BY ROB LESTER****It’s Fleet Week—and here are some related shows. KT Sullivan, Sue Matsuki, Laurie Krauz and Phoebe Legere and the musical Deployed are among the attractions, in addition to the roaming sailors and floating ships themselves. Here are a few things to check out:
On Thursday, Friday and Saturday (May 25-27), Fleet Week comes to the theatre district for the kind of show that only the navy can put on. No, not another revival of On the Town or the “Honey Bun” number from South Pacific. coming to town. No, instead of that show about sailors on leave, there will be real sailors from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm , on Broadway between West 42 and 43 Streets, U.S. Navy divers will hold demonstrations in a dive tank on the plaza in Times Square!
Also in the neighborhood on Friday, May 26, at 8:15 pm, at Don’t Tell Mama, cabaret goes Fleet Week with singer Sue Matsuki and her musical captain on the keyboard, Gregory Toroian, as they present I Got da (Navy) Blues. It’s part of their monthly series at the cabaret club. Tom Hubbard is on bass and singer Laurie Krauz is in the guest vocalist. Although it is not expected that any of them will dive into a tank during the show, there should be some relevant songs floating through the cabaret waters. The venue is at 343 West 46th Street (Between 8th & 9th) 212-757-0788 (Call after 4:00 pm) or on line at www.DontTellMamanyc.com 
Go a few avenues further west on Sunday and get on board the The Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum will be hosting the production of Natalie Lovejoy’s Deployed: A New Musical in Concert. This celebrated new production will perform selections from the show at the the museum at Pier 86, W 46th St and 12th Ave, New York, NY 10036 on Sunday, May 28 at 1:30 pm and 4:30 pm. Featuring Gregory Sullivan, Karine Hannah, Logan Hart, Adam Spiegel, and Kendrick Mitchell.
Catch the U.S. Navy Band concerts on the weekend, too, back on the streets of Times Square, Saturday at 6 and Sunday at 4 pm.
But, when you’re alone and life is making you lonely, you can always go downtown. How can you lose? The lights are much brighter there. You can forget all your troubles, forget all your cares and go downtown 6:00 pm–11:30 pm on Friday or during the day on Saturday (12-5 pm outside) or Sunday night starting at 6 pm, and intrepid night owls after the show at The Intrepid can still catch plenty of fun as the festivities go on until 1 am! Where? Glad you asked: at Theater for the New City (155 First Avenue. It’s the 22nd annual Lower East Side Festival of the Arts, a massive annual performance marathon in and around the theater. The three-day downtown arts festival, whose theme this year is “Art Versus Tyranny,” seeks to show a lively, diverse downtown arts scene. The festival includes hundreds of well-known and emerging artists ranging from theater to dance, music to movies, a street fair and art exhibit. Performance artists Phoebe Legere and Reno, cabaret singer KT Sullivan and playwright Mario Fratti are among those slated to present work this year.
Ship tours will be conducted daily throughout the week, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Staten Island.
The event includes public visitation of participating ships, military band concerts, several exhibits and aviation demonstrations throughout the week that will showcase the skilled expertise of service members.
Ship ahoy!
(At left: KT Sullivan; photo by Stacy Sullivan)
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