Also, mark your calendars for Hershey Felder’s ”A Paris Love Story”, coming November 22.
With theaters closed around the country, some companies are making their productions available online. Below, you'll find our weekly update of productions, videos, and other theater-related streaming, TV, and other content from across the US and elsewhere. Some streams are free, while others may charge a fee or request a donation. Either way, you're sure to find something to scratch your theater itch. Theaters may be dark, but the shows go on.
This Weekend
1. PBS will present the broadcast premiere of the National Theatre's One Man, Two Guvnors, starring Tony winner James Corden. Presented as part of Thirteen's Great Performances series, the taped production will be presented on Friday, November 6, at 9pm ET (check local listings). It centers on Francis Henshall, who agrees to work for a local gangster as well as a criminal in hiding, both of whom are linked in a tangled web of schemes and romantic associations, which Francis cannot keep straight. Corden won the 2012 Tony, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle Awards for his performance as Francis Henshall. For more information, click here.
2. North Coast Rep will stream Bernard Slades's Same Time, Next Year October 21-November 15. This wickedly funny comedy explores a 25-year love affair between two seemingly ordinary people who meet once a year and deftly examines the monumental political, social, and most of all, the personal changes that impact the lovers during that quarter century. Featuring married couple Bruce Turk and Kate McNichol. To purchase tickets, click here.
3. The Shed will stream the world premiere of November, a new film that pairs an examination of white male privilege in the United States with images of Black joy, freedom, and beauty. Directed by Phillip Youmans, November is written by poet and playwright Claudia Rankine with stage direction by Obie Award winner Taibi Magar. The film, commissioned and produced by The Shed, and co-produced in partnership with Tribeca Studios, debuted on Sunday, November 1, at 8pm, and will stream for free through November 7. To watch, click here.
4. Atlantic Theater Company's Fall Reunion Reading Series continues November 5-8 with Lortel and Obie Award winner Guards at the Taj by Pulitzer Prize finalist Rajiv Joseph. Tickets to the reading, which will be broadcast via Atlantic Theater Company's YouTube channel, are free and available to reserve here, with a suggested donation of $25 per viewer.
Upcoming
* The first show of Hershey Felder's new online season will be A Paris Love Story, taking place Sunday, November 22, at 8pm ET. The work casts Felder as Claude Debussy and will explore how Debussy's work (such as "Clair de Lune") helped usher in the new world of "musical impressionism." Buy tickets for A Paris Love Story here.
* The Geffen Playhouse has announced its winter 2020 lineup of digital theater, part of its Geffen Stayhouse initiative. The three world premieres are Chelsea Marcantel's Citizen Detective, The Future by Helder Guimarães, and Sri Rao's Bollywood Kitchen. For tickets and more information about Citizen Detective, click here. For tickets and more information about The Future, click here. For tickets and more information about Bollywood Kitchen, click here.
* Netflix has released the first trailer for the new movie-musical Dolly Parton's Christmas on the Square, which will be released on November 22. Christine Baranski will play Regina, with Parton playing her angel. The cast also includes Jenifer Lewis as Margeline, Treat Williams as Carl, Josh Segarra as Pastor Christian Hathaway, Jeanine Mason as Felicity, Mary Lane Haskell as Jenna Hathaway, and Matthew Johnson as Mack. Watch below:
* Manchester, England's Hope Mill Theatre will stream its new production of Jonathan Larson's Rent during weekends this holiday season. Filmed live on stage and fully edited, the rock opera will run online Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, November 27-December 20. To purchase tickets, click here.
* New York City Center will stream An Evening With Audra McDonald from December 9 at 7:30pm ET through December 16. Six-time Tony winner Audra McDonald will be joined by musical director Andy Einhorn. The intimate evening will feature golden age classics and standards from the Great American Songbook. The concert will be filmed at the venue and serve as City Center's 2020 gala presentation. Pre-show festivities will begin at 6:30pm ET for donors of $2,500 or more. General tickets, costing $35, will go on sale on November 16.
* Andrew Lincoln (The Walking Dead) will play Scrooge in the Old Vic Theatre's live-streamed A Christmas Carol this holiday season. The production, which first ran at the Old Vic four years ago and opened on Broadway last winter, will play 16 performances, December 12-24, with 80,000 tickets available for home viewing around the world. For more information, click here.
* George C. Wolfe's film adaptation of Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, the third installment in August Wilson's Century Cycle, will premiere on Netflix on December 18. It depicts the racism and exploitation in the music industry through a 1920s recording session with the legendary blues singer Ma Rainey. The film, produced by Denzel Washington and Todd Black, is led by Oscar and Tony winner Viola Davis as Ma Rainey and Chadwick Boseman, in his final screen role, as Levee. Watch the trailer below:
More Streaming Channels
* Heidi Schreck's Tony-nominated What the Constitution Means to Me is airing on Amazon Prime Video. The stage production was filmed live at the Helen Hayes Theater during the final week of its Broadway run by director Mirelle Heller. The play was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. To watch on Amazon Prime, click here.
* HBO is airing Spike Lee's filmed version of David Byrne's American Utopia. The concert, which features choreography and musical staging by Annie-B Parson, includes songs from Byrne's album American Utopia along with songs from Talking Heads and Byrne's solo career. To watch on HBO via Amazon Prime, click here.
* Lin-Manuel Miranda's blockbuster musical Hamilton streams on Disney Plus, featuring the original cast, led by Miranda as Hamilton, Leslie Odom Jr. as Aaron Burr, Daveed Diggs as Marquis de Lafayette/Thomas Jefferson, Renée Elise Goldsberry as Angelica Schuyler, Christopher Jackson as George Washington, Jonathan Groff as King George, Phillipa Soo as Eliza Hamilton, Jasmine Cephas Jones as Peggy Schuyler/Maria Reynolds, Okieriete Onaodowan as Hercules Mulligan/James Madison, and Anthony Ramos as John Laurens/Philip Hamilton. To find out how to watch, click here.
* Netflix has released Joe Mantello's film remake of Mart Crowley's The Boys in the Band. The company is made up of Jim Parsons (Michael), Zachary Quinto (Harold), Matt Bomer (Donald), Andrew Rannells (Larry), Charlie Carver (Cowboy), Robin De Jesús (Emory), Brian Hutchison (Alan), Michael Benjamin Washington (Bernard), and Tuc Watkins (Hank). In the video below, explore why The Boys in the Band continues to remain relevant today:
* Amazon Prime has released Julie Taymor's Gloria Steinem biopic The Glorias, written by Taymor and Sarah Ruhl, on its Prime Video platform. Spanning five decades, the film has multiple actors playing Steinem at various ages: Ryan Kira Armstrong as Young Gloria, Lulu Wilson as Teen Gloria, Alicia Vikander as Gloria ages 20-40, and Julianne Moore as Steinem through the present. The cast also includes Bette Midler as Bella Abzug, Janelle Monáe as Dorothy Pitman Hughes, Timothy Hutton as Leo Steinem, Lorraine Toussaint as Florynce Kennedy, Enid Graham as Ruth, Kimberly Guerrero as Wilma Mankiller, Monica Sanchez as Dolores Huerta, and Margo Moorer as Barbara Jordan. To watch, click here.