Jud is the outsider in Oklahoma! He’s a ranch hand who is smitten with Laurey (Sasha Hutchings). But he makes her and everyone around him uncomfortable. Curly (Sean Grandillo) also has his eyes on Laurey and he keeps a watchful eye on Jud and will do anything to make sure he doesn’t end up with her.

Last week I spoke with Bannow about how this production of Oklahoma! is different, what it has to say and how we define what a good guy is in a musical. What follows are excerpts from that conversation that have been edited for length and clarity. To see the full interview, please go to our YouTube channel.

You’ve been on tour with Oklahoma! for quite some time. You also understudied the show in New York. Now that your journey is nearing its end, what do you know about Jud that would surprise your original conception of the character?

I’m lucky. I’ve been able to continue to mine it and discover things throughout the process. I’ve been struck recently just by how much antagonism he faces by doing so very little. This play is full of men pursuing women and there’s a lot of very misogynistic, dominating language that’s used throughout this play by all of the men in it. I’m struck more and more as I listen to the play every night how much of it is allowed for other characters in this play and how little of it is tolerated from from Jud, a.k.a the bad guy, and how little sense that makes. I’m struck by people’s reactions to the role and by people telling me that they’ve seen things that they never thought they’d see in the character because of the particular take on Jud. So that’s been really enlivening and helpful to hear as we’ve been going through the country.

We assume that Curly is the good guy in the show. After all, Hugh Jackman, Patrick Wilson and Alfred Drake have played that role. But is he truly the good guy? He over-zealously pursues Laurey and he makes a truly vile suggestion to Jud.

It is funny feeling the audience from the very get-go be like, Oh, that’s Curly – he should be with the girl. It’s funny to feel that assumption because all of his actions, if you just take them on as they are on paper, he’s a schmuck. He’s a horrible person. He’s giving Laurey a bunch of shit and he’s with another woman at the same time. He tells Jud to kill himself. He’s by no means a perfect gentleman. But for some reason there’s this ideal version of what a man, a western rough and tough man, should be. And Curly embodies that. So regardless of what he says or does, the audience applauds at the end when he and Laurey get together, because that’s the way it’s supposed to be.

Someone saw the show this week and sent me a text and was like, “It’s crazy how it’s such a radical idea for us as Americans to feel empathy for the outsider.” And that’s really why he is the, quote unquote, bad guy – simply because he’s the outsider in this community. And I think in this country, we hold very dear to our identity and our identity is made in part by deciding who is not in our community. 

I think that there’s a humanity to Jud that is central to our having empathy for him. What was your process of understanding that that empathy was there and then figuring out how best to get that across to audiences who may just assume that Curly’s the good guy?

I think that I have a natural inclination towards Jud. As an actor I’m drawn to outsiders. I’m drawn to anti-heroes. I’m drawn to people whose convictions are counter to the culture and community that they’re a part of. In this production, it’s funny, I don’t think Daniel and I ever had a real conversation about the inner workings of Jud. I just think that he saw in me, and I saw in in him, this kind of understanding that this human is as complex and as multidimensional as any great character. Neither one of us wanted to diminish him ever to being an antagonist or a villain or the foil to something else.

Every night there’s this moment in the play where I can feel the audience, if they’re truly listening, I can feel this energy shift where they click into the fact that this production isn’t going the way that they thought it would go. This character is going on a journey where they’re not being asked to laugh and point and kind of be afraid of him, but they’re actually locking into his inner workings and a bit of his fear and his hope and his anxiety. I think it really shifts the focus of the story of Oklahoma to being about this community and how they decide who is a part of it and who isn’t. It’s pretty clear by the end of this production that not everyone gets to join the club and Jud, unfortunately, gets kicked out in so many words. 

On Tony Sunday in 2019, on your Instagram account, you were asking do audiences celebrate the show for its radical approach? Amongst those questions is, “Is it really radical because it refuses to applaud the audience for coming to see it.” I feel like so much of theater now is placation and the audience is standing as if to say, “Wow, I made it through.” Can you elaborate from an actor’s point of view what you meant by that? 

I remember writing that and I remember feeling it. Feeling that this production is the first musical that I had ever seen where the ending wasn’t a kind of celebration of the audience. So much of musical theater, I feel, it’s always about the happy ending. It’s always about and now our story is complete. So it is a bit of placating the audience. Thank you so much for coming. Please buy the cast recording and tell your friends to come as well. They’ve got to see it.

When I experienced the ending of [Oklahoma!] I felt like I was being celebrated, but in a very different way. I feel like this musical at the end is challenging the audiences to receive it. The ending of this is no less engaging of the audience. In fact, I would say it’s probably more engaging than a typical musical. It’s just that the way that it engages the audience challenges them. It asks them to fully receive the images that we are presenting towards them. It’s amazing to see people’s faces because they’re not used to being acknowledged in that way at the end of a musical.

On that same Instagram post you asked a question that I want you to answer. “Are we nervous to have our musicals actually look at our audiences? Is that radical?” I’m assuming you have an answer to that question.

I think it is still radical because I think that any piece of art that truly invites its audience to question themselves, or their state of being, is a radical idea because people don’t like the questions and people don’t like to re-think what they assume they know. If you want to engage with the largest amount of people you’re going to produce something that can be easily digested by the largest amount of people. I think this is just true of musical theater. I think it’s true of any art in the capitalist society where you’re always thinking about marketability as much as you are artistic integrity.

Daniel Fish is a producer’s best dream and worst nightmare because he is going to make something that’s fully engaging. But he’s also never going to apologize for it. He’s not going to back down and he’s not going to water it down, either. I love that because I never know if an audience is going to embrace this musical or hate it because what he’s doing is so personal that there’s no way to know how you’re going to react to it until you see it. I truly think what he’s doing through this classic American musical is probing into personal questions. As a result, people are having to respond to it personally. 

Oscar Hammerstein II said, “If you really believe in the brotherhood of man and you want to come into its fold, you’ve got to let everyone else in, too.” It seems like he could have said that about Oklahoma!

If you’re going to celebrate this show as a kind of celebration of identity, then you have to, when you see the show, accept the fact that you’re celebrating this community that is not embracing the fellow brotherhood of man, right? Fully embracing that is acknowledging the fact that we are selective and exclusive and that’s defined our identity. Whether it’s Irish immigrants or Italian immigrants or African-Americans or Hispanics or Asian Americans, the rate of exclusion is just impressive, right? And it’s always changing.

What that tells me is that it’s not actually about who you’re excluding, it’s the act of exclusion. You’re now accepted. Well, now they’re not. It’s this need to push someone away because it’s intrinsically tied to our sense of self as a country. And so if we’re going from what Hammerstein said, then I think this musical is a beautiful way to have many, many, people engage with the truth that when territories become states, they have to push people out.

To see the full interview with Christopher Bannow, please go here.

Oklahoma!, which won the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical, continues at the Ahmanson Theatre through October 16th. The US tour concludes in Tempe, AZ at ASU Gammage from October 18th – October 23rd.

Photo: Portrait of Christopher Bannow by and courtesy of Emily Crombez

The post Chris Bannow: Is “Jud” in “Oklahoma!” the Bad Guy? appeared first on Cultural Attaché.

We’re revisiting our conversation with O’Connell about this utterly unique play and her staggering performance in it. This interview has been updated with new material not previously posted.

“I didn’t know how to approach it exactly except that I knew the technical task is the thing I had no idea how to do.” So says award-winning actress Deirdre O’Connell of the challenges she faced when she accepted the role of “Dana” in Lucas Hnath’s Dana H. The play, which is not only based on transcripts of interviews his mother gave about a traumatic time in her life, is constructed with the audio of those interviews as well. Meaning O’Connell has to act the part while lip-synching to these recordings.

“I thought maybe that I would be able to learn it on the page – that’s the way I normally learn something, and that’s daunting – or I could just listen to it and learn the rhythms of it,” she  says by phone on her one day off recently. “I found after a few weeks of trying either that I had to do both at the same time. It may not be that way for anyone else, but doing one would erase the other. It’s like turning your brain into wet Kleenex.”

O’Connell is on stage alone for most of the show’s 75-minute run time. In order for this conceit to work, O’Connell has to make the audience forget they are watching her while hearing someone else.

“It is weirdly natural to me now,” she says. “I know the voice is not coming through my voice, but I do find the voice is coming through me and I’m breathing with her. I know I’m not making sounds, but I don’t feel the absence of it. It’s almost like I have a different way of making sounds than through the mouth. I feel it in my head because I’m hearing it it. It’s a really odd sensation.”

The role forces O’Connell not just to inhabit a character, but to think and perform as that character expresses herself through the recordings. It’s been a fascinating learning process for the actress.

“It was so interesting to realize how someone’s mind works and how they put thoughts together,” she revealed. “One thing leads to another for them and it is so unique and it is not the same as you. I finally had to surrender to trusting I would know it and forgiving myself if I didn’t. It’s been much more intense to perform as an emotional piece than to rehearse.”

Amongst the challenges O’Connell has been having to approach her analysis of the character far differently than she is accustomed to doing.

“It was literally going backwards from my usual process. In in a way, that’s why I wanted to do it. I wanted to unscramble my ideas of how people express themselves. It’s been great to surrender to someone else’s process and how someone protects themselves while they are telling a story. It was hell for a long time. A lot of hours and a lot of dark nights crying.”

Hnath’s mother, who was working as a a chaplain in a psych ward, was kidnapped and held hostage for several months by a patient named Jim who was recovering from a suicide attempt. In the interviews she did with Steve Cosson (also heard on the recordings in Dana H.), she tries to make sense of the whole experience. As carefully edited by Hnath, her answers give us a picture of not just a traumatized woman, but a complicated one as well.

“She talks a lot about the common symptoms of trauma victims,” O’Connell says of Dana. “The timeline is scrambled and she’s trying to be as precise as she can. First for her own ability to put it together correctly so she has the story right. But also because she wants it to be a very clear and understandable tale. But there are also times, especially early in the piece, where her state of mind moves very quickly. I love the way her mind works.”

In advance of the play’s opening, and this is the world premiere production of Dana H. at the Kirk Douglas Theatre, O’Connell told The Argonaut that she’d become an “empathy beast” doing the play. But what did she mean?

“I challenge anyone to have to do this particular task with anything and not have strange empathy for the person they’ve been putting into their head. It actually does something. It just seems to me you step out of the way and keep your own vanity at bay to know what someone is really thinking.”

O’Connell received an 2010 Ovation Award for her work at the Kirk Douglas Theatre in Lisa Kron’s The Wake. In 2016 Kron’s described O’Connell as someone that “understands deeply that when people are speaking their words, what they’re saying is floating above and below and around the words and they are using the words to do other things.” I asked what she thought Dana, and by extension Lucas Hnath, were using these words for.

“I think her experience made her feel very isolated. I’m speaking for her and I feel uncomfortable because I’m not her. But I think part of the work of this play is to help her and, through her, other people who have felt that isolation. It’s a very isolating thing to have any off-the-grid violence happen to you. You feel like, ‘I’m not part of the regular civilized world anymore.’ This is a pretty civilized way to invite her back to the world.”

The unique performance of Dana H. leaves O’Connell thinking a lot about what she will do in the future with this role.

“It does feel like there is an infinite number of discoveries to be found. As a ride it’s pretty endless. I feel like it would be interesting to try to do a long run of it. It think you’d have to build breaks into it. the way the fatigue manifests itself is more like it sounds echo-y to me or I’m having a hard time hearing it right now. I could be wrong. It could be easier in terms of the doing it.”

The writer Aldous Huxley said “Every man’s memory is his private literature.” With Dana H. O’Connell is taking that private literature and making it very public while at the same time creating new memories for herself. What does she think the main thing she’ll take away from the experience of this play?

She pauses for a moment before answering. “I hope I can surrender. I’ve had to surrender a little of the control to do this. I’m a bit of a control freak. I hope I can keep doing that. I hope I can keep surrendering because it’s really scary surrounding to someone else’s heart and mind every day.”

For tickets to Dana H. on Broadway, please go here. Update: Dana H. and Is This A Room have announced a closing notice. The last performance on Broadway of Dana H. will be on November 13th. The last performance of Is This A Room will be on November 14th.

All photos are from the Center Theatre Group production at the Kirk Douglas Theatre (Photos by Craig Schwartz/Courtesy of Center Theatre Group)

The post Deirdre O’Connell And Her Atypical Acting Challenge TONY WINNER!!! appeared first on Cultural Attaché.

What became immediately clear is that Crewes, who has been artistic director at The Wallis since 2015, is not leaving because of a falling out with the organization. Nor did another job offer come through as it did with Kristy Edmunds at CAP UCLA. Nor is it retirement as is the case with Michael Ritchie leaving Center Theatre Group.

“This exodus is not something that was me thinking it’s time to go,” Crewes told me earlier this week in a Zoom call. “But more to do with the fact that we had to respond to what was happening back in the UK with the family and decided that that was the thing we had to do. So it’s very bittersweet from my point of view to be leaving.”

