Culture Best Bets at Home: June 26th – June 28th – UPDATED

I’m offering you a baker’s dozen options for this weekend’s Culture Best Bets at Home: June 26th – June 28th. This list is possibly one of the most diverse selections of performing arts to watch at home in quite some time.

What’s on tap for the Best Bets at Home: June 26th – June 28th?

Broadway fans will have a musical, a diva in concert and an all-star special concert. Fans of theatre will have Shakespeare, Molière (with a Broadway star), a reading of a sequel to a classic play (also featuring Broadway stars) and more. Opera fans have a second production of a Massenet opera available to them just this week and a celebration of opera choruses. Jazz fans have two options with many of the genre’s biggest names performing. Classical music fans have a Carnegie Hall concert by one of our greatest living composers and also the farewell to a legendary conductor.

What will you choose?

Here are the Best Bets at Home: June 26th – June 28th

Falsettos – Lincoln Center at Home on Broadway HD – Now – June 27th at 8:00 PM EDT/5:00 PM PDT

The 2016 Broadway production of James Lapine and William Finn’s musical Falsettos is available for streaming through Saturday, June 27th. The presentation of this Tony Award-nominated production is part of Lincoln Center at Home in collaboration with Broadway HD.

Lapine and Finn paired two one-act Off-Broadway musicals they created (1981’s March of the Falsettos and 1990’s Falsettoland) to make the full length musical Falsettos.

Christian Borle plays Marvin. He and his wife, Trina (Stephanie J. Block), are preparing their son, Jason (Anthony Rosenthal) for his Bar Mitzvah. Marvin has recently left Trina for Whizzer (Andrew Rannells) which complicates more than just their marriage. Trina is seeing a therapist, Mendel (Brandon Uranowitz) and her therapist is falling in love with his patient.

It sounds complicated and perhaps it is. But Lapine and Finn have created a musical that is both funny and heartbreaking, romantic and sad. They’ve also created one hell of a show that feels just as topical today as when it was first created.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream – National Theatre Live – Now – July 2nd

First let me tell you this is definitely not a traditional production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. This 2019 Nicholas Hytner production finds most of the audience walking around the theatre as the play takes place.

The Bridge Theatre, where this production was staged, has high ceilings and a unique structure that allows for this immersive version of Midsummer. Critics talked about Cirque du Soleil-style elements, some queering up of the story and they all raved about how this possibly over-produced play has, with this production, entered the 21st century.

Maybe not being a traditional production is going to be not just a good thing, but a great thing with this A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Philip Glass Ensemble: Music with Changing Parts – Medici.tv – June 26th – June 28th

This weekend’s free Carnegie Hall concert available on Medici.tv features a 2018 performance by composer Philip Glass with his ensemble. The concert is complete performance of his 1970 work Music With Changing Parts.

For quite some time this was not amongst Glass’s best-known works. It was independently released on vinyl and went out of print in the late 1970s. It was remastered and released on CD in 1994. It’s a work that greatly influenced Brian Eno and David Bowie who saw the Philip Glass Ensemble perform it in Europe in the 1970s.

Michael Riesman is the conductor for this performance. Joining Glass and the Ensemble are the San Francisco Girls Chorus (Valérie Sainte-Agathe, Conductor) and students from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

Watching the concert is free, but it does require signing in with Medici.tv.

Wayne Shorter Celebration Part 2 – SF Jazz Friday’s at Five – June 26th 8:00 PM EDT/5:00 PM PDT

On May 22nd SF Jazz streamed the first part of their Wayne Shorter Celebration featuring Kamasi Washington, Terrace Martin and Shorter’s touring musicians pianist Danilo Pérez, bass player John Patitucci and drummer Brian Blade. This was one of the concerts that replaced Shorter’s scheduled shows that he had to miss due to health issues.

For part two of this celebration the special guests are Herbie Hancock and Terence Blanchard. Once again, Pérez, Patitucci and Blade also perform.

Friday’s At Five does require you sign up in advance. You can join for one month for $5 or for an entire year for $60. Membership allows you to watch all Friday’s at Five programs. Upcoming performances will include Allen Touissant, John Scofield, Cécile McLorin Salvant and two more celebrations of Wayne Shorter (with guests Branford Marsalis, Joshua Redman and Ambrose Akinmusire.)

