Theater News

Simply Sondheim and Hershey Felder's Before Fiddler This Weekend; See What Else Is Streaming

Josh Groban’s Valentine’s Day concert is coming up soon; get your tickets for romance now.


THIS WEEKEND


Nathan Lane as Roy Cohn in Angels in America
Nathan Lane as Roy Cohn in Angels in America
(© Helen Maybanks)

The Tony-winning revival of Tony Kushner's Angels in America has joined the lineup of National Theatre at Home, the official streaming service of London's National Theatre. Marianne Elliott's production was filmed during its 2017 run at the National, prior to its Broadway engagement the next year. The filmed Angels in America features nearly the exact same cast lineup as the New York run, led by Nathan Lane and Andrew Garfield as Roy Cohn and Prior Walter, respectively, roles for which they would eventually win Tonys. To watch, subscribe here. The full production is also available as an audio play, which you can purchase here.


Hershey Felder stars as Sholem Aleichem in Before Fiddler — Live From Florence, running for one night only on February 7. Before the beloved musical Fiddler on the Roof, there was Sholem Aleichem and his beloved character of "Tevye the Milkman." Before the beloved songs "Tradition," "If I Were a Rich Man," "Matchmaker," and more, there was music of the Old World … a music that imitated talking, laughing, weeping, and singing, where musicians didn't just make music, they spoke to you in song — Klezmer. In Florence, Italy, one of the oldest artistic centers in the world, a group of such musicians have been, by day, virtuosos in Florence's world famous Maggio Musicale symphony orchestra; by night, they are the Klezmerata Forientina … with their ancient European roots, and Hershey Felder as their storyteller, playing an array of characters and music from the "Old World," from a Tevyeh, to a Yenteh, to a Rabbi, to a newlywed daughter, to many many more … Purchase includes the live stream and a week of ON DEMAND viewing access to the recording of the live stream (through 2/14). For tickets, click here.


Emily Skinner and Solea Pfeiffer in Simply Sondheim
Emily Skinner and Solea Pfeiffer in Simply Sondheim
(© Christopher Mueller)

Signature Theatre's streaming production of Simply Sondheim will be available February 2-March 26. Created for Signature Theatre in 2015 by Eric Schaeffer and David Loud, the musical revue features 30 Sondheim songs, including "Finishing the Hat," "Losing My Mind," "Another Hundred People," and more, with new orchestrations for 16 instruments by Jonathan Tunick. The 12-member cast includes Norm Lewis, Solea Pfeiffer, Conrad Ricamora, Emily Skinner, Nicholas McDonough, Donna Migliaccio, Christopher Mueller, Katie Mariko Murray, Tracy Lynn Olivera, Paul Scanlan, Awa Sal Secka, and Bobby Smith. The production was filmed over the course of three days at Signature's MAX Theatre with multiple safety protocols in place. For tickets and more information, click here.


The cast and creative team of While I Yet Live, with Billy Porter and his family
The cast and creative team of While I Yet Live, with Billy Porter and his family
(© David Gordon)

Play-PerView will present a reunion reading of Billy Porter's play While I Yet Live, available February 6-10. Directed by Sheryl Kaller, the reading will reunite the original off-Broadway cast of the drama, made up of Elain Graham, Sheria Irving, Emmy winner S. Epatha Merkerson, Kevyn Morrow, Larry Powell, Sharon Washington, and Tony winner Lillias White. The work premiered at Primary Stages in 2014, and proceeds from the reading will benefit the '''Actors Fund'' Covid-19 Emergency Relief Fund​. For tickets, click
here.


Patrese D. McClain
Patrese D. McClain
(handout image)

Syracuse Stage will present a streamed production of Anna Deavere Smith's Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992, directed by Steve H. Broadnax III and featuring Chicago-based actor Patrese D. McClain. Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992 explores the aftermath of the Rodney King riots, featuring 37 characters all played by McClain. The play is created from more than 300 interviews conducted by Smith in the years following the incident. Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992 will stream February 3-14. For tickets and more information, click here.


