Theater News

8 Shows and Events to Check Out This Week, Including Patrick Stewart in Macbeth

Plus, look for the documentary ”Fiddler: A Miracle of Miracles” and an online production of the Pulitzer-winning ”Talley’s Folly”.

| New York City |

November 12, 2020

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 Week

1. Fueled by the urgency of our present moment, The Commissary, a multigenerational collective of more than 40 theatre artists, have come together to reinvestigate the words of trailblazing artists and activists who survived and created in times of revolution in our country. Baldwin. Giovanni. Davis. Lorde. Hansberry. Rustin. Hamer. a cohort of actors channel historic conversations, interviews and speeches, listening to original broadcasts on an in-ear feed and speaking exactly what they hear. In bringing these words to new life in the present, they ask what these voices can teach us about our country now and the opportunity for true change that stands before us. The series runs now through November 29. For tickets and to view the full schedule, click here.


2. PBS will air Fiddler: A Miracle of Miracles, a documentary about the creation and history of Fiddler on the Roof, on Friday, November 13, at 9pm (check local listings).

Zero Mostel as Tevye in the original Broadway production of Fiddler on the Roof
Zero Mostel as Tevye in the original Broadway production of Fiddler on the Roof
(photo provided by Roadside Attractions and Samuel Goldwyn Films)


3. Kate Hamill and Jason O'Connell star in Lanford Wilson's 1980 Pulitzer Prize-winning Valentine of a play, Talley's Folly. On July 4, 1944, Matt Friedman, a 40 Jewish accountant and in love for the first time in his life, drives 200 miles to the heart of Missouri farm country to propose to Sally Talley, ten years younger and seemingly not interested. Married couple Hamill and O'Connell star in a production fully staged and filmed in Stage's Archbold Theatre. For tickets, click here. Read our review here.

Kate Hamill and Jason O'Connell in Talley's Folly
Kate Hamill and Jason O'Connell in Talley's Folly
(© Mike Davis)


4. North Coast Rep will stream Bernard Slades's Same Time, Next Year through 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.

Kate McNichol and Bruce Turk in Same Time, Next Year
Kate McNichol and Bruce Turk in Same Time, Next Year


5. On November 14 and 15, over 100 global theater community leaders, from Broadway and beyond, come together when the TheaterMakers Studio presents the fourth annual TheaterMakers Summit. This year, the event will be held virtually for attendees and speakers. Co-hosted by Olivier Award winner Sierra Boggess and Tony Award winner James Monroe Iglehart, and featuring keynote speaker Christopher Jackson, the TheaterMakers Summit is the destination for all theater makers. This two-day event aims to unite aspiring writers, producers, directors, actors, and other theater professionals and fans alike with industry leaders to learn about and discuss the business of Broadway. For a complete schedule of events and participants and to secure your seat, click here.


6. The All Arts channel will present a free stream of Dael Orlandersmith's Until the Flood beginning on Sunday, November 15. The solo show will have its premiere that night at 8pm on the All Arts station and will be available for free thereafter on the network's website and app. To watch, click here.

Dael Orlandersmith in Until the Flood
Dael Orlandersmith in Until the Flood
(© Craig Schwartz)


7. The YouTube channel The Shows Must Go On will stream Macbeth, starring Patrick Stewart and Kate Fleetwood, on Monday, November 16. Directed by Rupert Goold, the filmed adaptation of his Chichester and Broadway production also stars Martin Turner, Michael Feast, and Paul Shelley. And mark you calendars for Shakespeare's Sonnets starting November 23. The film showcases all of Shakespeare's 154 sonnets, read by a cast that includes David Tennant, Dominic West, Stephen Fry, Kim Cattrall, and more. To watch, click here.

Patrick Stewart and David Tennant
Patrick Stewart and David Tennant
(© David Gordon / screenshot)

8. Houston's Stages is streaming Honky Tonk Laundry through November 15. The creator of The Marvelous Wonderettes brings us a brand-new boot-scootin' musical! After inheriting the Wishy Washy Washateria from her grandmother, Lana Mae hires Katie to help run the business, but the two soon join forces to convert their good ol' Laundromat into the town's hottest honky-tonk. For tickets, click here.