The Men From the Boys – Playbill Pride Plays – June 26th – 7:00 PM EDT/4:00 PM PDT

As part of their programming celebrating Gay Pride, Playbill will live stream a reading of Mart Crowley’s The Men from the Boys. This is a 2002 sequel to Crowley’s best-known play, The Boys in the Band. Many of the characters from the first play appear in this sequel and new characters are also introduced.

Performing this reading will be Denis O’Hare as Michael, Rick Elice as Donald, Mario Cantone as Emory, Joseph James O’Neil as Hank, Kevyn Morrow as Bernard, and Lou Liberatore as Harold. For the new characters Carson McCalley plays Scott, Charlie Carver plays Jason and Telly Leung plays Rick.

Directing The Men From the Boys is Zachary Quinto who appeared in the 2019 Broadway production of The Boys in the Band.

Crowley passed away earlier this year.

Playing Through Changes – Jazz House Kids – June 26th – 8:00 PM EDT/5:00 PM PDT

New Jersey-based Jazz House Kids offers education and performances for children ages 8 to 18. Like many organizations this year their plans of a big gala were thwarted by the pandemic. So they took their efforts online in a mix of live performances and classic footage. This is a re-streaming of last week’s event.

Lester Holt of NBC News hosts the program.

The performers included in this 2 hour and 15 minute show are Dianne Reeves, David Sanborn, Eddie Palmieri, Diana Krall, Ingrid Jensen, Wynton Marsalis, Andra Day, Chick Corea, Bill Charlap Trio, Ravi Coltrane, Dee Dee Bridgewater, José James, The Christian McBride Big Band featuring Melissa Walker and the late Al Jarreau and George Duke.

McBride and Walker will do a live introduction to this week’s streaming of Playing Through Changes.  

We’ve provided a link in the title that goes to the Jazz House Kids webpage. It will also be available for viewing on their Facebook page and YouTube Channel

Gloria: A Life – PBS Great Performances – June 27th (Check Local Listings)

Christine Lahti stars in Emily Mann’s play as women’s rights leader Gloria Steinem. Lahti is joined by an all-female cast playing the non-Steinem characters. Gloria: A Life is directed by Diane Paulus.

Reviews for the play itself were mixed. The last 20 minutes of the production, which feature a talking circle, regularly got singled out for how powerful they were. Since Steinem is included in this film, it is probably a safe assumption that she will be part of this part of the performance..

Manon – San Francisco Opera – June 27th – June 28th

This week’s offering from San Francisco Opera is their 2017 production of Jules Massenet’s Manon. This was a co-production with Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre and the Israeli Opera.

We’ve written previously about the creation of Manon and its storyline. Rather than recap it again, you can find it here.

For this production Ellie Dehn sings the role of Manon and Michael Fabiano sings the role of Chevalier des Grieux. Both singers were making their role debuts in this production, which was directed by Vincent Boussard. Patrick Fournillier is the conductor.

Tartuffe On Line – Molière in the Park – June 27th – 2:00 PM EDT/11:00 AM PDT and 7:00 PM EDT/4:00 PM PDT

Who knew Molière would be so topical in 2020. If you don’t know the premise of Tartuffe, here’s a quick preview:

Tartuffe believes himself to be a righteous man, but he is ultimately a thief. His favorite accessory is his bible which he has at the ready whenever its mere presence can be helpful to him.

Oronte longs for his days of having power. But his power is quickly disappearing. He is now old, rudderless and hopelessly naive.

Imagine what happens when these two meet up. This is truly a satire that mirrors our times.

Raúl Esparza and Samira Wiley had the cast that also includes Kaliswa Brewster, Naomi Lorrain, Jared McNeill, Jennifer Mudge, Rosemary Prinz, Carter Redwood. Lucie Tiberghien directs and the translation is by Richard Wilbur.

The performance will remain available online through July 12th. This event is free, but does require registration here.

Lea Salonga with Seth Rudetsky – June 28th – 9:00 AM EDT/6:00 AM PDT (second showing 8:00 PM EDT/5:00 PM PDT)

Lea Salonga probably needs no introduction. She is this week’s guest performer in Seth Rudetsky’s concert series. The concert will be live for the first showing and that performance will be streamed later in the day (at a better hour for most people.