The Al Hirschfeld Foundation celebrates Black History Month with its latest online exhibition, Amplified Dignity: Black Dancers Drawn by Hirschfeld. The exhibition, which will be available though March 13, features Hirschfeld's reflections of legendary 20th-century artists including Sammy Davis Jr., Josephine Baker, Nicholas Brothers, Bunny Briggs, Judith Jamison, Hinton Battle, Maurice Hines, and Honi Coles. To view the collection, click here.


Shakespeare Theatre Company is streaming Tony nominee Patrick Page's All the Devils Are Here: How Shakespeare Invented the Villain through July 28. Page explores how Shakespeare created the treacherous characters we all love to hate. Read our interview with the Hadestown star here, and watch the show's trailer above. For tickets and more information, click here.


SHOWS ON THE HORIZON


Brandy and Whitney Houston in Cinderella
Brandy and Whitney Houston in Cinderella
(© Disney)

The much-loved 1997 Wonderful World of Disney presentation of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella, starring Brandy and Whitney Houston, will come to Disney Plus beginning Friday, February 12. Cinderella stars Brandy in the title role and Houston as her Fairy Godmother, alongside Whoopie Goldberg as Queen Constantina, Bernadette Peters as the evil Stepmother, Paolo Montalbán as Prince Christopher, Victor Garber as King Maximillian, Jason Alexander as Lionel, Natalie Desselle as Minerva, and Veanne Cox as Calliope. To watch, sign up for Disney Plus here.


Judy Collins
Judy Collins
(© David Gordon)

The Town Hall will present a special streaming event where beloved singer Judy Collins re-creates her legendary 1964 New York City concert hall debut. The concert was filmed live on the stage at Town Hall, and the show will stream on February 12 at 8pm ET. Tickets are $40, the cost of which reflects Collins's desire to keep her band, crew, and technical staff employed during the pandemic. For tickets and more information, click here.


John Lloyd Young's Vegas Valentine will stream live from the Space in Las Vegas on February 12 at 9pm ET. The pay-per-view concert is $30 and the concert with VIP virtual after-party is $100 beginning at 10:45pm ET. The concert will be available OnDemand for one week following the live performance. For tickets and more information, click here.


Michael Urie, Ann Harada, Constance Shulman, and Colby Lewis in Smithtown
Clockwise from top left: Michael Urie, Ann Harada, Constance Shulman, and Colby Lewis in Smithtown
(image provided by the production)

Michael Urie, Ann Harada, Colby Lewis, and Constance Shulman will star in a virtual production of the new play Smithtown, written by Drew Larimore and directed by Stephen Kitsakos. Smithtown follows four residents of a fictional Midwestern university town who unwittingly become victims of technology gone awry. The 65-minute play is presented by the Studios of Key West. The play will stream online February 13-27. For tickets, click here.


Sam Tutty, Emily Redpath, and Sir Derek Jacobi will star in a new film version of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, shot under Covid-19 regulations and to be released online in time for Valentine's Day. It will stream February 13-20, with a portion of the proceeds going to Acting for Others. For tickets and more information, click here.


Josh Groban
Josh Groban
(© David Gordon)

Josh Groban's latest live-streamed concert will be a romantic one, taking place on Valentine's Day, February 14, at 8pm ET. On Instagram, Groban teased that the "rip roarin'" concert will feature "tons of songs I've rarely (or never!) done." The new show will air in multiple timezones, with on-demand playback for up to 48 hours from the start time. For tickets and more information, click here.


Marsha Mason
Marsha Mason
(handout image)

Keen Company has announced casting for its upcoming benefit presentation of Lucille Fletcher's audio thriller Sorry, Wrong Number, taking place February 15 at 7pm ET. The production will be led by Marsha Mason, Heidi Armbruster, Chuck Cooper, Jasminn Johnson, and Matt Saldivar. The evening will also include a "surprise pre-show" and a talkback following the performance. For tickets and more information, click here.


