What would you like to see this weekend? Shakespeare? A classic musical? Opera? Live-reading of contemporary plays? An all-star concert? This weekend you can find it all and on Mother’s Day this Sunday there are also a couple special events. So without further ado, here are your Best Bets at Home: May 8th – 10th.
Macbeth – Stratford Festival – Now – May 28th
In their continuing series of providing films of 12 Shakespeare plays, Canada’s Stratford Festival is adding Macbeth to the list of available films this week.
This drama tells the story of a Scottish general who is told by three witches that he will ascend to the throne and be King of Scotland. The combination of his singled-minded pursuit of power and the assistance of his wife, Lady Macbeth, allows him to stop at nothing to become King.
Ian Lake plays the title character, Michael Blake is Macduff, Krystin Pellerin is Lady Macbeth, Scott Wentworth is Banquo and Sarah Afful is Lady Macduff. Antonio Cimolino directed the production.
Remember that King Lear with Colm Feore will be available for one more week. Coriolanus also continues for two weeks.
Antony and Cleopatra – National Theatre Live at Home – Now – May 14th
If you love Shakespeare, but don’t want to spend time with Macbeth, you have another option. National Theatre Live begins live-streaming today their sold-out 2018 production of Antony and Cleopatra which starred Ralph Fiennes and Sophie Okonedo as the ill-fated couple.
In this historical love story, written by Shakespeare around 1606, Antony is smitten with Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt. Mark Antony, Octavius Caesar and Lepidus share the power to rule Rome, but hints of scandal and libelous stories lead to death and destruction.
Daniel Barenboim Conducts the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra – Carnegie Hall – Now – May 11th
In this Carnegie Hall concert from November 2018, Daniel Barenboim takes to the podium to conduct a program that includes Richard Strauss’ Don Quixote and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5. He and the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra are joined by soloists soloists Miriam Manasherov (violin) and Kian Soltani (cello).
The concert includes three encores: Saint-Saëns’ The Swan from The Carnival of the Animals, Elgar’s Nimrod from Enigma Variations, Op. 36 and finally Wagner’s Prelude to Act I of Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg.
These concerts become available at 3 AM EDT/12 AM PDT on May 8th for 72 hours.
Neil LaBute’s The Shape of Things – YouTube – May 8th
On Friday at 7:00 PM EDT/4:00 PM PDT, Lena Hall, Tim Realbuto, Katie Rose Clarke and Jonah Platt will do a live reading of Neil LaBute’s The Shape of Things. After the reading, LaBute will join for a Q&A.
In the play, Evelyn (Hall) attempts to change Adam (Realbuto) which leaves his friends Jenny (Clarke) and Phillip (Platt) concerned about how influential Evelyn is being and how beneficial that ultimately is for Adam.
This reading is a benefit for The Actors Fund. There is no charge to view this event, but they are suggesting a $5 donation.
The King and I – Broadway HD – May 8th
Beginning at noon 8 PM EDT/5 PM PDT, Broadway HD is making available a film of the 2015 Broadway Revival of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, The King and I. This production starred Kelli O’Hara as Anna Leonowens, Ken Watanabe as The King of Siam and Ruthie Ann Miles as Lady Thiang. Not only did O’Hara and Miles win Tony Awards for their performances, the production was awarded the Tony for Best Revival of a Musical.
Bartlett Sher directed this production which features such beloved songs as “Hello Young Lovers,” “Getting to Know You,” “Shall We Dance” and “Whistle a Happy Tune.”
Gruesome Playground Injuries – Red Line Productions YouTube Channel – May 8th
Saturday morning in Sydney, Australia, Red Line Productions will live-stream a reading of Rajiv Joseph’s Gruesome Playground Injuries with Rose Byrne and Ewen Leslie. With the time difference, this reading will be available at 8:30 PM EDT/5:30 PM PDT.
The play, which appeared in New York in 2011, tells the story of Kayleen and Doug, two friends who meet in school and are reunited over the course of three decades. That they turn out to be masochists is just one of the intriguing aspects of their personalities.