Not that he’s going to just up and disappear. In fact, The Wallis has asked for his continued help into the middle of next year.

“They’ve asked me to stay on as an adviser for six months,” he revealed, “which I’m very happy to do. I’ll be working from the UK, although potentially visiting once or twice in the first six months and next year and helping in any way I can to transition to the next person.”

Whoever comes in to replace Crewes will have to consider the seismic shifts that are taking place in culture as it relates to representation – on stage and off, cancel culture and more. Something Crewes has been considering for quite some time.

“There had to be change within within the arts. There had to be change within the culture of the country as well. Those changes are never going to be easy and they will question and put into question everything that you do. I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing. You have to work out where you stand within that context and you have to make the changes you believe you need to make. I think some of those changes won’t come easily if there’s no pressure for us to make change.”

He pauses and then considers what his role as a white, middle-aged man might be in both the problem and the solution to these problems.

“I’m of an older generation, maybe, which needs to rethink how we’ve been doing things for a long time. I think that we’re in a place where serious conversations need to happen and change needs to take place. The reality is we’ve lived in a world where one voice has been strongest for a long, long time. That’s going to be an uncomfortable conversation with that one voice. I fully represent that world, you know, being who I am. So I have to I have to be prepared to step back and listen and change.”

When asked what else he plans to do once he he returns home, Crewes was keeping his cards close to his vest.

“I’m keeping my counsel on a little bit there because I actually want to give myself time to think that through. We live in the Yorkshire Dales. I’ll go on long walks with my wife and the dog and just have a moment to recalibrate. I think projects are what drives me, not necessarily running an organization or an institution or a company, although I do enjoy that as well.”

His role as an adviser will allow Crewes to continue work on a long-gestating new version of William Shakespeare’s King Lear with Joe Morton (Turn Me Loose) in the title role.

“We had, in fact, our last day of a reading of King Lear. We’re also looking at the conceptual design of this project, which was going to be presented at the Wallis in May. That’s a project that I’ve been working on with Joe Morton and John Gould Rubin for nearly three years now due to the pandemic. Focusing on that project and really exploring how we can tell that story and present it in a way in 2022 that maybe hasn’t made sense before really excites me.“

So far The Wallis has been able to navigate the pandemic well. They are also closing out this calendar year, and with it the Paul Crewes era, with the hugely successful return of Love Actually Live, allows him to leave with his head held high.

“I’m feeling quite positive at the moment that we have opened Love Actually. We’ve had three dance companies in the building since September. We’ve had four concerts and we’ve had a Film Independent program. So we’ve covered all the different genres that we want to work in. We’ve managed to pull it off and it’s been great to do it.

“Even in COVID we’ve managed to achieve a box office target that we’ve never done before. So in a sense I suppose I feel it’s rounding my role here at The Wallis. It feels the right time to go. I would have hated leaving before we were able to get back into the theater and do the work that we’ve been doing. What the future holds? I don’t know. I mean, it’s the first time in 36 years of working that I’m leaving a job without knowing what the next job is.”

Love Actually Live runs through December 31st at The Wallis.

King Lear is scheduled to run at The Wallis May 10th – June 5th.

All photos of Paul Crewes by Luke Fontana/Courtesy The Wallis

The post Paul Crewes Reflects on His Time At The Wallis appeared first on Cultural Attaché.

Also on tap are two great (and very different ballets); two great jazz concerts; a contemporary classical music festival; a celebration of playwrights and a reading of a rare comedy from the 17th century that seems as topical as ever.

Here are our Top Ten Best Bets: June 11th – June 14th

*TOP PICK* MUSICAL REVUE: Show of Titles – Broadway’s Best Shows – June 13th – 7:00 PM ET/4:00 PM PT

What exactly is a Show of Titles? Simply put, a show featuring title songs from some of Broadway’s biggest musicals. For instance, Oklahoma has a well-known title song. Dear Evan Hansen does not. The Light in the Piazza does. Gypsy does not.

The cast of Broadway stars performing in this show, directed by Lonny Price, includes Annaleigh Ashford, Stephanie J. Block, Kerry Butler, Len Cariou, Glenn Close, Gavin Creel, Darren Criss, Dame Edna, Santino Fontana, Kelsey Grammar, David Alan Grier, Jake Gyllenhaal, Joshua Henry, Isabelle Huppert, Norm Lewis, Patti LuPone, Rob McClure, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Melba Moore, Jessie Mueller, Eva Noblezada, Kelli O’Hara, Laura Osnes, Steven Pasquale, Michael Rupert, Ernie Sabella, Lea Salonga, Phillipa Soo, Will Swenson, Aaron Tveit, Leslie Uggams, Vanessa Williams and Patrick Wilson.

There will also be special appearances by Debbie Allen, Broadway Inspirational Voices, Candice Bergen, Danny Burstein, Bryan Cranston, Tony Goldwyn, Adam Guettel, John Kander, Angela Lansbury, John Leguizamo, John Lithgow, Lindsay Mendez, Phylicia Rashad, Chita Rivera, Ben Stiller, Charles Strouse, Richard Thomas, Blair Underwood, BD Wong, and Florian Zeller.

The link to this event goes to Center Theatre Group in Los Angeles. There are two options for tickets: a $29 ticket allows purchasers to view Show of Titles on demand for 96 hours. (An appropriate number with the film adaptation of In the Heights opening this weekend. A show that not only has a title number, but also a song called 96,000).

A $39 ticket will include a ticket to stream Sarah Ruhl‘s Dear Elizabeth which begins on June 17th and reunites Kevin Kline with Meryl Streep (they appeared on screen together in Sophie’s Choice and Rikki and the Flash). That ticket also allows you to stream it for, you guessed it, 96 hours.

JAZZ: Coltrane: A Love Supreme – Jazz at Lincoln Center – Now – June 16th

Many many years ago I attended the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. One of the concerts I went to – not on the fairgrounds – was a performance by Wynton Marsalis and his band. They were the last of several performers and concluded their main set around midnight. As an encore he announced they would be performing A Love Supreme.

I’m well-acquainted with John Coltrane’s masterpiece and assumed he meant they would perform one of the tracks (they all include A Love Supreme as part of their title). I was wrong. They performed the entire album from start to finish. It was exhilarating and one of the best concerts I’ve ever attended.

Marsalis will once again perform A Love Supreme with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra as the final concert of their virtual season.

This performance will be feature big band arrangements with saxophonist Camille Thurman serving as guest soloist. Sherman Irby will lead the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra.

Tickets are $20 and allow for streaming through June 16th. Tickets can be purchased here.

BALLET: Giselle of Loneliness – Ballez/The Joyce Theater – Now – June 23rd

Perfectly timed for Pride Month is this presentation of Giselle of Loneliness by Ballez. The decade-old dance company is comprised of queer, transgender, non-binary and gender non-confirming artists.

As you might imagine from the title, Giselle of Loneliness uses a key moment from that classic ballet as its inspiration.

The dancers in this work, choreographed and directed by Katy Pyle (founder of Ballez), are all auditioning to win the title role of Giselle. To do so, they have to come up with their own version of the insanely challenging mad scene from that ballet.

In what seems to be a bit of a nod to and a twist on A Chorus Line, the dancers have to come face-to-face in this work with their desire to perform within an industry that doesn’t welcome them. It begs the question, how much personal degradation and rejection of your identity will you undergo to continue to do what you love.

The dancers performing in Giselle of Loneliness are Charles Gowin, Meg Harper, Maxfield Haynes, Matthias Kodat, Deborah Lohse, MJ Markovitz, Janet Panetta, Ash Phan, Alexandra Waterbury, and Nat Wilson.

Tickets are $25 and allow for viewing through June 23rd at 11:59 PM ET/8:59 PT.

BALLET: Balanchine and Robbins – Royal Opera House – Debuts June 11th – 2:30 PM ET/11:30 AM PT

The Royal Ballet will live stream their June 11th performance of a trio of works under the title Balanchine and Robbins. Which means, of course, that the works were either choreographed by George Balanchine or Jerome Robbins.

The evening begins with a performance of Apollo by Balanchine set to the music of Igor Stravinsky.

Four dancers are featured in this work which had its world debut in 1928. In this performance the ballet will be danced by Matthew Ball, Claire Calvert, Melissa Hamilton and Fumi Kaneko.

Next up is another work by Balanchine entitled Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux. No need to tell you who wrote the music. This short work had its world premiere in 1960. For this performance the dancers are Vadim Muntagirov and Marianela Nuñez.

The performance concludes with Jerome Robbins’ Dances at a Gathering. This hour-long work, set to the piano music of Frederic Chopin, had its world premiere at New York City Ballet in 1969. Reece Clarke, Teo Dubreuil, Benjamin Ella, James Hay, Fumi Kaneko, Mayara Magri, Yasmine Naghdi, Anna Rose O’Sullivan and Romany Pajdak are the dancers.

Tickets are $18.50. The performance will remain available for streaming through July 11th.

JAZZ: Brian Blade and the Fellowship Band – SFJAZZ – June 11th – 8:00 PM ET/5:00 PM PT

This week’s Fridays at Five concert from SFJAZZ features a 2016 performance by Brian Blade and the Fellowship Band.

Drummer Blade formed this band in 1997 with pianist Jon Cowherd, bassist Chris Thomas, saxophonists Myron Walden and Melvin Butler, guitarist Jeff Parker and pedal steel guitarist Dave Easley.

All but Easley join him for this show that features a five-song set featuring two traditional songs arranged by Blade and three original compositions by Cowherd.

Those songs are Landmarks found on the album of the same name from 2014; Duality from their 2017 album Body and Shadow and Return of the Prodigal Song from their 2008 album Season of Changes.

There is an encore showing of this concert on Saturday, June 12th at 1:00 PM ET/10:00 AM PT. Tickets for either show require either a monthly digital membership ($5) or an annual membership ($50).

If you join to watch this Brian Blade concert you will also have access to a special matinee broadcast on Sunday featuring Marcus Shelby and His Orchestra in a tribute to Duke Ellington. That concert will stream at 2:00 PM ET/11:00 AM PT. You can find details about that show here.

CONTEMPORARY CLASSICAL MUSIC: Kronos Festival – June 11th – 10:00 PM ET/7:00 PM PT

The renowned Kronos Quartet launches a virtual festival this year on Friday with a 45-minute concert. Included in this program are several world premieres and one classic work closely associated with Kronos.

Works by Nicole Lizée (Are You From Here Or Just Visiting?), Soo Yeon Lyuh (Tattoo), Hawa Kassé Mady Diabaté (Wawani) and Mahsa Vahdat (Vaya, Vaya) are given their debut performances.

Stacy Garrop’s Glorious Mahalia; Clint Mansell’s Lux Aeterna; Jlin’s Little Black Book and Pete Seeger’s Where Have All the Flowers Gone? are also being performed.

There is no charge to watch this, or any, performance. There is also a kids concert on Sunday, June 13th at 2:00 PM ET/11:00 AM PT.

The festival will continue with performances on Wednesday, June 16th at 10:00 PM ET/7:00 PM PT and Friday, June 18th at 10:00 PM ET/7:00 PM PT. The evening concerts are 45 minutes and the kids concert is 30 minutes.

All performances will remain available for viewing online through August 31st.

PLAY/FUNDRAISER: Connections – Ojai Playwrights Conference – June 12th – 8:00 PM ET/5:00 PM PT

The works of playwrights Luis Alfaro, Jon Robin Baitz, Father Greg Boyle, Bill Cain, Culture Clash, Stephen Adly Guirgis, Danai Gurira, Samuel D. Hunter, David Henry Hwang, Julia Izumi, James Morrison (with his son Seamus), Jeanine Tesori and Charlayne Woodard will be performed in this 90-minute celebration from the Ojai Playwrights Conference.

Liza Powel O’Brien is also contributing a piece.

Performing their work will be a mix of the playwrights themselves and some well-known actors: Brian Cox, Culture Clash, Eileen Galindo, Danai Gurira, Francis Jue, James and Seamus Morrison, Tony Okunghowa, Rose Portillo, Samantha Quan, John C. Reilly, Israel López Reyes, Nikkole Salter, Samantha Sloyan, Jimmy Smits, Phillipa Soo, A. Zell Williams and Charlayne Woodard.

The theme of the show, as the title would suggest, is human connections moving forward in a post-pandemic world.

This is a one-time only event. There is a requested donation of $20 to watch Connections.

Looking forward the Ojai Playwrights Conference New Works Festival will take place August 5th – August 15th.

PLAY: 1 Hour Photo – East West Players – June 12th – 11:00 PM ET/8:00 PM PT

Tetsuro Shigematsu’s 1 Hour Photo had its world premiere in 2017 at Vancouver’s The Cultch. The ostensibly one-man play tells the story of Mas Yamomoto, a man who owned and operated multiple Japan Camera stores which promised processing of film in one hour. (Remember those? Remember film?)

