WHAT I’D SEE THIS WEEK: Best Bets November 9th – November 15th

This second week of November has a lot on its mind. Seems like we all do these days. In Best Bets November 9^th – November 15^th those issues include parenthood, NIMBY controversies, Daddy issues and the idea of creation. They all look amazing.

THE VISITORS – Irene Diamond Stage – New York, NY – Now – December 6^th

This world premiere play by Bryna Turner (At the Wedding) looks at a mid-30s woman who wants to be a parent. She brings her three siblings together and an unknown fifth person to request something that shocks them all. (I don’t know what that is and even if I did, I wouldn’t tell you. That would be a spoiler.)

Mary Wiseman is the woman, and her siblings are played by Celia Keenan-Bolger, Will Pullen and Danny Wolohan.

The person the siblings don’t know is played by Esco Jouléy.

I’d see anything Keenan-Bolger does, so that assured my interest in this play.

Jenna Worsham directs.

For tickets and more information, please go HERE.

DOWNSTATE – Booth Theatre – New York, NY – Now – January 10, 2027

OPENING NIGHT: November 15^th

It has taken eight years for this play by Bruce Norris (Clybourne Park – Pulitzer Prize Winner) to make it to Broadway.

That’s likely because of its subject matter: four men who are convicted sex offenders who share a group home in Illinois.

In the play, their existence there sparks outrage amongst the neighbors in the community and the public at large. One man, who as a child was abused by one of the men, seeks, at the very least, an apology from his perpetrator.

Not easy stuff, for sure. Downstate received quite a few great reviews including a New York Times Critic’s Pick. It also received Obie Awards and Best Play from the New York Drama Critics’ Circle for its off-Broadway run in 2022.

I think Norris is an amazing playwright and I’d see this play in a millisecond. Plus I like theater that challenges me and may make me uncomfortable.

This production stars Cassie Beck, Liza Colón-Zayas, K. Todd Freeman, Frances Guinan, Adrian Martinez, Al’Jaleel McGhee, Thomas Sadoski and Ivy Wolk.

Joe Mantello directs.

For tickets and more information, please go HERE.

CREATION BY OSVALDO GOLIJOV – Boston Symphony Orchestra – Boston, MA – November 12^th – 14^th

Get a ticket for Boston this weekend as this is the one event I’m most excited about.

Composer Osvaldo Golijov has collaborated with Tony Award-winning playwright David Henry Hwang and lyricist Leah Hager Cohen for a new work that was written in response to Joseph Haydn’s oratorio The Creation.

The soloists for this world premiere are Cécile McLorin Salvant and Davoné Tines.

Joining the BSO are percussionist Cyro Baptista and Kayhan Kalhor on kamancheh (a Persian string instrument).

The Tanglewood Festival Chorus and BSO x NEC Honors Children’s Choir also join.

Alex Sopp provides original artwork and animation and Camilla Tassi is the projection designer.

All of this to say, this will be quite a big work and likely an amazing new work from the composer whose La Pasión según San Marcos is arguably his masterwork.  It also happens to be one of my favorite pieces of music.

Eric Jacobsen conducts.

For tickets and more information, please go HERE.

KAFKA’S LETTER TO HIS FATHER – The Nimoy – Los Angeles, CA – November 12^th – 14^th

Tickets are extremely limited at this point for the US premiere of this opera by Jiři Trtik and Jan Škrob. But there are waitlists and you never know what will happen on the day of the event. So don’t lose hope.

The opera is inspired by Franz Kafka’s nearly 100-page letter he wrote to his father in 1919. It was, as you might imagine, quite the letter.

It was Kafka after all.

The 70-minute opera had its world premiere in 2024 in Prague.

There are some clues about the structure of the opera on the event page. Kafka is sung by TIMUR, Mother is sung by Molly Pease. Here is one significant reveal about the opera: six men sing the roles of “Fathers.” Looks like Franz had some serious daddy issues.

The production is directed by Shayna Penn. Fahad Siadat conducts an eight-person ensemble.

For tickets and more information, please go HERE.

EFG LONDON JAZZ FESTIVAL – Multiple Venues – London, England – November 13^th – November 22^nd

Over the course of this festival, you can enjoy some of the top names in jazz: Melissa Aldana, Melody Gardot, Goldie, Samara Joy, Joe Lovano, Branford Marsalis with Dianne Reeves and Cécile McLorin Salvant (she’s busy this month).

You can also explore some of the most exciting rising stars in jazz, too, which is how I’d make this festival most exciting if I were to be there. Amongst those artists would be Olga Amelchenko, Matt Carmichael (I’ve been exploring his new album Held in the Dark and I’m loving it), Lucy-Anne Daniels (recently third place at the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz Vocals Competition), Faris Ishaq, David Kayode, Marlon Hibbert and dozens more.

For tickets and more information, please go HERE.

That’s What I’d See in my Best Bets: November 9^th – November 15^th.

Enjoy your week and go see a show!

Main Photo: Composer Osvaldo Golijov (Photo by Eric Cheng/Courtesy Boosey & Hawkes)