Upcoming

* Irish Repertory Theatre will present On Beckett / In Screen by master clown, Tony Award-winning actor, and MacArthur, Guggenheim, and Fulbright Fellow Bill Irwin, featuring selections from works by Nobel Prize-winning writer Samuel Beckett. This is a new play drawn from Irwin's award-winning production, On Beckett, which premiered at Irish Repertory Theatre in 2018. Reservations are free but required to access this digital event. A donation of $25 per viewer is suggested for those who can afford to give. To reserve a spot, click here. To read our 2018 review of On Beckett, click here.

Bill Irwin
Bill Irwin
(© Carol Rosegg)

* 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.

Hershey Felder in a promotional image for A Paris Love Story
Hershey Felder in a promotional image for A Paris Love Story
(image provided by Hershey Felder Presents)

* 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, which runs November 10-December 20, click here. For tickets and more information about The Future, click here. For tickets and more information about Bollywood Kitchen, click here.

Sri Rao in the Geffen Stayhouse production of Bollywood Kitchen.
Sri Rao in the Geffen Stayhouse production of Bollywood Kitchen.
(© Hartman Benzon Media)

* Dolly Parton's Christmas on the Square, which Netflix will release on November 22, stars Christine Baranski as 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. Take a look at our interview with some of the cast here, and watch the show's trailer below:

* The UK's Barn Theatre production of the Stephen Sondheim revue Marry Me a Little will run online November 19-22, with tickets costing 13.50 pounds (or the domestic equivalent). The production will be available for international audiences to watch on demand in a 24-hour window, at times that suit them. For tickets, click here. Watch a trailer here:

* 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.

The cast of Rent
The cast of Rent
(© Dujonna Gift-Simms/edited by WhatsOnStage)

* 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.

Audra McDonald
Audra McDonald
(© David Gordon)

* Join Broadway favorite Lesli Margherita in the stream of the critically acclaimed, off-Broadway hit Who's Holiday!, set for Friday, December 11. The evening benefits Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. Who's Holiday! tells the story of a middle-aged Cindy Lou Who, now residing in a beaten-down trailer in the snowy hills of Mount Crumpit. As she prepares to host a Christmas Eve party for her friends, she recalls her own perspective of that fateful night when she first met the Grinch, and the strange turn of events her life has taken for the past 40 years. Watch the free one-hour stream here beginning at 8pm ET. The performance will be available through December 15.

* 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.

Andrew Lincoln as Scrooge
Andrew Lincoln as Scrooge
(© Helen Maybanks)

* The cast of Jagged Little Pill will reunite for a one-night concert performance benefiting regional theaters across the country. Tony-nominated stars Elizabeth Stanley, Celia Rose Gooding, Sean Allan Krill, Derek Klena, Lauren Patten, and Kathryn Gallagher, and Antonio Cipriano and more, will take the stage at Shubert Studios on Sunday, December 13 at 8pm ET. Jagged Live in NYC will be directed by Diane Paulus. They will be joined by the production's band. For tickets, click here.

(image provided by the production)
(image provided by the production)

* 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

* In the third video in the Conversations From Away series, cast and crew of the North American touring company of Come From Away join virtually to discuss how the Black Lives Matter and trans rights movements intersect. Featured guest, Jae Rice, shares valuable insight about their work with the Brave Space Alliance in Chicago. Watch the episode below:


* 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.

Heidi Schreck's What the Constitution Means to Me, now running at Broadway's Hayes Theater, has recouped its investment.
Heidi Schreck in her play What the Constitution Means to Me.
(© Joan Marcus)

* 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.

David Byrne and the cast of American Utopia.
David Byrne and the cast of American Utopia.
(© David Gordon)

* 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.

Julianne Moore in The Glorias
Julianne Moore in The Glorias
(© Dan McFadden)

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