His conversations with Mas, a much older man, covered a lot of territory of personal and racial history of the 20th century. What starts as a humorous catch-up to outdated 1970s technology riff turns into a very personal and emotional story.

To help tell the story Shigematsu incorporates models, miniatures and some very interesting effects.

Shigematsu has now created a 75-minute film version of 1 Hour Photo and East West Players in Los Angeles will offer five virtual screenings of the film beginning on Saturday, June 12th. (Additional shows are on Sunday, June 13th; Friday, June 18th; Saturday June 19th and Sunday June 20th – times vary). Tickets are $34.99.

BROADWAY VOCALS: Matthew Morrison – Seth Concert Series – June 13th – 3:00 PM ET/12:00 PM PT

I’ve seen Matthew Morrison in three Broadway musicals: Hairspray, The Light in the Piazza and South Pacific. Perhaps the only thing they have in common is that he appeared in all three.

For many people Morrison may be best known for his role as Mr. Schuester on Glee.

All four projects allowed him to showcase one thing he does very well: sing. As will this weekend’s Seth Concert Series with Seth Rudetsky.

Yes there will be some conversation sprinkled amongst the performances, but it will mostly be about the music.

If you are unable to see the live stream on Sunday at 3:00 PM ET, there is an encore showing at 8:00 PM ET/5:00 PM PT the same day. Tickets for either are $25.

PLAY READING: Volpone, or The Fox – Red Bull Theater – Debuts June 14th – 7:30 PM ET/4:30 PM PT

17th-century playwright Ben Johnson may not be the best-known writer today, nor are his works commonly performed, but time hasn’t dulled his quick wit and ability to skewer the foibles of human behavior.

Take for example Volpone, or the Fox. The title character loves nothing more than gold. And he will stop at nothing to get as much of it as he can. With the assistance of his servant Mosca, the men of Venice who should know better inevitable fall for his schemes and his charm. It seems as nothing can outwit Volpone.

André De Shields (who won the Tony Award for his performance in Hadestown) plays Volpone. He’s joined by Jordan Boatman, Sofia Cheyenne, Franchelle Stewart Dorn, Clifton Duncan, Amy Jo Jackson, Peter Francis James, Hamish Linklater, Roberta Maxwell, Sam Morales, Kristine Nielsen and Mary Testa for this reading.

Jesse Burger, the Founder and Artistic Director of Red Bull directs. He and Jeffrey Hatcher have made some tweaks to Johnson’s play. (The press release calls them “emendations & elaborations.”)

After the live performance on Monday, June 14th, the show will be available for streaming through June 18th at 7:00 PM ET/4:00 PM PT. There is a suggested donation of $25.

A small bit of trivia: Larry Gelbart, who co-wrote Tootsie and was instrumental in the long-running television show M*A*S*H, wrote an updated version of Volpone that went by the name Sly Fox. It had its Broadway debut in 1976 with George C. Scot in the title role.

That concludes our official Top Ten Best Bets: June 11th – June 14th. But a few reminders before we go:

The film version of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s In the Heights is now in theaters and streaming on HBO MAX.

Los Angeles Opera’s Signature Recital Series has now unveiled all five recitals for streaming with Russell Thomas, Susan Graham, Christine Goerke, Julia Bullock and J’Nai Bridges. They will remain available through July 1st. You can find details here.

The Los Angeles Philharmonic has added a newly-announced episode for the second season of Sound/Stage. Debuting on June 11th is a performance by the LA Phil with the Youth Orchestra Los Angeles and the band Weezer. They will be performing songs from their album OK Human. Rob Mathes leads the LA Phil and did the orchestrations.

This weekend’s offerings from the Metropolitan Opera are the 2012-2013 season production of Thomas Adés’ The Tempest on Friday; Verdi’s Falstaff from the 2013-2014 season on Saturday and the 2017-2018 season production of Mozart’s Cosi fan tutte on Sunday.

Monday the Met begins a week of operas to celebrate Father’s Day. The first production being streamed is Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra from the 1994-1995 season. We’ll have the full schedule and clips on Monday.

What inevitably follows another opening is another closing. Here ends this weekend’s Best Bets: June 11th – June 14th.

Update: This post has been updated to include newly announced participants in Connections

Photo: Jake Gyllenhaal in Sunday in the Park with George (Photo by Matthew Murphy/Courtesy IBDB.com)

The post Top Ten Best Bets: June 11th – June 14th appeared first on Cultural Attaché.

This week’s selections run the gamut from spoken word to Ukranian music to Cuban jazz to Broadway royalty.

My top pick amongst this week’s Best Bets: April 16th – April 19th is part 3 of MasterVoices’ Myths and Hymns. Adam Guettel’s song cycle is one of my favorite compositions of his and the first two parts of MasterVoices’ series were extraordinary. Dove Cameron (who appeared in a small tour of the composer’s The Light in the Piazza) and Broadway star Cheyenne Jackson are amongst the guest joining MasterVoices for this section called Love.

Here are my Best Bets: April 16th – April 19th:

*TOP PICK* VOCALS: Myths and Hymns Part 3: LOVE – MasterVoices YouTube Channel – Available Now

I’ve already written about this series of four programs that combine performance, film and animation to present Adam Guettel’s Myths and Hymns.

Part three is called Love and features performances by Dianne Drayse Alonso, Nina Bernstein, John Brancy, Dove Cameron, Drew Gehling, Cheyenne Jackson, Shereen Pimentel and Lori Wilne.

The films in this episode are directed by Victoria Clark (Tony Award winner for her performance in Guettel’s The Light in the Piazza) and Ted Sperling (Tony Award winner for his orchestrations of the same musical; he’s also the Artistic Director of MasterVoices).

The first two parts of Myths and Hymns were terrific. I have no doubt this will be just as inspiring and moving as the other two. Thus it is my top pick this week.

SPOKEN WORD: Black Nourishment – Not a Moment, But a Movement – Center Theatre Group – Now – June 15th

From the stage of the Kirk Douglas Theatre spoken word artists Tru Sound, Yazmin Monet Watkins and Alyesha Wise will speak their truth about being Black in America. Performing in front of murals from their home towns are spoken word artists Chris Webb and Sierra Freeman in Cleveland; Royce Hall and Jali Ajani Nafula in Atlanta and from Oakland are Shawn William and Prentice Powell.

Music is provided by Sugi Dakks who is joined by Jarren Heidelberg on drums; Josh Howard on bass; Aaron Mastin on keys and Terall Whitehead on guitar. Expect hip-hop music with a jazz flavor.

Black Nourishment is directed by Tyrone Davis and Bruce A. Lemon Jr. There will be an introduction from Emmy Award-winner Ron Cephas Jones (This Is Us).

There is no charge to watch Black Nourishment through April 30th. After that it will cost $10 to view the show.

ROCK OPERA: Weightless – Women’s Project Theater – Now – May 30th

One story Ovid’s Metamorphoses serves as the inspiration for this rock opera by The Kilbanes (married couple Kate Kilbane and Dan Moses). That story is one of sisterhood, but also includes extremely violent acts.

The Kilbanes have created a rock opera that was first performed at Z Space in San Francisco in 2018.

When it was presented at the Under the Radar Festival in 2019, Laura Collins-Hughes, writing in the New York Times, called Weightless, “an accomplished work, and an entertaining one. The Kilbanes banish rape from the narrative in favor of pleasurable sex, and shape the story with female voices.

“Unlike so many pieces of music theater, Weightless has a well-crafted form, and its spoken dialogue melds beautifully with the propulsive score.”

The Kilbanes have made a film of their rock opera (directed by Tamilla Woodard) with fellow cast members Lila Blue, Kofy Brown, Dan Harris and Joshua Pollock.

Weightless will be available for streaming through May 30th. There is no charge, however donations are encouraged.

WORLD MUSIC: DakhaBrakha – CAP UCLA – Now – May 31st

For those who like their music from other parts of the world, this Ukranian ensemble gives you a taste of the traditional and the adventurous.

DakhaBrakha is a four-person ensemble featuring Nina Garenetska, Marko Halanevych, Iryna Kovalenko and Klena Tsybulska. They have been winning over audiences and critics for 17 years with their unique blend of old and new.

Or perhaps as their name is translated, the Give and Take.

This concert was filmed exclusively for CAP UCLA in Kyiv.

There is no charge to watch this concert, but donations are encouraged. CAP UCLA will continue to make DakhaBrakha’s concert available through May 31st.

PLAY: Sitting and Talking – Laguna Playhouse – April 16th – May 2nd

How do sixty-somethings (or anyone for that matter) navigate dating during a quarantine? That’s the question asked by Lia Romeo in her designed-for-Zoom play Sitting and Talking. Her play will have its Southern California premiere via the Laguna Playhouse starting this weekend.

Starring as the man and woman trying to find love are Dan Lauria (The Wonder Years) and Wendie Malick (Just Shoot Me). James Grossman directs.

Tickets are $20 per household. There will be a live talkback this Sunday, April 18th at 8:30 PM EDT/5:30 PM PDT with Lauria, Malick, Romeo, Grossman and producer Chris O’Connor.

OPERA: Zemlinskys Zimmer – the little OPERA theatre of ny – April 16th – 7:30 PM EDT/4:30 PM PDT

This will be a livestream performance from St. John’s in the Village of a work that combines scenes from Alexander Zemlinsky’s opera Eine Florentinische Tragödie with vocal and chamber music by the composer. They are being combined to tell the story of a love triangle with a married woman torn between her husband and a Prince. (It’s opera, of course there’s a love triangle! Of course a Prince is involved!)

Zemlinsky’s work was based on an Oscar Wilde play. His opera had its world premiere in 1917 in Stuttgart.

the little OPERA theatre of ny production will feature Katy Lindhart, Eric McKeever and Nicolas Simpson. Catherine Miller accompanies on piano and serves as Music Director. Laura Frautschi will appear as a guest violinist. Philip Schneidman directs.

Tickets begin at $5 and increased based on your ability to pay/make a donation.

JAZZ: Daymé Arocena – SFJAZZ – April 16th – 8:00 PM EDT/5:00 PM PDT

Though not a household name in America, Daymé Arocena is very well-known in Cuba where she was born. Arocena began her professional career at the age of 14 working with the band Los Primos.

Her first album, New Era, was released in 2015. She followed with One Take (2016), Cubafonía (2017) and Sonocardiogram (2019).

This concert, part of SFJazz’s Fridays at Five series, comes from November 2019 when she was touring in support of Sonocardiogram. Raul Da Gama, in his review of the album for LatinJazzNet, said, “…what she does on Sonocardiogram is to raise the level of her music art to the heights achieved by men with a longer standing in this realm – even such men as the doyen of them all, Román Díaz, and the explosive Pedrito Martinez. Like them Miss Arocena’s ability to invoke (such goddesses as) Oyá, Ochún and Yemayá is not only palpable, but she delivers her invocations with enormous power, poise and stylistic grace.

There will be an encore presentation of this concert on Saturday, April 17th at 1:00 PM EDT/10:00 AM PDT. Tickets are $5 (which includes one month of digital membership) or $60 (which includes a full year of digital membership.) Digital membership allows for free streaming of the Fridays at Five concerts and discounted tickets to additional streaming events (one of which you can find below).

PLAY: An Evening with John Wilkes Booth – Whitefire Theatre – April 16th – 10:00 PM EDT/7:00 PM PDT

Given that Classic Stage Company is celebrating the musical Assassins, it seems only fair to offer another point of view. In this case, the point of view of Abraham Lincoln’s assassin, John Wilkes Booth.

The play was written by Lloyd J. Schwartz (a producer/director of The Brady Bunch) and Clinton Case.

Starring in An Evening with John Wilkes Booth is Stephen Spiegel.

Case’s extensive research forms the factual spine of this one-man show. We don’t often get to hear from those who pull the trigger, so this should be a fascinating companion piece to Tell the Story about Sondheim’s musical.

It features a performance by Spiegel that prompted a critic from The Free Press in Columbus, Ohio to state, “the actor does anything but phone his performance in. Indeed, Spiegel kills as America’s archetypal assassin.”

Tickets are $15.99 and allow for streaming on demand for 72 hours.

OPERA: Verdi’s Don Carlo – San Francisco Opera – April 17th – April 18th

Conducted by Nicola Luisotti; starring Michael Fabiano, Ana María Martínez, René Pape, Mariusz Kwiecień and Nadia Krasteva. This revival of Emilio Sagi’s 2003 production is from the 2015-2016 season.

Don Carlo had its world premiere in 1867 in Paris. Friedrich Schiller’s play Don Carlos, Infant von Spanien, served as the basis for the libretto by Joseph Méry and Camille du Locle. The opera was originally performed in French. Three months after its debut in Paris, Don Carlo was performed in Italian. First at Covent Garden in London and later in Bologna. It is most frequently performed in Italian.