Joseph was a Pulitzer Prize finalist for his play, Bengal Tiger at the Bagdad Zoo. Amongst his other plays are Guards at the Taj and Describe the Night.
Mefistofele – San Francisco Opera – May 9th
San Francisco Opera starts making filmed productions available this weekend with this 2013 production of Arrigo Boito’s Mefistofele, based on Goethe’s Faust. Boito is best known and the librettist for Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra, Otello and Falstaff.
SF Opera’s production starred Russian bass-baritone Ildar Abdrazakov in his staged role debut as the devil Mephistopheles, Mexican tenor Ramón Vargas as Faust and American soprano Patricia Racette in the dual roles of Margherita and Elena. The production was directed by Robert Carsen and conducted by Nicola Luisotti.
The opera had its world premiere in Milan in 1868 were it was not well-received. Seven years later a new production with significant changes by Boito, was more warmly received.
Mefistofele becomes available on May 9th at 1 PM EDT/10 AM PDT and will remain available for streaming until midnight the following day. San Francisco Opera is making additional productions available for streaming over the next few weeks. We will be including them in our weekend Best Bets at Home.
Broadway Does Mother’s Day – May 10th
The Broadway community continues to rally for its own with this Sunday afternoon concert that celebrates Mother’s Day and serves as a fundraiser for Broadway Cares. Broadway Does Mother’s Day begins at 3 PM EDT/12 PM PDT.
A partial list of those participating in the concert includes Annaleigh Ashford, Kate Baldwin, Laura Benanti, Betty Buckley, Liz Callaway, Carolee Carmello, Victoria Clark, Lea DeLaria, Beanie Feldstein, Harvey Fierstein, Victor Garber, Mandy Gonzalez, Jennifer Holliday, James Monroe Iglehart, Judy Kaye, Celia Kennan-Bolger, LaChanze, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Bernadette Peters and Vanessa Williams.
Cast members from the shows Ain’t Too Proud, Beetlejuice, Chicago, Come From Away, Company, Dear Evan Hansen, Diana, Girl from the North Country, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Jagged Little Pill, Mean Girls, Moulin Rouge!, Mrs. Doubtfire, Sing Street, Six and Tina: The Tina Turner Musical will appear in sketches and make special appearances.
Hershey Felder as Irving Berlin – May 10th – 8 PM EDT/5 PM EDT
Unlike the other events listed on this page, Hershey Felder as Irving Berlin is not a free event. Felder has teamed up with theatres around the world to perform the show as a fundraiser for those theatres. Tickets are $50 per household and will allow access to the live performance for 72 hours. There is also a live talk-back after the performance.
Felder, who will be giving the performance in Florence, Italy, is known for his one-man shows celebrating various composers including George Gershwin, Leonard Bernstein, Beethoven, Chopin, Tchaikovsky and Debussy.
Berlin is the songwriter who gave us “Always,” “Blue Skies,” “Puttin’ on the Ritz,” “White Christmas” and “God Bless America.” He also wrote the musical Annie Get Your Gun.
The link above is to raise money for The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts.
Those are our choices for your Best Bets at Home: May 8th – 10th. But we also want to remind you of a couple additional selections that we wrote about earlier this week.
Reminder:
Great Performances on PBS is airing on Friday the Los Angeles Philharmonic Centennial Concert from October 2019. It features conductors Zubin Mehta, Esa-Pekka Salonen and Gustavo Dudamel. Check your local listings.
The operas available this weekend from the Met Opera in New York are La Boheme from 1977 with Luciano Pavarotti and Renata Scotto on Friday; the documentary The Opera House on Saturday and Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliaci on Sunday. Each program becomes available at 7:00 PM EDT/4:00 PM PDT.
Main Photo: Kelli O’Hara and Ken Watanabe in The King and I (Photo by Paul Kolnik/Courtesy of Lincoln Center Theatre)