If you want a reminder, she is the Tony Award-winning actress who originated the role of Kim in Miss Saigon. She has also appeared on Broadway in Les Misérables, Flower Drum Song, Allegiance and Once on This Island.

This is not a free event. Tickets are required and they are $25.

Great Opera Choruses – LA Opera at Home – June 28th – 6:00 PM EDT/3:00 PM PDT

Every year the LA Opera Chorus performs a concert celebrating Great Opera Choruses. This year’s event was scheduled at The Soraya in Northridge (where the concert had taken place for four years), but was cancelled due to the pandemic. Rather than give up on their annual tradition, LA Opera is performing a virtual concert in collaboration with The Soraya.

Grant Gershon, Resident Conductor of the LA Opera Orchestra, will be joined by Assistant Chorus Master Jeremy Frank who will serve as accompanist and music supervisor.

The program is slated to include three famous choruses from popular works. The concert will culminate with a performance of the Anvil Chorus from Verdi’s Il Trovatore. The audience will be encouraged to sing along (and bang things). The virtual concert will provide lyrics on screen.

MTT25: An Online Tribute to Michael Tilson Thomas – San Francisco Symphony Facebook Page – June 28th – 8:00 PM EDT/5:00 PM PDT

Conductor, pianist and composer Michael Tilson Thomas ends his 25-year tenure with the San Francisco Symphony not quite as anyone imagined. But that won’t stop the orchestra from celebrating him.

Sunday finds an on-line tribute to Tilson Thomas hosted by Audra McDonald and Susan Graham.

Joining them for this tribute will be Yo-Yo Ma, Renée Fleming, Julia Bullock, Measha Brueggergosman, Bonnie Raitt, Lars Ulrich, and more. They will all share their own memories of working with MTT and there will also be performances.

MTT has long been a personal inspiration for me. I was too young to have been around to watch Leonard Bernstein on television. When I was growing up MTT offered his own perspectives on classical music for me to enjoy. Not only were they informative, they instilled in me a passion that helped guide me through tedious piano practices, lessons and recitals.

His passion for certain composers also inspires me. One of my all-time favorite recordings is MTT leading the Los Angeles Philharmonic in an amazing concert with Sarah Vaughan called Gershwin Live! Seeing him lead the same orchestra in 2018 in a performance of Charles Ives’s A Symphony: New England Holidays is one of my favorite concerts.

Playbill Pride Spectacular – Playbill Pride Plays – June 28th – 8:00 PM EDT/5:00 PM PDT

Playbill closes out their Pride celebrations with an all-star concert on Sunday featuring some of Broadway’s best-known performers.

How’s this for a line-up: Jelani Alladin, Alexandra Billings, Billy Bustamante, Jean Colella, DeMarius Copes, Wilson Cruz, Robin De Jesús, Lea Delaria, Brandon Victor Dixon, Eden Espinosa, Niani Feelings, Harvey Fierstein, Gaby Gamache, Matt Gould, Curtis Holland, Cheyenne Jackson, this year’s Pulitzer Prize winner Michael R. Jackson, Francis Jue, Andrew Keenan-Bolger, Caitlin Kinnunen, L. Morgan Lee, Raymond J. Lee, Matthew Lopez, Cheech Manohar, Griffin Matthews, Anastacia McCleskey, Michael McElroy, John McGinty, Chris Medlin, Ezra Menas, Paul HeeSang Miller, John Cameron Mitchell, Mary Kate Morrissey, Javier Muñoz, Alan Muraoka, Shakina Nayfack, Ariana Notartomaso, Diana Oh, Ken Page, Clint Ramos, Lee Roy Reams, Matt Rodin, Jai Rodriguez, Mj Rodriguez, Mars Rucker, Sushma Saha, George Salazar, Miriam Shor, Jason Tam, John Tartaglia, Sonya Tayeh, Sergio Trujillo, Vishal Vaidya, BD Wong, Iain Young, and Brittany Zeinstra.

John McDaniel serves as Music Director. The concert will showcase songs from musicals with LGBTQ stories. Playbill Pride Spectacular is free to watch, but will serves as a benefit for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.

That’s a wrap on this weekend’s Best Bets at Home: June 26th – June 28th. Enjoy yourselves!

Main Photo: The company of Falsettos (Photo by Joan Marcus)

Update: This post has been updated to include the extension to July 12th of the ability to view Tartuffe Online