Don Carlo of Spain and Elisabetta of Valois are betrothed to one another. They have never met. Don Carlo sneaks away to meet this unknown woman. They fall in love. However, their happiness is quickly ruined when Carlo’s father, Filippo, announces that he’s in love with her and she is to be his bride.

Even though she is now his stepmother, Don Carlo tries multiple times to woo Elisabetta away from his father. With the Spanish Inquisition ongoing, the affairs of all three and the appearance of a mysterious monk lead to murder plots, revenge, unrequited love, thievery and more being played out in Verdi’s longest opera.

James Ambroff-Tahan, writing in the San Francisco Examiner, said of this production, “It’s been 13 years since San Francisco Opera has staged Don Carlo, one of Verdi’s most mature operas. Yet the talented cast in this summer’s sumptuous revival of director Emilio Sagi’s production — boasting the vocal heft and staying power the four-and-a-half hour work requires — makes the dry spell well worth the wait.”

CONTEMPORARY CLASSICAL MUSIC: Bang on a Can Marathon – April 18th – 1:00 PM EDT/10:00 AM PDT

Bang on a Can (founded by Michael Gordon, David Lang and Julia Wolfe) began its traditions of marathon concerts celebrating new music in 1987. They return with another marathon this year and this one features all world premieres.

Here’s the line-up (using EDT):

1:00 PM: Anguish from Falling Sky by Michael Abels performed by Vicky Chow; witness… by Mantana Roberts; ad astra by Joan La Barbara performing by Iva Casian-Lakos (and noted to be for a cellist who sings) and Chaconne in A Minor by Anton Batagov.

2:00 PM: How Was Your Year by Rudresh Mahanthappa performed by Ken Thomson; House Calls by Timo Andres performed by David Byrd-Marrow; Meditation #1 by Leyla McCalla performed by Arlen Hlusko; Persuasion by John Hollenbeck performed by David Cossin

3:00 PM: STALLION by Carman Moore performed by Robert Black; new work written and performed by Kelly Moran; Song for Eric by Michael Friday performed by Jeff Anderle and new work by Jonathan Bailey Holland performed by Mark Stewart

4:00 PM: Six Riffs after Ovid for solo oboe by Michael Daughtery performed by Titus Underwood; new work written and performed by Andy Akiho and See You on the Other Side written and performed by Soo Yeon Lyuh

Tickets begin at $10 and increase based on your ability to pay.

CABARET: Stephanie J. Block and Sebastian Arcelus – Seth Concert Series – April 18th – 3:00 PM EDT/12:00 PM PDT

Married couple Stephanie J. Block and Sebastian Arcelus perform together in this weekend’s Seth Concert Series with Seth Rudetsky.

Block is the Tony Award winner for The Cher Show.

She also appeared in the 2016 revival of Falsettos, the 2012 revival of The Mystery of Edwin Drood and The Boy From Oz.

Arcelus appeared in Rent, Good Vibrations, Elf, A Time to Kill and co-wrote the book for Gettin’ the Band Back Together Again.

They both appeared in Wicked (she as Elphaba, he as Fiyero) where they met and fell in love.

There will be an encore showing at 8:00 PM EDT/5:00 PM PDT on Sunday. Tickets for either showing are $25.

CHAMBER MUSIC: Telegraph Quartet – Crowden Music Center – April 18th – 7:00 PM EDT/4:00 PM PDT

Violinists Eric Chin and Joseph Maile, violist Pei-Ling Lin and cellist Jeremiah Shaw formed Telegraph Quartet in 2013. They have toured the world with their mix of traditional classical music repertoire and more contemporary works.

This will be the case for their performance from Crowden Music Center in Berkeley, California. Scheduled repertoire includes Britten’s Three Divertimenti (their recording of this work can be found on their 2018 recording Into the Light), Beethoven’s String Quartet No. 1 in F Major, Op. 18 No. 1 and Brahms’ String Quartet No. 2 in A minor, Op. 51 No. 2.

There is no charge to watch their performance, however donations are encouraged. The concert will remain available for streaming for one week.

JAZZ: Alone Together: Tuck & Patti – SFJAZZ – April 18th – 9:00 PM EDT/6:00 PM PDT

On Thursday, April 15th jazz duo Tuck & Patti gave a live performance for SFJAZZ. That performance will be available again on Sunday, April 18th.

Guitarist Tuck Andress and singer Patti Cathcart have been performing for over four decades and they’ve been married for 38 years and counting.

They have regularly received rave reviews for their live performances. The combination of his playing and her voice is one that makes the complicated seem simple and the simple seem to have more depth than you imagined.

In 2018 they went on tour with St. Vincent. Why? Tuck is her uncle. St. Vincent is also a fascinating artist. Why wouldn’t she take advantage of their talent? You should, too.

Tickets are $5 for members and $10 for non-members. Ticket buyers will have access to on-demand streaming through May 31st.

CABARET: Broadway Close Up: Kay Swift – Kaufman Music Center – April 19th – 7:00 PM EDT/4:00 PM PDT

Kay Swift is one of the most interesting women in the history of Broadway musicals. Her musical Fine and Dandy opened on Broadway in 1930 and ran for 255 performances. This is one of five musicals she wrote (she also wrote the lyrics for her fifth, Paris ’90) and was easily the most successful.

One song of hers, Can’t We Be Friends, has proven particularly popular and has been recorded dozens of times. It’s also a favorite of filmmakers who have included it in such movies as Bonnie and Clyde, The Heartbreak Kid and Torch Song Trilogy.

Some might think of her only from her relationship with composer George Gershwin. Obviously there was much more to Swift than just one affair (and it was an affair). After Gershwin’s death she was regularly asked to offer her advice and knowledge about his works.

Sean Hartley will host an episode of Broadway Close Up from Kaufman Music Center looking at Swift’s life and career.

Joining for performances are Nikki Renée Daniels (the upcoming revival of Company), Jeff Kready (A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder), Sally Wilfert (Assassins) and Klea Blackhurst (The Nutty Professor). Serving as music director is composer Georgia Stitt.

Tickets are $15. There will be a live Q&A with Hartley immediately following the show.

CABARET/CONVERSATION: Jim Caruso’s Pajama Cast Party – April 19th – 8:00 PM EDT/5:00 PM PDT

Joining Jim Caruso for this Monday’s Pajama Cast Party are Sally Mayes and George Dvorsky (whose musical Pete ‘n’ Keely is being made into a film), Jackie Cox (from season 12 of RuPaul’s Drag Race), cabaret artist Meg Flather and singer/actor Jacob Daniel Cummings.

You have probably already assumed that the Keely in the title of the musical is Keely Smith who was married to and performed with Louis Prima. But alas, you’d be incorrect.

This is Keely Stevens and he is Pete Bartel. They were once headliners in Vegas and a staple of television talk shows. They are reuniting for a live television appearance and it’s the first time they’ve done so since a very public break-up.

The timing for Jackie Cox to appear is quite good indeed. Next week RuPaul’s Drag Race will name the season 13 winner. Who will it be? (If you don’t know who is in the running they are Gottmik, Kandy Muse, Rosé and Symone. I’m personally rooting for Symone.) Jackie Cox will be spilling all the T with JC!

Caruso knows the most minute details about all his guests. This will be another fabulous way to start your week!

Those are my Best Bets: April 16th – April 19th, but you know I always have a few reminders.

Be sure to check out my preview for Carnegie Hall’s Voices of Hope festival as there are numerous offerings available this weekend including performances by pianist Emanuele Arciuli, The Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Dutch National Opera, singer/songwriter Ute Lemper, Movement Art Is and Third Coast Percussion.

Los Angeles Opera’s Signature Recital Series has begun and the first offering is a performance by tenor Russell Thomas. Go here to read my preview of the series.

Classic Stage Company’s in-depth look at the Stephen Sondheim/John Weidman musical Assassins will remain available through Monday. For details go here to read my preview.

Los Angeles Philharmonic’s second season of Sound/Stage continues this week with a new episode focused on John Adams’ Grand Pianola Music. I’ve seen this work performed live, you’re in for a treat.

This weekend’s offerings from the Metropolitan Opera are their 2016-2017 season production of Dvořák’s Rusalka on Friday; Saturday they will stream their 1986-1987 production of Puccini’s Turandot for the first time and on Sunday they are streaming their 2013-2014 season production of Rossini’s La Cenerentola.

And in a preview of next week’s streaming productions, the Met will stream Wagner’s Lohengrin from the 1985-1986 season as part of their Moral Authority week.

That does it. That’s the complete list of Best Bets April 16th – April 19th.

Have a terrific weekend! Enjoy the performing arts!

Photo: Dove Cameron in Myths and Hymns Chapter 3: How Can I Lose You” (Courtesy MasterVoices)

The post Best Bets: April 16th – April 19th appeared first on Cultural Attaché.

Topping this week’s list is AMPLIFY a gala fundraiser event by and for Maestra, an organization that supports and helps develop women composers, writers and musicians working in musical theatre. This is a great organization and they have an excellent event planned.

So here are my Four Days of Best Bets: March 26th – March 29th:

*TOP PICK* BROADWAY VOCALS: Amplify 2021 – Maestra – March 29th – 7:00 PM EDT/4:00 PM PDT

Maestra is an organization founded by songwriter/composer Georgia Stitt. On Monday night they are having a gala featuring Ashley Park, Nikki M. James, Brandon Victor Dixon, Tanya Birl, Kenita Miller, Shelley Thomas, Eva Noblezada and Reeve Carney, along with appearances from Anaïs Mitchell (Tony Award-winning creator of Hadestown), Kirsten Childs (OBIE Award-winning creator of Bubbly Black Girl), Helen Park (Lortel Award-winning creator of KPOP), Rona Siddiqui (Larson Award-winning creator of Salaam Medina: Tales of a Halfghan), Britt Bonney, Kristy Norter, Dionne McClain-Freeney, Meg Zervoulis, Kat Sherrell, Nicole Rebolledo, Stitt, and a special appearance by Bernadette Peters. Shoshana Bean will sing an original song with music, lyrics and orchestrations by Maestra member Lynne Shankel (Allegiance) for the finale of the event.

The event will be hosted by Brooks Ashmanskas (The Prom) and Andrea Burns (In the Heights). The event is produced and directed by Kate Baldwin (Hello, Dolly!). Baldwin appears on Stitt’s 2020 album A Quiet Revolution. You should check out her song, The Water Is Wide, and the entire album.

Tickets range from free to $500. Those who are able to pay for the higher-priced tickets will have access to post-show events with Gavin Creel & Celia Keenan-Bolger; “Chers” Stephanie J. Block, Teal Wicks & Micaela Diamond; Chaplin co-stars Jenn Colella & Rob McClure; Book of Mormon original stars Nikki M. James & Michael James Scott; Mean Girls Ashley Park & Erika Henningsen; and The Prom stars Caitlin Kinnunen & Isabelle McCalla. If you are interested in purchasing one of those tickets, you must do so by 5:00 PM EDT/2:00 PM PDT on Sunday, March 28th.

MUSICAL: BKLYN – The Musical – Stream.theatre – Now – April 4th

Mark Schoenfeld and Barri McPherson collaborated on this musical based on his own experiences as a street musician. From personal experience to Broadway where Brooklyn opened in the fall of 2004.

The musical depicts a group of homeless musicians performing a show about a girl from Paris searching for her father. She gets discovered when performing with the group under the Brooklyn Bridge and becomes a big star, but one still trying to find her dad. It’s actually structured as a play-within-a-play.

Sejal Keshwala, Emma Kingston, Newton Matthews, Jamie Muscato and Marisha Wallace staged in this filmed production from Ugly Duck, London Bridge in England.

You’ll have a choice of either a specific showtime or an on-demand purchase to watch the musical. Tickets are £18 which includes service charges. That’s approximately $25.

VOCALS: Giles Terera in Black Matter – Now – March 31st

Just as Leslie Odom Jr. won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for his performance as Aaron Burr in Hamilton, Giles Terera won the British equivalent, The Olivier, for his performance in the same role in London.

During the pandemic, Terera took to expressing his feelings and experiences during the pandemic and with all the social upheaval by writing songs. He performs that song cycle, Black Matter, in a concert filmed at Crazy Coqs in the Soho area of London.

Terera received rave reviews for Black Matter. Tickets are £13 (which includes service charges) which equals approximately $18.

PLAY: The Thanksgiving Play – Spotlight on Plays on Broadway’s Best Shows – Now – March 29th

Native American playwright Larissa FastHorse received a MacArthur “Genius” Grant in 2020 and it was largely due to her well-received and often performed The Thanksgiving Play. As part of their Spotlight on Plays series, Broadway’s Best shows is streaming a reading of the play with Bobby Cannavale, Keanu Reeves, Heidi Schreck and Alia Shawkat.

The premise finds four white people trying to put together a culturally-sensitive Thanksgiving play to be performed in schools.

