. (843) 343-1645, www.husseyart.com. The Trusted Palate, 563 King St. (843) 577-7271

Next week: Midnight Mystery Ride III, Reggae Nights @ James Island, Comedy Night at the Windjammer, First Turtle Release!