Welcome to the first weekend in December. I have, as you might expect at this point, a diverse selection of programming as my Best Bets at Home: December 4th – December 6th.
Quite a few of this week’s offerings are concerts. We have jazz, classical, Broadway vocals and one jazz/dance combination.
I’ve made a change to help you navigate my listings. Before each title there is a category that defines the genre of the listing. So if you only want to find jazz concerts, just look for JAZZ. For ballet or dance, look for DANCE. And in the case of our hybrid event, you’ll find DANCE/JAZZ combined. All listings are in order of when they become available.
Topping our list this week is the world premiere of a new work by composer Nico Muhly that is being performed by organist James McVinnie on Saturday.
Here are my choices as your Best Bets at Home: December 4th – December 6th.
PLAY: The Night of the Iguana – La Femme Theatre Productions – Now – December 6th
Tennessee Williams’ The Night of the Iguana gets an all-star reading from New York’s La Femme Theatre Productions.
Williams based the play on his own short story that in and of itself was inspired by his cousin. The Night of the Iguana had its Broadway debut in 1961.
Reverend Shannon has been forced out of his church after a sermon where he demonized God. He’s relegated to serving as a tour guide and accused of statutory rape of a 16-year-old girl.
While escorting a group of women to Acapulco and staying at a cheap motel, Shannon battles the pressures from the outside world and the demons within himself.
Dylan McDermott stars as Reverend Shannon; Phylicia Rashad plays Maxine; Roberta Maxwell as Judith Fellowes; Austin Pendleton as Nonno and Jean Lichty as Hannah, with Keith Randolph Smith, Carmen Berkeley, Eliud Kauffman, Julio Macias, Stephanie Schmiderer, Bradley James Tejeda and John Hans Tester. Emily Mann directs.
Tickets are range from $10 – $250 depending on your ability to pay. This reading serves as a fundraiser for The Actors Fund.
DANCE: in the absence of things – Baryshnikov Arts Center – Now – December 15th
In this ten-minute experimental dance short film, Somi Kakoma explores the impact the pandemic is having on her and her creative process.
Instead of being on the road, she returned home to Illinois and found herself wrestling with the the desire to create and perform and the need to just live.
Movement, art songs, spoken word and more are utilized to tell her story. Kakoma’s mother provides some of the film’s narration. There is also music from a recent live album, Holy Room – Live at Alte Opera with Frankfurt Radio Big Band in the film.
CLASSICAL: Beethoven’s The Creatures of Prometheus – The Philharmonia Orchestra of London – Beginning December 4th – 2:30 PM EST/11:30 AM PST
In February of this year, the Los Angeles Philharmonic had one of their most exciting concerts when Esa-Pekka Salonen, Simon McBurney and Gerard McBurney collaborated on The Weimar Republic: Salonen Conducts The Seven Deadly Sins.
Starting on Friday, Salonen and Gerard McBurney are once again collaborating on a concert. The Philharmonia Orchestra of London is performing Beethoven’s The Creatures of Prometheus.
Most concertgoers are familiar with the work’s overture; far fewer are familiar with the complete score Beethoven composed for this ballet that had its world premiere in Vienna in 1801.
McBurney has written a new script for this concert. There will be animation by Hillary Leben whose work has been seen in performance with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Silk Road Ensemble and more.
When you add that the narration will be performed by Stephen Fry, what else do you need?
The link takes you directly to The Philharmonia Orchestra of London’s YouTube page where this performance can be seen.
DANCE/JAZZ: waiting – 92nd Street Y – December 4th – 7:00 PM EST/4:00 PM PST
Dancer/choreographer Sidra Bell was working on waiting in anticipation of its world premiere performance in June of this year. That was postponed due to the pandemic.
The work is a collaboration with jazz composer/saxophonist Immanuel Wilkins.
Wilkins’ debut album, Omega, was named the Best Jazz Album of 2020 by the New York Times this week.
What is being shown is a work-in-progress of waiting. Sidra Bell and Immanuel Wilkins will participate in a post-performance Q&A.
Tickets are $10.
JAZZ: Christian McBride – Village Vanguard – December 4th – December 5th – 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST
Bassist Christian McBride is joined by Marcus Strickland on saxophone; Josh Evans on trumpet and Nasheet Waits on drums for these two performances from New York’s Village Vanguard.
McBride’s most recent album is The Movement Revisited: A Musical Portrait of Four Icons.
On this record McBride celebrates Rosa Parks, Malcom X, Muhammad Ali and Martin Luther King, Jr.
He just received two Grammy Award nominations recently for Round Again (which finds him recording with Joshua Redman, Brad Mehldau and Brian Blade) and also for Trilogy 2 (which is a live recording with Chick Corea and Blade). He can’t win both awards unless there is a tie – he’s competing against himself.