Jesse Green, in his New York Times review, said of FastHorse’s play:

“Just because a target’s too easy doesn’t mean it won’t make a satisfying meal. Take turkeys, or the holiday they stand for. In Larissa FastHorse’s The Thanksgiving Play, which opened on Monday at Playwrights Horizons, the familiar, whitewashed story of Pilgrims and Native Americans chowing down together gets a delicious roasting from expert farceurs.”

Tickets are $15. This play will only be available through Monday at 6:00 PM EDT.

MUSICAL/DANCE: Tango the Musical – Center Theatre Group – Now – March 28th

The music of Astor Piazzolla serves as the foundation for this show from Argentina. Eleven dancers perform Argentina’s most famous dance while accompanied by a 10-piece live orchestra. Tango the Musical is set during Argentina’s Guerra sucia (“Dirty War”).

This was a period of enormous conflict from 1976-1984 that found crackdowns on anyone considered or rumored to be a socialist or dissident. As many as 30,000 people went missing during this time.

Tango the Musical is directed by Sergei Tumas and choreographed by Argentinians Iván Leonardo Romero and Silvana Nuñez.

I’m not sure that anyone truly sings, so I’m not sure how much this show is a musical or a dance, but if you love this music, this should be quite entertaining.

There are performances available Friday and Saturday at 8:00 PM EDT/5:00 PM PDT and 11:00 PM EDT/8:00 PM PDT and on Sunday at 4:00 PM EDT/1:00 PM PDT and 8:00 PM EDT/5:00 PM PDT. Tickets are $10.

JAZZ: Voices of Freedom – Jazz at Lincoln Center Virtual Season – March 26th – March 31st

Singers Betty Carter, Billie Holiday, Abbey Lincoln and Nina Simone will be celebrated in this concert by Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra under the baton of Chris Crenshaw.

Joining them as guest vocalists are Melanie Charles, Shenel Johns, and Ashley Pezzotti who will perform songs the women wrote and made famous.

All four women were powerhouse singers who left everything they had on the stage. I was lucky enough to see Carter, Lincoln and Simone in concert. These are four women well worth celebrating.

Tickets are $20.

CONVERSATION: Virtual Halston with Lucie Arnaz – March 26th – 5:00 PM EST/2:00 PM PST

Lucie Arnaz joins Julie Halston for this Friday’s Virtual Halston on the Cast Party Network. Arnaz has been in the news recently with the start of production on Being the Ricardos, a feature film about the relationship between her parents, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem are playing the two television icons.

When fans got upset about the casting, Arnaz, who is an Executive Producer on the movie, took to Facebook and said, in part, “Stop arguing about who should play it – ‘she doesn’t look like her, her nose isn’t the same she isn’t as funny’…Just trust us. It’s going to be a nice film and p.s. the voting is over.”

Now that should make for some great conversation!

JAZZ: Jane Monheit – SFJAZZ – March 26th – 8:00 PM EDT/5:00 PM PDT

While we’re celebrating great women of jazz with the Voices of Freedom concert listed above, let’s also acknowledge The First Lady of Song Ella Fitzgerald. That’s precisely what singer Jane Monheit does in this concert that is part of SFJAZZ’s Fridays at Five series.

Monheit’s 2016 album, The Songbook Sessions: Ella Fitzgerald features her performing such songs as Somebody Loves Me, Ill Wind and This Time the Dream’s on Me. Will Mack the Knife be part of this concert? I don’t know, but as good as Monheit is, nobody could swing that song (or screw it up) quite like Fitzgerald.

Seriously Monheit is terrific. It would be impossible not to enjoy this show. Joining Monheit for this concert are Andy Langham on piano; Rick Montalbano on drums; Dave Robaire on bass and Jamey Tate on percussion.

Tickets are $5 for a one-month digital membership or $60 for an annual digital membership.

CHAMBER MUSIC: Gil Shaham Plays Boulogne – Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra – Debuts March 26th – 9:30 PM EDT/6:30 PM PDT

Violinist Gil Shaham joins the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra for their Close Quarters series. In this film he will perform Arvo Pärt’s Fratres and Boulogne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges’ Violin Concerto No. 9.

If you are accustomed to seeing classical music performances with the camera on the periphery of the orchestra, this will be different. According to Shaham the cameramen were working their way in and around all the musicians during the performance. It’s certain to give a more up-close look at performance than we usually get to see.

Margaret Batjer leads the LACO in an approximately 33 minute film. There’s no charge and the film will be available for viewing at any time.

DANCE DOCUMENTARY: Twyla Moves – American Masters on PBS – March 26th (check local listings)

Whether you love or hate what choreographer Twyla Tharp does (and I know people in both camps), she is arguably one of the most independent and intriguing figures in modern dance. Which probably is what interested filmmaker Steven Cantor to create this documentary on Tharp.

Her work has been performed on stages around the world and includes ballet, modern dance and Broadway musicals. She’s also choreographed for feature films including Hair, Ragtime and Amadeus.

The documentary includes interviews and never-before-seen footage of Tharp at work and in performance. As with all PBS programming, check your local listings for exact airdate and time.

WORLD MUSIC: Zakir Hussain and Masters of Percussion – CAP UCLA – March 26th – 10:00 PM EDT/7:00 PM PDT

Zakir Hussain is a master table musician. Tabla is a pair of hand drums indigenous to India and Pakistan. He has performed with a diverse range of artists that includes George Harrison, Charles Lloyd, Yo-Yo Ma, Van Morrison and Pharoah Sanders.

For this filmed concert he will be joined by Pezhham Akhavass on tombak and Iranian percussion; Marcus Gilmore on drums and Abbos Kosimov on doyra and Uzbek percussion with special guests.

Zakir Hussain and Masters of Percussion was immensely popular when this program was performed at UCLA during the 2018-2019 season. There’s no charge to watch this concert.

OPERA: Götterdämmerung – San Francisco Opera – March 27th – March 28th

Conducted by Sir Donald Runnicles; starring Daniel Brenna, Iréne Theorin, Greer Grimsley, Andrea Silvestrelli, Melissa Citro, Brian Mulligan and Falk Struckmann. This revival of Francesca Zambello’s 2011 production is from the 2017-2018 season.

The final opera in Der Ring des Nibelungen had its world premiere in 1876 in Bayreuth as part of the first-ever performance of The Ring Cycle.

Alberich’s curse placed on the ring and its owners comes to haunt the characters in this final opera in the Ring Cycle. Siegfried, having fallen in love with Brunnhilde, is convinced to consume a potion that renders him without memory. That lack of remembering finds him proposing to another woman, Gutrune. Her brother consents as long as Siegfried will allow him to marry Brunnhilde. The ring changes hands and with Alberich’s son, Hagen, manipulating the action, ruin comes to all, including the gods whose glory has come to an end leaving Valhalla in flames.

For this production, Zambello has set the story in the American West. The cycle began during the gold rush and ends with Götterdämmerung in present-day America.

Lisa Hirsch, writing for Classical Voice San Francisco, raved about the orchestra’s performance under the baton of Runnicles:

“No Ring production can succeed without a fine orchestra and strong leadership, and as long-time operagoers know, Donald Runnicles and the San Francisco Opera Orchestra make a splendid team. Runnicles, a great conductor of long and complex works, led a performance of breadth, subtlety, and beauty, full of telling detail. The orchestra played tirelessly and beautifully, with a warmly blended and layered sound, over the many hours of the cycle. The brass sections were especially impressive, given the demands Wagner makes on them, playing with unforced power.”

JAZZ: Delfeayo Marsalis Quintet – Snug Harbor Jazz Revival – March 28th – 8:00 PM EDT/5:00 PM PDT

If you can have a show with one Marsalis brother this week, why not have two? Trombonist/composer/producer Delfeayo Marsalis is performing from Snug Harbor in New Orleans in this concert on Sunday.

In addition to performing with his brothers, his late father, Ellis, and countless other musicians, Delfeayo Marsalis has produced recordings by such artist as Terence Blanchard, Harry Connick, Jr., the Preservation Jazz Hall Band and has worked with filmmaker Spike Lee.

Tickets to watch his concert are $15.

PLAY READING: SQUEAKY – Guild Hall – March 28th – 7:30 PM EDT/4:30 PM PDT

Jessica Hecht, Marc Kudisch, LaTanya Richardson Jackson, Ben Shenkman and Harris Yulin are lined-up for this reading of SQUEAKY by playwright Jeff Cohen.

The play is an autobiographical comedy that stars Kudish and Shenkman having a hard time agreeing on the best course of action for their father (Yulin) who is nearing the end of his life.

Throw in a caretaker (Jackson) and Squeaky’s estranged wife (Hecht) and you’ve got the makings for plenty of familial conflict and loads of opportunities for humor.

Bob Balaban directs. Tickets are free, but donations are encouraged.

PLAY: Pedro Páramo – Goodman Theatre – March 29th – April 11th

Juan Rulfo’s 1955 novel of the same name is the inspiration for this play by Raquel Carrió that was part of the Goodman Theatre’s Latino Theatre Festival in 2013. Pedro Páramo is performed by Cuba’s Teatro Buendía and directed by Flora Lauten.

As in the book, Juan Preciado returns home to honor his dying mother’s wishes of settling old scores with his father, Pedro. What Juan soon realizes is everyone in the town he has returned to is a ghost. It is through this realization that the full story of Pedro Páramo (both the character and the play) becomes fully revealed.

Tony Adler, in his review for the Chicago Reader, said of the play:

“Rulfo’s story is like Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol without the redemption, and like Edgar Lee Masters’s Spoon River Anthology—a collection of poems written from the points of view of people buried in a small Illinois cemetery—without the nice distinction between life and afterlife. Rulfo’s reality allows for a free conflation of bodies and souls, places and times. It isn’t magic, but a simple apprehension of the resonances that wait in all things.”

Tickets are free, but registration is required.

CABARET/CONVERSATION: Pajama Cast Party One Year Anniversary Show – March 29th – 8:00 PM EDT/5:00 PM PDT

Two weeks ago I highlighted Jim Caruso’s 50th Pajama Cast Party show. But this week is the real anniversary: one year of doing online shows. Caruso is pulling out all the stops for this celebration. But I don’t know who or what that will be.

All I know is the VIP guest list is being kept very hush hush. But between his stellar guests for both the live version at Birdland and this full year of shows, this is going to be one swellegant party.

Those are my official Four Days of Best Bets: March 26th – March 29th. A couple reminders before I close out this weekend’s listings.

OPERA: The Metropolitan Opera is streaming two productions this weekend for the first time. On Friday they are streaming Mozart’s Idomeneo from the 1982-1983 season. That production stars Hildegard Behrens, Frederica von Stade and Luciano Pavarotti. This was the first-ever production of that opera at the Met. On Saturday Mozart’s Don Giovanni from their 2000-2001 season with Bryn Terfel and Renée Fleming is being streamed. On Sunday they are showing their 2019-2020 season production of Wagner’s Der Fliegende Holländer.

And here’s a preview of next week’s streaming operas: love triangles is the theme and the week opens with the 2017-2018 season production of Bellini’s Norma with Sondra Radvanovsky and Joyce DiDonato. Check back on Monday for our preview of the full week of programming.

Finally, it’s always a good idea to check back at the last two or three weeks of Best Bets as some of the programming I write about is available for longer than just the weekend. If you don’t find something you like here, perhaps the most recent two or three weekend lists will have something you’ll like.

That does it for my Best Bets: March 26th – March 29th. Have a great weekend and enjoy whatever you watch!

Photo: Georgia Stitt and Kate Baldwin (Photo by Kristin Pulido/Courtesy Maestra)

The post Four Days of Best Bets: March 26th – March 29th appeared first on Cultural Attaché.

But that’s not all! There are operas both old and new; dance both modern and ballet; vocalists singing standards and show tunes; several jazz concert options; contemporary classical music and witty banter to start your weekend off just right. We have nearly two dozen options for you!

With so many plays available, one of them was destined to be my Top Pick this week. It’s almost as if it had been written in the stars. Topping this week’s list is the Public Theater’s radio play and bilingual version of Shakespeare’s Romeo y Julieta with Juan Castano as Romeo and Lupita Nyong’o as Julieta.

So here are the Four Days of Best Bets: March 19th – March 22nd. The list begins with my Top Pick and is followed by events in the order in which they become available.

*TOP PICK* RADIO PLAY: Romeo y Julieta – Public Theater – Now Available

William Shakespeare’s best-known play is certainly Romeo and Juliet. In this radio play version you’ll get to hone in on exactly what makes this play so riveting: the story and the words. But there’s going to be a difference: this is a bilingual version called Romeo y Julieta.

Director Saheem Ali and Ricardo Pérez González have adapted Alfredo Michel Modenessi’s Spanish-language translation for this audio only production.

Starring as the title characters are Juan Castano as Romeo and Lupita Nyong’o as Julieta. Ivonne Coll plays the Nurse, Hiram Delgado is Tybalt, Irene Sofia Lucia is Mercutio, Julio Monge is Friar Lawrence and Javier Muñoz is Paris.