Actors from Broadway and London's West End team up for the Shakespeare@ Home, all-free radio play Julius Caesar, which launches February 22 at 7pm ET. Tony-nominated actor Patrick Page (Hadestown) stars in the title role with Jordan Barbour (Broadway's The Inheritance) as Brutus, Sky Lakota Lynch (Dear Evan Hansen) as Lucius, and Keith Hamilton Cobb (American Moor) as Cassius. Julius Caesar is one of Shakespeare's best known and most often quoted plays, chronicling the political and moral crisis of Brutus and his fellow conspirators as they plot to murder Caesar to prevent a dictatorship. Debut dates for parts 2, 3, and 4 of Julius Caesar are subsequent Mondays at 7pm EST on March 1 and 8. The final episode will premiere on March 15.


John Lithgow, Shoshana Bean, and Daniel Breaker
John Lithgow, Shoshana Bean, and Daniel Breaker
(© David Gordon)

John Lithgow, Shoshana Bean, and Daniel Breaker are among the artists to be featured in the second part of Myths and Hymns, a new digital adaptation of Adam Guettel's theatrical song cycle presented by MasterVoices. The free production, conceived and supervised by artistic director Ted Sperling, will premiere on February 24 at 6:30pm ET. More information can be found here.


Maulik Pancholy
Maulik Pancholy
(© Tricia Baron)

Maulik Pancholy will star in a streaming production of Becky Mode's solo show Fully Committed, available March 23-April 11. Fully Committed is based on characters created by Mode and original star Mark Setlock. Pancholy will play more than 40 characters in the work, which follows a day in the life of Sam, a reservation-line receptionist at one of New York's trendiest restaurants. Ticketing information to come.


CURRENTLY RUNNING


The Geffen Theatre is streaming Bollywood Kitchen now through March 6. In this interactive production, filmmaker and cookbook author Sri Rao invites us to prepare a homemade Indian meal along with him, drawing on the recipes that were staples at his family's table. As we join him in cooking these delicious dishes in our very own kitchens, Sri interweaves the story of his parents immigrating to America, the joy and nourishment that Bollywood musicals brought to his whole family, and the culinary traditions they shared. To read our review, click here. For tickets and more information, click here and watch the video above.


MasterVoices is presenting a new digital film series inspired by Adam Guettel's song cycle Myths and Hymns. Conceived by artistic director Ted Sperling, Myths and Hymns is divided into four chapters. The first edition of the digital series, titled "Flight," premieres January 13 at 6:30pm ET on the MasterVoices YouTube channel and will be available through June 30. It will include the songs "Prometheus," performed by Anderson & Roe; "Saturn Returns: The Flight," performed by Joshua Henry; "Icarus," performed by Mykal Kilgore and Norm Lewis; "Migratory V," performed by Julia Bullock, Renée Fleming, and Kelli O'Hara; "Pegasus," performed by Jose Llana, Capathia Jenkins, and Elizabeth Stanley; and "Jesus, the Mighty Conqueror," performed by Take 6. Watch the video above.


The UK's Creation Theatre Rep Company is now streaming Grimm Tales for Fragile Times and Broken People. The show brings a feast of storytelling inspired by the fairy tales from Brothers Grimm. Set in a distorted world of hand-crafted toy theaters, reinvented and reinterpreted for the digital stage, this production features a collection of gruesome fairy tales including "The Juniper Tree," "The Moon," and "Godfather Death." Shows until February 14 will be performed live in Zoom. Performances from February 24 to March 13 will be a live experience of a recorded show. Suitable for ages 12 and up. This production involves themes of death which may be upsetting to some audience members. For tickets and more information, click here.


Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company is streaming Hi, Are You Single? through February 28. The show is described as follows: "Ryan has a higher sex drive than you. He also has cerebral palsy. You can often find him on Grindr or at your local inaccessible gay bar. Join writer/performer Ryan J. Haddad on his search to find love." For tickets and more information, click here.