Tickets are $10 for each performance.
JAZZ: Robert Glasper Acoustic Trio – The Kennedy Center – December 4th – 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM EST
Composer, pianist, producer Robert Glasper is equally comfortable working in the hip-hop world (Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly, Maxwell, Common) and the jazz world (Terence Blanchard, Roy Hargrove, Christian McBride).
He has released albums that find him collaborating with such artists as Kamasi Washington, Terrace Martin, Phoelix and Herbie Hancock.
For this concert at The Kennedy Center he’s working in the trio configuration with Vicente Archer on bass and Justin Tyson on drums. As befits an artist who works in multiple genres, the trio will be joined by DJ Jahi Sundance.
I believe Glasper is one of our most interesting musicians and this should be a terrific concert.
After the performance, Glasper will be joined by Jason Moran for a conversation. Moran is the Kennedy Center Artistic Director for Jazz.
Tickets are $20 and the program will remain available for renting beyond this premiere showing.
PLAY/MAGIC: The Future – Geffen Stayhouse – December 4th – January 31st
It seems like only yesterday that magician Helder Guimarães just concluded his run of The Present with the Geffen Playhouse. He’s back with a new show and given its title I’m wondering if a trilogy is being planned.
The Future finds gambling at the core of Guimarães’ storytelling and perspective is the fulcrum through which we will view the story and guide its direction.
Frank Marshall returns as director. Will there also be a show next year called The Past?
Tickets are $95 with a majority of the performances already sold out. If you’re interested, act quickly. To do otherwise might gamble away your chance to get a look into The Future.
JAZZ: Pink Martini – SFJAZZ – December 4th – 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST
This week’s Fridays at Five concert from San Francisco Jazz is a holiday concert by Pink Martini that was performed at the venue last December.
This seventeen-member ensemble successfully blends musical styles to create a sound all their own. For instance, did you ever think this rhythm would be part of “We Three Kings?”
Having watched many a concert from this Fridays at Five series, I’m always pleased with how good these shows look and how great they sound.
The concert will air only at this one time. Tickets are $5 for a one-month subscription or $60 for a one-year subscription.
BROADWAY VOCALS: Vanessa Williams: Live from the West Side – Segerstrom Center – December 5th – 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST
In the third and final concert from the Women of Broadway series Live from the West Side, Vanessa Williams take to the stage.
Williams was a Tony Award and Drama Desk Award nominee for Best Actress in a Musical for her performance as The Witch in Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s Into the Woods revival from 2002.
She made her Broadway debut when she joined the cast of Kiss of the Spider Woman as Aurora/Spider Woman in 1994. Her other Broadway credits include 2010’s Sondheim on Sondheim and the 2013 revival of The Trip to Bountiful.
Beyond her Broadway career she’s had best-selling albums and singles including The Colors of the Wind from the Disney animated film Pocahontas.
Tickets are $30 and allow for additional viewings for 72 hours.
JAZZ: Arturo Sandoval Live from the Broad Stage – The Broad Stage – December 5th – December 13th
In October of this year, trumpeter Arturo Sandoval and a small ensemble of musicians came together to film a live concert at the Broad Stage in Santa Monica. The end result is 60 minutes of Latin jazz sure to entertain.
Sandoval is a 10-time Grammy Award winner who was born in Cuba. There isn’t enough space to list all the recordings he’s made and all the musicians with whom he’s recorded. But perhaps the names Bennett, Estefan, Keys, Monk and Sinatra might sound familiar.
Joining him are Will Brahm on guitar; Ricard Pasillas on percussion; Johnny Friday on drums; John Belazaguy on bass and Max Haymer on piano.
Tickets are $10 for non-members. Free for members.
JAZZ: Barbara Morrison: Standing on Their Shoulders – The Wallis – December 5th – 11:00 PM EST/8:00 PM PST
No jazz vocalist can claim not to have been influenced by Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan and Dinah Washington. Singer Barbara Morrison is no exception.
In this concert, part of the virtual version of The Sorting Room from The Wallis, Morrison will put her own stamp on the songs these women made famous.
Tickets are $25 and allow for viewing for 24 hours. There are more concerts in this series and package deals are available for viewing either half or all six of The Sorting Room series.
CLASSICAL: James McVinnie Live from Concert Hall ‘Latvija’ in Ventspils – December 6th – 12:00 EST/9:00 AM PST
In February of 2018 I saw and heard organist James McVinnie give the world premiere performance of Register by Nico Muhly. It was an amazing performance of truly fascinating music.
It wasn’t their first collaboration. Muhly wrote 2013’s Cycles for McVinnie. Muhly and McVinnie have collaborated again on Nativity Cycle.
This music was written specifically for this concert and for McVinnie by Muhly.