The rest of the cast includes Carlo Albán, Karina Arroyave, Erick Betancourt, Michael Braugher, Carlos Carrasco, John J. Concado, Guillermo Diaz , Sarah Nina Hayon, Kevin Herrera, Modesto Lacen, Florencia Lozano,  Keren Lugo, Benjamin Luis McCracken, Tony Plana and David Zayas.

The Public is making closed-captioning available in both English and Spanish and are also providing a script to use to follow along for those who might want that. Just be prepared for a tragic story that ends with these words:

“For never was a story more of woe

Than this of Juliet and her Romeo.”

There is no charge to listen to Romeo y Julieta, but donations are encouraged.

PLAY: The Picture of Dorian Gray – now – March 31st

Oscar Wilde’s classic story of a man who sells his soul in order that his good looks don’t fade gets a contemporary spin in this new version of the story by Henry Filloux-Bennett. This updated approach has Dorian as a social media influencer who doesn’t want to see his fame fade. It’s just as much a Faustian deal here as in Wilde’s original.

Starring in this production are Fionn Whitehead (Dunkirk), Alfred Enoch (seven of the Harry Potter films), Joanna Lumley (Absolutely Fabulous), Emma McDonald (Hamlet), Russell Tovey (Angels in America) and Stephen Fry (Wilde).

Tickets are £12 which at press time was equal to just under $17. There is a warning that there is strong language and references to mental illness and suicide. The production is recommended for audiences age 16 and higher.

PLAY: Women Without Men – Mint Theater Company – Now – March 21st

This is the first of several plays that New York’s Mint Theater Company has started streaming. Set in Ireland in the 1930s, Hazel Ellis’ play depicts the unmarried teachers at an all-girls school. It is their interactions with one another that reveals petty jealousies and very different personalities.

This production was staged in 2016 and was directed by Jean Thompson. Appearing in Women Without Men are Mary Bacon, Joyce Cohen, Shannon Harrington, Kate Middleton, Aedin Moloney, Alexa Shae Niziak, Kellie Overbey, Dee Pelletier, Beatrice Tulchin, Emily Walton and Amelia White.

There is no fee to watch the play. Registration; however, is required.

PLAY: Katie Roche – Mint Theater Company – Now – March 28th

Also from Mint Theater Company is this 2013 production of Teresa Devey’s 1936 play. Katie Roche tells the story of a servant girl who has big dreams and finds herself torn between two men.

The play had its premiere with Ireland’s Abbey Theatre and made its first appearance in the United States in 1937.

Starring are Margaret Daly, Patrick Fitzgerald, Jon Fletcher, David Friedlander, Jamie Jackson, John O’Creagh, Wrenn Schmidt, Diana Toibin. Jonathan Bank directs.

There is no fee to watch the play. Registration; however, is required.

PLAY: How to Catch Creation – Goodman Theatre – Now – March 28th

Half a century after a young woman’s girlfriend hits her with some very surprising news, four artists are coming to grips with the ramifications of that fateful day. That’s the premise of Christina Anderson’s How to Catch Creation which Chicago’s Goodman Theatre will be streaming on demand for two weeks.

This is not a reading of the play. Rather it is a capture of their 2019 production directed by Niegel Smith. The cast features Karen Aldridge, Ayanna Bria Bakari, Jasmine Bracey, Bernard Gilbert, Maya Vinice Prentiss and Keith Randolph Smith.

How to Catch Creation runs 2 hours and 15 minutes. There’s no charge to stream the production.

PLAY: Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike – Broadway on Demand – Now – April 18th

You might think you need to know a lot about the work of Anton Chekhov to appreciate Christopher Durang’s Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike. While it certainly helps, it’s absolutely not essential. While the play does take place near a cherry orchard, there is familial conflict about what to do with a cherished home and the three siblings depicted all have names taken from Chekhov’s work, this comedy has proven popular around the world.

Durang had a rather circuitous route to Broadway with this play. Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike had its world premiere at the McCarter Theatre in Princeton in 2012. One month after closing there it went off-Broadway to Lincoln Center’s Mitzi E. Newhouse Theatre. Two months after closing there it opened on Broadway and ultimately was named the Best Play at the Tony Awards.

One thing this play was able to do was keep its cast intact for all those moves. So the film that Lincoln Center is making available for free on Broadway on Demand features David Hyde Pierce, Billy Magnussen, Kristine Nielsen, and Sigourney Weaver.

I’ve seen this play two times and strongly recommend you allow yourself the time to relax, sit back and enjoy yourself.  In 2014 I interviewed David Hyde Pierce about the play and his direction of it when it played the Mark Taper Forum. You can read that interview here.

OPERA: Breaking the Waves – Los Angeles Opera – March 19th – April 12th

The 1996 Lars von Trier film Breaking the Waves told the dark story of a husband, who is recovering from an accident at work, who encourages his wife to have sex with other men during his recovery. It was a bold film that featured a shattering performance by Emily Watson.

Composer Missy Mazzoli and librettist Royce Vavrek created an opera based on this film. Their work had its world premiere at Opera Philadelphia in 2016.

The work won universal acclaim including these comments by Alex Ross in The New Yorker:

“The opera created a world: it had a tone, a profile. There was an uncommonly strong relationship between libretto and music: the work felt urgent, driven by conviction, essential.”

Los Angeles Opera had scheduled a live production of Breaking the Waves, but the pandemic got in the way. In its place they are making a film of the opera directed by James Darrah available for free streaming (registration is required).

The original cast returns: Kiera Duffy, John Moore, Eve Gigliotti, David Portillo, Zachary James and Marcus DeLoach.

As you might imagine with this subject matter, a word of caution. This production includes explicit language, nudity and sexual content, some of a violent nature. Recommended for mature audiences only.

CONVERSATION: Virtual Halston – Cast Party Network – March 19th – 5:00 PM EDT/2:00 PM PDT

If you’re going to have an afternoon salon filled with ribald conversation and witty repartee, it helps to have two masters participating. In this week’s edition of Virtual Halston with Julie Halston, she’s got a great guest: playwright/author/screenwriter Paul Rudnick.

His plays include I Hate Hamlet, Jeffrey, The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told and the upcoming book for the musical adaptation of The Devil Wears Prada. His screenplays include The Addams Family, The First Wives Club and In and Out.

Actor Peter Bartlett, who received a Drama Desk nomination for his performance in The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told, will also be joining.

JAZZ: A Night in New Orleans – Derek Douget – Lobero Theatre – March 19th

When winter turns to spring and Lent is approaching many people immediately think of New Orleans and its grand tradition of Mardi Gras. Even later in spring thoughts turn to the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.

Mardi Gras didn’t happen this year and JazzFest is postponed until the fall.

So what’s a fan of that glorious music supposed to do?

Lobero Theatre in Santa Barbara is riding to your rescue this weekend. Saxophonist Derek Douget and his band will bring all that wonderful music into your home beginning Friday evening with A Night in New Orleans.

Joining Douget are Victor Atkins on piano; Ashlin Parker on trumpet; Herlin Riley on drums and vocals; Jason Stewart on bass and Don Vappie on banjo/guitar and vocals.

Tickets are $15, but you’ll have to provide your own beads!

JAZZ: Cindy Blackman Santana and Guests – SFJAZZ – March 19th – 8:00 PM EDT/5:00 PM EDT

Drummer Cindy Blackman Santana is well connected. She’s recorded and toured with Joe Henderson, Pharoah Sanders, Joss Stone, Cassandra Wilson and more. She spent many years on the road as the drummer for Lenny Kravitz. She also toured with Santana and in 2010 Carlos Santana proposed to her.

But those aren’t the friends or guests that are part of this weekend’s Fridays at Five concert from SFJAZZ. She has recent Oscar-nominated composer/musician Terence Blanchard (Da 5 Bloods), guitarist Bill Frisell, the Kronos Quartet, saxophonist Joe Lovano and members of the SFJAZZ Collective joining for this concert from 2017.

There will be an encore presentation of this concert on Saturday, March 20th at 1:00 PM EDT/10:00 AM PDT. Tickets are available with a monthly digital membership ($5) or an annual membership ($60).

OPERA: Renée Fleming Live from the Met – PBS (check local listings) – March 19th from 2021

If you are a regular reader of Cultural Attaché you know that Renée Fleming is one of the most beloved sopranos in opera. Whether seen and heard in productions or recitals, she is regularly a fan favorite.

PBS is airing a recital Fleming gave from Dumbarton Oaks in Washington, D.C. last August.

The program includes works by George Frideric Handel, Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Jules Massenet, Giacomo Puccini and Richard Strauss. Robert Ainsley serves as her accompanist.

BROADWAY VOCALS: Andrew Rannells Live from Lincoln Center – PBS (check local listings) – March 19th from 2018

In December of 2017 Andrew Rannells performed in The Appel Room at Lincoln Center. The concert was filmed and first broadcast on PBS in 2018. The show returns to PBS this weekend.

Rannells is best known for his Tony Award-nominated performance in The Book of Mormon and for his appearance on the HBO series Girls. He was recently seen as Whizzer in Falsettos (his second Tony Award nomination) and in Ryan Murphy’s stage production and the subsequent film of The Boys in the Band.

This is a fun concert that shows the boy can sing more than just show tunes! Fans will want to check it out.

BALLET: The Red Shoes – Ahmanson Theatre – March 19th – March 21st $10

As part of their continuing Digital Series and their relationship with Matthew Bourne, Center Theatre Group and the Ahmanson Theatre are offering up a filmed performance of Bourne’s ballet The Red Shoes.

The ballet is inspired by the Michael Powell/Emeric Pressburger film from 1948 (which in itself was inspired by a story by Hans Christian Anderson).

Bourne uses the music of legendary film composer Bernard Herrmann (Citizen Kane, Psycho) for this ballet.

Ashley Shaw stars as a ballerina torn between her love for the composer who wrote her a ballet and the impresario who runs the ballet company and controls her career.

There will be five opportunities to stream The Red Shoes. Friday, March 19th at 8:00 PM PDT/11:00 PM EDT; Saturday March 20th at 5:00 PM PDT/8:00 EDT and 8:00 PM PDT/11:00 PM PDT and Sunday, March 21st at 1:00 PM PDT/4:00 PM EDT and 5:00 PM PDT/8:00 PM EDT.

Tickets are $10. This program will not be available for streaming outside the United States.

OPERA: Siegfried – San Francisco Opera – March 20th – March 21st

Conducted by Sir Donald Runnicles; starring Daniel Brenna, Greer Grimsley, Iréne Theorin, Ronnita Miller and David Cangelosi. This revival of Francesa Zambello’s 2011 production is from the 2017-2018 season.

This third opera in Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen had its premiere in Bayreuth in 1876 where it was seen at the first-ever performance of The Ring Cycle.

The title character is front and center in the third opera in the Ring Cycle. He matures throughout the opera via the choices he makes. He encounters an enigmatic Wanderer, but doesn’t know this is Wotan in disguise. When Siegfried is able to reassemble pieces of Siegmund’s sword (Siegmund is his father) he uses it to kill Fafner who has the responsibility of protecting the gold that was stolen from the Rhinemadiens in Das Rheingold. He also comes into possession of the ring. But what will he do with it and how will that impact his pre-destined love for Brunnhilde?

Lisa Hirsch, writing for the San Francisco Classical Voice, said of the production:

“…perhaps the greatest strength of the production remains: a splendidly staged and remarkably sympathetic Siegfried that flew by. In 2011, part of its charm was the surprisingly sweet Siegfried of Jay Hunter Morris, a handsome man with a beautiful voice. With the young heroic tenor Daniel Brenna stepping into the role this year, some of the sweetness and charm is lost to a more conventionally brash portrayal of the character. Still, the opera really did come off as a scherzo, a comparatively light moment in the Ring despite the deaths of Mime and Fafner. The encounters between the Wanderer and Mime, Alberich, Erda, and Siegfried retain their tremendous emotional power and depth.”

VOCALS: Songs from the Heart – Ute Lemper – March 20th – 2:00 PM EDT/11:00 AM PDT

Whether in concert halls, recording albums or gracing the stage of a musical, Ute Lemper has easily become of our most passionate and accomplished performers.

That wide range of material she handles will be on display in Songs from the Heart on Saturday. The concert will be streaming from Europe and includes songs from the musicals Cabaret and Chicago; from The Threepenny Opera; songs made famous by Édith Piaf and Marlene Dietrich, a song Lemper composed and also a song by Joni Mitchell.

I’ve seen her in multiple concert performances and also in the Broadway revival of Chicago. She’s absolutely amazing.

Joining Lemper for this concert will be Vana Gierig on piano; Tim Ouimette on trumpet; Matt Parrish on bass and Todd Turkish on drums and percussion.

Ticket are $24.99 and allow for 48 hours of access.

JAZZ: Jeremy Pelt Quintet – Vermont Jazz Center – March 20th – 8:00 PM EDT/5:00 PM PDT

You’re probably asking yourself how often will I recommend a performance by Jeremy Pelt? As long as he keeps putting out great music like Griot – This Is Important! I will do so as long as possible.

This concert from the Vermont Jazz Center will focus exclusively on music from this new album.

Joining Pelt for this concert are Vicente Archer on bass; Victor Gould on piano; Chien Chien Lu on vibraphone and Allan Mednard on drums.

There is no charge to stream the concert; however donations are encouraged.

ONE PERSON PLAY: Anyone But Me – IAMA Theatre Company – March 21st – April 18th

Sheila Carrasco’s Anyone But Me is the first of two one-person shows by Latinx-American women that Los Angeles’ IAMA Theatre Company will start streaming this weekend. Carrasco stars in this show in which she depicts multiple women struggling to define themselves and realizing that where they are is not where they want to be.

Anyone But Me is directed by Margaux Susi.

Tickets start at $15 (based on your ability to donate to IAMA).

ONE PERSON PLAY: The Oxy Complex – IAMA Theatre Company – March 21st – April 18th

The second play, The Oxy Complex, is written and performed by Anna LaMadrid. The play is set in the not-too-distant future – specifically the 500th day of quarantine. They Oxy of the title is not Oxycontin (source of opioid addictions), but rather Oxytocin.

What is oxytocin? It is defined by Medical News Today as:

“…a neurotransmitter and a hormone that is produced in the hypothalamus. From there, it is transported to and secreted by the pituitary gland, at the base of the brain.

“It plays a role in the female reproductive functions, from sexual activity to childbirth and breast feeding.”

So what is LaMadrid exploring in her show? All the things a woman might miss while being quarantined for so long. There is a reason, after all, that Oxytocin is called the “love hormone.”

Michelle Bossy directs. Tickets begin at $15 (based on your ability to donate).

CONTEMPORARY CLASSICAL MUSIC: Bang on a Can Marathon Live Online – March 21st – 3:00 PM EDT/12:00 PM PDT

For their spring live online marathon, Bang on a Can is showcasing performances from New York and Berlin.

Here’s the line-up:

3:00 PM EDT/12:00 PM PDT

Daniel Bernard Roumain Why Did They Kill Sandra Bland? performed by Arlen Hlusko; Arnold Dreyblatt; Mazz Swift and Rohan Chander △ or THE TRAGEDY OF HIKKOMORI LOVELESS from FINAL//FANTASY performed by Vicky Chow

4:00 PM EDT/1:00 PM PDT

Kristina Wolfe Listening to the Wind performed by Molly Barth; Miya Masaoka; Aeryn Santillan disconnect. performed by Ken Thomson and Adam Cuthbert

5:00 PM EDT/2:00 PM PDT

Ken Thomson Birds and Ambulances performed by Robert Black; Tomeka Reid Lamenting G.F., A.A., B.T., T.M. performed by Vicky Chow; Steve Reich Vermont Counterpoint performed by Claire Chase; Christina Wheeler and Molly Joyce Purity performed by David Cossin

6:00 PM EDT/3:00 PM PDT

Tyshawn Sorey; Jeffrey Brooks Santuario performed by Mark Stewart; Moor Mother and Bill Frisell

BROADWAY VOCALS: Jackie Hoffman – March 21st – 3:00 PM EDT/12:00 PM PDT

I’ve had the pleasure of seeing Jackie Hoffman in the original companies of Hairspray and Xanadu on Broadway. She’s always a joy to watch. Sadly I didn’t get a chance to see her in The Addams Family, On the Town or Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

But you’ll get to see what makes Hoffman such a delightful and witty performer on Sunday.

She is Seth Rudetsky’s guest as part of his Concert Series. I can only imagine what stories she’ll have to tell and what songs she’ll choose to sing. We can all find out either in the live broadcast or in the encore showing (also on Sunday) at 8:00 PM EDT/5:00 PM PDT.

Tickets are $25.

DANCE: Uncharted Territory: Dancers in Isolation – Eryc Taylor Dance – Premieres March 21st – 6:00 PM EDT/3:00 PM PDT

Eryc Taylor has conceived a new work born out of the crisis that has hit us all in the last year. This work, Uncharted Territory: Dancers in Isolation, was created via Zoom, and focuses on New York City dancers.

The company features Nicole Baker, Chris Bell, Taylor Ennen, AJ Guevara, Eryc Taylor and Alex Tenreiro Theis. Each dancer choreographed their own work. The film is revealed in five separate segments which explore themes of death, mental instability, paranoia, sexual frustration and stillness.

The music was composed by Daniel Tobias.

There is no charge to watch the premiere, though donations are encouraged. Uncharted Territory will remain available online through March 28th.

PLAY: Yours Unfaithfully – Mint Theater Company – March 22nd – May 16th

Though written in 1933, Miles Malleson’s Yours Unfaithfully remained unperformed until Mint Theatre Company produced the show in late 2016.

It seems strange that a story about a married couple exploring an open relationship came from 1933. The all-too-virtuous husband (Max von Essen) is a writer seemingly unable to get inspired. His wife (Elisabeth Gray) runs a progressive school. She suggests opening up their relationship.

Alexis Soloski, in her review for the New York Times, said:

“Under the polished direction of Jonathan Bank, and in the hands of a fine team of designers, its arguments remain provocative, while its structure feels familiar, its tone decorous. Maybe that only makes it more unusual. It’s a bit like a sex farce with real sorrow instead of slammed doors, and something like a drawing room comedy with moral conundrums peeking out beneath the cushions. It is often very funny; it is also very nearly a tragedy.

There is no fee to watch the play. Registration; however, is required.

BROADWAY AND JAZZ VOCALS: Jim Caruso’s Pajama Cast Party – March 22nd – 8:00 PM EDT/5:00 PM PDT

Jim Caruso celebrates 50 episodes of Pajama Cast Party with this Monday’s edition. Which makes the absence of his usual venue for his weekly in-person Cast Party, Birdland, all that more palpable.

But this is a party and the show will celebrate turning 50. Joining this week are singer/songwriter Ben Clark, Broadway/pop singer Joshua Colley (Les Misérables), singer/artist Jared Wayne Gladly, Broadway’s Jason Kravits (Relatively Speaking), Brazilian singer/songwriter Denise Reis and Braodway’s Dee Roscioli (Fiddler on the Roof).

That’s this weekend’s Four Days of Best Bets: March 19th – March 21st. But a few reminders before we go:

Los Angeles Philharmonic releases a new Sound/Stage episode entitled A Pan-American Musical Feast with special guest Chef José Andrés. The episode features performances of works by Tania León; Paul Desenne and Aaron Copland. For details on this episode and the whole series please go here.

The 92nd Street Y is still streaming last weekend’s performance by violinist Gil Shaham with The Knights. You can read details about their entire series here. Check out my recent interview with Shaham here.

The Metropolitan Opera concludes their Viewer’s Choice week with a 2006-2007 season production of Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia on Friday; a production of Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin from the same season (and strongly recommended) and a production of Handel’s Agrippina from the 2019-2020 season on Sunday (also recommended). You can see details and clips from all three productions here.

On Monday the Met begins a weeklong celebration of Myths and Legends with a production of Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice from the 2008-2009 season. We’ll have full details on Monday with our preview of the the week’s full line-up.

I trust you’ll find something amongst the Four Days of Best Bets: March 19th – March 22nd to keep you entertained! Have a great weekend.

Photo: Artwork of the balcony scene from Romeo y Julieta by Erick Davila (Courtesy The Public Theater)

Correction: The name of Eryc Taylor Dance program is Uncharted Territory and not Unchartered Territory as we originally listed. Cultural Attaché has corrected the post above and regrets the error.

The post Four Days of Best Bets: March 19th – March 22nd appeared first on Cultural Attaché.

My top pick this week was originally from Dance Theatre of Harlem. They were schedule to show their highly-acclaimed re-invention of the ballet The Rite of Spring with music by Igor Stravinsky on Saturday. We just received word it has been postponed until March 13th.

Luckily there are plenty of other options and my revised Top Pick is The Gathering For Justice’s tribute to the legendary Harry Belafonte.

I also have Tony Award-winner Brian Stokes Mitchell, Welsh bass-baritone Bryn Terfel in San Francisco Opera’s 2013 production of Verdi’s Falstaff, an evening with Tony Award winner Ali Stroker and a release party/concert for Old Friends by Mark Winkler and David Benoit.

But there’s so much more than that. So take a look. Here are my Best Bets: February 26th – February 28th:

MUSICAL: Gatsby – a Musical – Cadogan Hall – February 26th – February 28th

Baz Luhrmann did all but make F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby into a musical. But he’s not the only one who believes this story can, to greater or lesser degree, be musicalized.

Enter composer and lyricist Joe Evans and writer/director Linnie Reedman with their musical version, Gatsby A Musical.

The show played at the Kings Head Theatre in north London in 2012. This weekend, Cadogan Hall is offering a reunion concert presentation.

Daisy is the focus of the musical and she’s played in this concert by Jodie Steele (Six The Musical). Ross William Wild (Million Dollar Quartet) plays Gatsby. Tom Buchannan is played Liam Doyle (Wicked). Blake Patrick Anderson (Be More Chill) plays Nick Carraway with Joe Frost and Emma Williams playing George and Myrtle Wilson. (You don’t need a synopsis, do you? Didn’t we all read this in high school or college?)

Reviews in 2012 were mostly positive, though some said it was more like a play with music rather than a musical. Even if that’s true, if we’re about to embark on our own roaring twenties, wouldn’t it be great to get lost in all the decadence from a century ago?

There are three performances available: Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 2:30 PM EST/11:30 AM PST. Tickets, which must be purchased in advance, are £22 which equates to approximately a little over $31.

CHAMBER MUSIC: Jupiter String Quartet – Kranner Center for the Performing Arts – February 26th – 1:00 PM EST/10:00 AM PST

The first weekend of this month I included the Reflection and Renewal series with Jupiter String Quartet in my Best Bets. I’m including them again as the series comes to an end with Friday’s concert. On the program are works by Felix Mendelssohn, George Walker and William Bolcom.

The last two are what makes this concert the most interesting to me personally. Walker was the first African-American composer to receive be awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Music. His Lilacs was named the recipient in 1996. Jupiter String Quartet will be performing Lyric for Strings, written when the composer was 24 as a tribute to his recently deceased grandmother.

Bolcom’s Three Rags for String Quartets is an arrangement of three popular piano pieces the composer wrote: Poltergeist, Graceful Ghost and Incineratorag. In this concert, Jupiter String Quartet will be playing the last one.

If you’ve missed any of the four performances from Krannert Center you have until March 5th to view them all. Each episode runs 20-30 minutes. There is no charge to do so.

JAZZ: Paula West: Great American Politic – SFJAZZ – February 26th – 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST

Jazz singer Paula West took to the stage at SFJAZZ in 2018 with this show as a musical response to he who was once president. Among the songwriters she relied on to express her views were Bob Dylan, Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger and Simon and Garfunkel.

You’re probably thinking, do I really need to end my week with a politically charged show? If you’ve heard Paula West before you already know the answer to that question. If you don’t know her, hopefully this clip will persuade you to take a look.

Tickets are $5 (which gives you access to a full month of Fridays at Five concerts). You can also get an annual membership for $60 (which give you access for 52 weeks).

OPERA: Courtney Bryan’s Blessed – Opera Philadelphia Channel – Debuts February 26th – 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST

Opera Philadelphia continues their fascinating new series of digital commissions with Blessed by composer Courtney Bryan.

Bryan regularly came back to a bible verse from Matthew 5 as protests about policy brutality grew in frequency and intensity around the country.

The verse, a rather popular one, says, “blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.” Blessed is her musical response to that verse.

Performing are soprano Janinah Burnett and vocalist Damian Norfleet. The film, directed by Tiona Nekkia McClodden, was shot in New Orleans, New York and Philadelphia. Collaborating with McClodden was sound designer Robert Kaplowitz to create what press materials are calling “sonic quilting.”

Tickets range from $10 for a seven day rental to $25 for a digital package.

OPERA: Verdi’s Falstaff – San Francisco Opera – February 27th – February 28th

Conducted by Nicola Luisotti; starring Bryn Terfel, Ainhoa Arteta, Heidi Stober and Meredith Arwady. This Olivier Tambosi production is from the 2013-2014 season.

Two of Shakespeare’s play served as the inspiration for Verdi’s Falstaff: The Merry Wives of Windsor and sections from Henry IV Parts 1 and 2. Arrigo Boito adapted the plays to create the libretto. 

Falstaff had its world premiere in 1893 at La Scala in Milan. This was Verdi’s final opera and only his second comedic opera.