The composer was inspired by plainsong. That term refers to unaccompanied church music sung in medieval modes and free rhythm. The text is taken from liturgical material.
Each of Muhly’s pieces will include the plainchant at the end, but expect him to transform the original music into something that is at times, much simpler and at other times, much more complex. All of which suits McVinnie’s talents.
Tickets are €8 which is just under $10 as of press time. This does not include any service charges. There is a note on the website that says ticket prices will increase as the concert dates get closer.
JAZZ: Billie Holiday: A Concert Celebration – 92nd Street Y – December 6th – December 9th
On November 21st, the Emmet Cohen Trio was joined by singers Catherine Russell and Veronica Swift for a celebration of the music of Billie Holiday filmed at New York’s 92nd Street Y. That concert will start being available on Sunday at 3:00 PM EST/12:00 PM PST and remain available for renting through December 9th.
Also joining the concert is saxophonist Tivon Pennicott who joins for a special tribute to the collaborations Holiday had with Lester Young.
I wasn’t familiar with Swift before reading about this concert. She’s quite good. It will be exciting to see where she goes with her career.
The members of Cohen’s trio are Yasushi Nakamura on bass and Kyle Poole on drums. (Cohen, of course, plays piano.)
Tickets are $15.
BROADWAY VOCALS: Eva Noblezada Live from Adelphi – Adelphi PAC Concert Hall – December 6th – 5:00 PM EST/2:00 PM PST
Eva Noblezada has appeared on Broadway in two musicals: She played Kim in the 2017 revival of Miss Saigon. She originated the role of Eurydice in the Tony Award-winning musical Hadestown. She was Tony nominated for both performances. In other words, she’s gotten a nomination for every role she’s performed on Broadway. She hasn’t yet snagged one of the trophies, but just you wait.
You’ll be able to see what makes her so engaging in this live concert on Sunday. I’ve seen her in Hadestown. She’s very talented and this should be a great opportunity to see her shine.
Tickets are $15.
CLASSICAL: McGill/McHale Trio – Shriver Hall Concert Series – December 6th – 5:30 PM EST/2:30 PM PST
Clarinettist Anthony McGill and his flautist brother Demarre met pianist Michael McHale when they were artists-in-residence at Bowling Green University. The trio first performed together in 2014 and they’ve been making music together ever since.
For this program, which took place at New York’s 92nd Street Y last December, the trio will celebrate dance. The concert features works by Chris Rogerson, Francis Poulenc, Antonin Dvořák, Guillaume Connesson, Claude Debussy and Paul Schoenfield.
There will be a post-performance Q&A with the artists available after the concert.
Tickets are $15 and allow for continued viewing through December 9th.
BROADWAY VOCALS: Ana Gasteyer with Seth Rudetsky – December 6th – 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST
Columbia, Elphaba and Mrs. Peachum are all familiar characters to fans of musicals. Martha Stewart, Celine Dion and Hillary Rodham Clinton are familiar to most people.
Saturday Night Live veteran Ana Gasteyer has played them all.
Her Broadway debut came in the 2001 Broadway production of The Rocky Horror Show. Several years later she played that oh-so-green woman in Wicked after having appeared in a new production of The Threepenny Opera with Alan Cumming.
She joins Seth Rudetsky for his concert series this weekend. The live performance takes place on Sunday. If you are unable to watch that performance, it will be re-streamed on Monday, December 7th at 3:00 PM EST/12:00 PM PST.
Tickets for either performance are $28.50 (which includes service charges).
That concludes my selections of the Best Bets at Home: December 4th – December 6th. But there are always going to be a few reminders:
Ute Lemper’s Rendezvous with Marlene has a final streaming performance on Saturday, December 5th at 2:00 PM EST/11:00 AM PST.
Larry Powell’s The Gaze…No Homo continues with new episodes at The Fountain Theatre’s website.
Greenway Court Theatre’s If I Should Wake makes both parts available for the first time beginning on Friday. The show ends its streaming on December 10th.
All concerts that are part of the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s Sound/Stage series remain available for streaming. The Solitude episode, featuring works by Thomas Adés and Duke Ellington, will only be available through December 15th.
The Metropolitan Opera concludes its Stars in Signature Roles week with Elīna Garanča in Bizet’s Carmen on Friday; Jessye Norman, Kathleen Battle and Tatiana Troyanos in Strauss’ Ariadne auf Naxos on Saturday and Shirley Verrett, Luciano Pavarotti and Cornell MacNeil in Puccini’s Tosca on Sunday.
Now we’ve truly come to the end of the Best Bets at Home: December 4th – December 6th. Enjoy your weekend and enjoy the culture!
Photo: James McVinnie (Photo ©Magnús Andersen/Courtesy of McVinnie’s website)