Simply put, Sir John Falstaff tries everything he can to woo two married woman so he can assume their husband’s vast fortunes. He’s rather bumbling in his efforts and the machinations in place to thwart his endeavors leave him with nothing short of a major comeuppance.

I’ll be watching this production just to see Bryn Terfel in this role.

Joshua Kosman, writing for the San Francisco Chronicle, said of Terfel’s performance, “His performance as the fat knight has everything that makes Falstaff irresistible – grandiose self-regard, improbable charisma and a vein of deep poignancy, all conveyed through singing of great power and flexibility.

“And as Falstaff says of himself, Terfel was not only a great onstage wit but the cause of wit in others. His very presence seemed to spur his fellow performers to find both the buoyant humor and the rich emotional undercurrent in the piece.”

The production becomes available at 1:00 PM EST/10:00 AM PST and remains available through the end of Sunday, February 28th PST.

JAZZ: Mark Winkler/David Benoit Record Release Party – Feinstein’s at Vitello’s – February 27th – 9:00 PM EST/6:00 PM PST

I’ve written about singer/songwriter Mark Winkler before. In fact, you can see my interview with him from August 2019 here. He has teamed up with pianist, composer and KKJZ radio host David Benoit for a new album called Old Friends which was released on Tuesday.

The new recording finds the duo performing three songs they co-wrote along with well-known tunes such as “The Shadow of Your Smile,” “I Think It’s Going to Rain Today” and the title song (originally performed by Simon & Garfunkel). I’ve heard the album and think it’s quite good.

To celebrate the album’s debut they are holding a live-streaming release party from Feinstein’s at Vitello’s in Los Angeles. Joining Winkler and Benoit for this performance are Gabe Davis on bass, Clayton Cameron on drums and Pat Kelley on guitar.

There is the main show at 9:00 PM EST/6:00 PM PST with a ticket price of $31.75. There’s also an Encore After Show scheduled for 10:45 PM EST/7:45 PM PST which will find Winkler and Benoit in conversation with Brad Roen. Tickets are $18 for the after show.

POSTPONED DANCE: Firebird – Dance Theatre of Harlem – rescheduled to March 13th

Dance Theatre of Harlem’s month-long Winter 2021 Virtual Ballet Series concludes this week and they’ve saved the best for last.

In 1982, DTH premiered John Taras’ choreography to the classic score by Igor Stravinsky. Instead of Russia the setting is the Caribbean. Geoffrey Holder created the sets and costumes.

When the work first debuted 39 years ago, Anna Kisselgoff in her New York Times review proclaimed, “It is filled with amusing inconsistencies but it does one thing other versions do not – send its audience into a whooping spell of delirium. When the firebird figure drove out the forces of malice last night, the house cheered as if it had just seen an adventure yarn. And so it had. Good conquered evil and did so in an action-packed continuum.”

There is no charge to watch the ballet.

Firebird will be available for one week on DTH’s YouTube Channel.

BROADWAY/CABARET: An Evening with Ali Stroker – Kean Stage – February 27th – 7:30 PM EST/4:30 PM PST

Ali Stroker was the recipient of the 2019 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her performance as Ado Annie in the revival of Oklahoma. She made her Broadway debut in the 2015 revival of the musical Spring Awakening.

For this live-streamed show from Enlow Recital Hall at Kean University in New Jersey, Stoker will be performing songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Stephen Sondheim, Carole King, Stephen Schwartz and, of course, Rodgers and Hammerstein.

Tickets are $25 with a discount available to members of the Kean University family (you have to e-mail to acquire that discount.)

Ado Annie is just a girl who can’t say no. How can you say no to this concert?

JAZZ: Artifacts Trio: …and Then There’s This – REDCAT – February 27th – 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST

What began, perhaps, as a one-off collaboration amongst cellist Tomeka Reid, flutist Nicole Mitchell and drummer Mike Reed in 2015 has blossomed into one of the most vital trios working in jazz.

This live-streamed concert through REDCAT in Los Angeles is required viewing for those who like their music on the more adventurous and experiment side. You probably knew that when you read the configuration of cello, flute and drums.

Tickets are $15 for general admission; $12 for REDCAT members and students and $8 for CalArts students, faculty and staff. There will be a post-performance discussion with Reid after the concert ends.

ROOTS MUSIC: Joachim Cooder and Amythyst Kiah with Special Guest Ry Cooder – Skirball Cultural Center YouTube Channel – February 27th – 11:00 PM EST/8:00 PM PST

Every once in a while a concert comes along that doesn’t fit easily into what Cultural Attaché does, but seems too good not to mention. Quite often those events come from the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles.

Saturday’s concert by Joachim Cooder with his father Ry Cooder as a special guest is just such a concert. And for added measure vocalist Amythyst Kiah is also part of this concert.

What can you expect? A little bit roots rock, some folk influences, definitely some blues, a little bit of country and a whole lot of great music.

Ry Cooder might be known to some as the composer of the scores for such films as Paris, Texas and Alamo Bay. He was also the producer of the album that put the Buena Vista Social Club on all of our radars. Above all, he’s a supremely talented musician.

Joachim’s most recent album was last year’s Over That Road I’m Bound, a collection of songs by country artist Uncle Dave Macon. He’s a singer, drummer, keyboardist who has collaborated with his father and also released two other solo albums.

Kiah – you just need to hear this woman sing. Truly. Earlier this year she released a single called “Black Myself” that, well, just has to be heard. She’s got an amazing voice.

There is no charge to watch this show. However, if you make reservations for the concert by February 26th, you’ll get access to program notes and more. And if you can’t watch the show as it streams on Saturday night, it will be available on Skirball’s YouTube channel.

BROADWAY/CABARET: Brian Stokes Mitchell with Seth Rudetsky – Seth Concert Series – February 28th – 3:00 PM EST/12:00 PM PST

During the pandemic you’ve probably seen video of Tony Award winner Brian Stokes Mitchell serenading his neighborhood with “The Impossible Dream” from the musical Man of La Mancha in support of hospital workers during the pandemic.

Stokes, as his friends and colleagues call him, has appeared on Broadway in Jelly’s Last Jam, Kiss of the Spider Woman, Ragtime (originating the role of Coalhouse Walker), Kiss Me, Kate, King Hedley, Man of La Mancha and Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown. He won his Tony for his performance as Fred Graham in Kiss Me, Kate.

He is also the Chairman of the Board of Trustees for The Actors Fund. In other words, he has plenty to talk and sing about.

If you can’t watch the show live at the time listed about, there will be an encore showing at 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST. Tickets for either time are $25.

*TOP PICK* GALA: The Gathering for Harry (Belafonte) – The Gathering For Justice – February 28th – 7:00 PM EST/4:00 PM PST

This gala fundraiser for The Gathering For Justice is advertising this is a “surprise” event celebrating the 94th birthday of legendary actor, activist, singer and songwriter Harry Belafonte. But does that matter? They are celebrating Harry Belafonte.

I grew up with my mother and my aunt talking about how much they loved Belafonte and his music. His records were played regularly by them both. I won’t go into their other, more personal, comments about him.

He’s a Tony Award winner for his performance in John Murray Anderson’s Almanac, a three-time Grammy Award winner, an Emmy Award winner and the recipient of the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

While his most recent film appearance was in Spike Lee’s BlacKkKlansman as an civil rights pioneer, it is his work as an activist that he is perhaps best known. Which makes this event with The Gathering For Justice a perfect fit. The organization’s focus on ending child incarceration and the systemic racism within our criminal justice system.

That Belafonte founded the organization also helps (and makes this whole surprise thing a little, well, surprising.)

Amongst the artists coming together to celebrate Belafonte’s birthday are Aloe Blacc, Common, Danny Glover, Tiffany Haddish, Jay-Z and Susan Sarandon.

Tickets begin at $25 but sponsorship packages go for as much as $100,000.

CHAMBER MUSIC: Telegraph Quartet – Noe Music – Debuts February 28th – 10:00 PM EST/7:00 PM PST

Last September San Francisco-based Telegraph Quartet was scheduled to perform at Noe Valley Chamber Music. The pandemic forced some changes. First was the date. Second was the name of the festival, which is now called Noe Music.

The new date is upon us as violinist Eric Chin and Joseph Maile; violist Pe-Ling and cellist Jeremiah Shaw perform a program of music by Erich Wolfgang Korngold and Johannes Brahms on Sunday.

Korngold is best known for his rousing film scores, but he also composed classical music. His four-movement String Quartet No. 3 had its world premiere in Los Angeles in 1949 as part of the Evenings on the Roof series at the Wilshire Ebell Theater. It’s a stunning work.

Brahms’ String Quartet in A minor, Op. 51, No. 2 was composed in 1873. Along with the composer’s String Quartet No. 1 in C Minor, they were both published as companion pieces Op. 51. The piece performed in this concert actually had its premiere prior to the Brahms’ String Quartet No. 1. Also a four-movement work, this quartet with its use of canons, shows the influence of Johann Sebastian Bach on Brahms.

Tickets are $20 and the concert is expected to run 90 minutes.

Those are my official picks as Best Bets: February 26th – February 28th, but a few reminders:

Saturday’s Met Stars Live in Concert features soprano Sonya Yoncheva in a performance from Germany.

Also from the Metropolitan Opera are the last three productions streaming in celebration of the late baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky. They are all works by Verdi: La Traviata from the 2011-2012 season on Friday; Un Ballo in Maschera from the 2012-2013 season on Saturday and Il Trovatore, the final production in which he appeared at the Met from the 2014-2015 season.

Larry Powell’s The Gaze…No Homo is available for free streaming this weekend only from Center Theatre Group. Beginning Monday, March 1st, it will be available for streaming on demand for $20 through March 25th. I’ve written about this show before. I strongly recommend it. Last December I published a two-part interview with Powell. You can read part one here and part two here.

That’s it for my Best Bets: February 26th – February 28th. Have a terrific weekend and I’ll see you in March (on Monday) with next week’s line-up of streaming productions from the Met.

Photo: Harry Belafonte with Martin Luther King, Jr. (Photo courtesy Mr. Belafonte’s Facebook page)

Update: On Friday afternoon, February 26th, I received word that Dance Theatre of Harlem’s Firebird was being postponed until March 13th. This post has been updated to reflect the postponement and a new Top Pick was selected.

The post Best Bets: February 26th – February 28th – REVISED appeared first on Cultural Attaché.

My top pick is the world premiere of Death by Tyshawn Sorey. Los Angeles Opera is giving the work its debut through their digital shorts program. The work will begin streaming on Friday, February 19th at 11:00 AM.

Those interested in modern dance, ballet, jazz, classical music, plays and musicals will also have plenty to watch his weekend.

Here are my Best Bets: February 19th – February 21st:

DANCE: Evidence – Ronald K. Brown – The Joyce Theatre – Now – March 4th

In 1985 Ronald K. Brown formed a new company called Evidence. On the occasion of its 35 anniversary, the Joyce Theatre is streaming a program of six works for solo dancers and couples. Included in the program are For You, which served as a tribute to Stephanie Reinhart, the late co-creator of the American Dance Festival; Grace, a solo that put Brown on the map when it was performed by Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre; March, a duet set to a speech by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.; Mercy set to music by Meshell Ndegeocello; Palo y Machete, from One Shot, which was inspired by photographer Charles “Teenie” Harris and She is Here.

Tickets are $25 per household and allow for on-demand streaming through March 4th.

CLASSICAL MUSIC: Soundwalk – Multiple Locations – Now Available

Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Ellen Reid has created a musical landscape to accompany walks through many public parks and spaces in some of America’s cities. Her goal, as stated on the website, is to “inspire us and make us feel connected to something larger than ourselves. It is meant to serve as artistic nourishment – a place to recharge, reconnect, and re-energize.”

You download an app, put on your headphones and talk a walk through designated areas and listen to the music she’s created. Right now it is only available in Los Angeles and New York, but additional cities will be added throughout the year.

For Los Angeles, presented in association with CAP UCLA, The Kronos Quartet performs the music to accompany walks through Griffith Park as does the Soundwalk Ensemble. For New York, presented in association with the New York Philharmonic, musicians from the orchestra perform the music to accompany walks through Central Park. The Soundwalk Ensemble, members of the Young People’s Chorus of New York City and Poole and the Gang also perform.

There is no charge to download the app and the Soundwalk experience will remain active into 2023. Additional locations roll out beginning in April.

JAZZ: Kenny Barron – SFJAZZ – February 19th – 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST

In this fall of 2018 concert, legendary jazz pianist Kenny Barron is joined by violinist Regina Carter, trumpeter Eddie Henderson and drummer Terri Lyne Carrington. Any one of them would be compelling, having them perform with Barron will offer great music.

Barron is an 11-time Grammy Award nominee (how is it possible he’s never won one?) whose career began as a member of Dizzy Gillespie’s quartet. His recording career began in 1967 and his most recent release was 2020’s Without Deception with bassist Dave Holland.

Tickets are $5 (which allows for a one-month digital subscription) or $60 (which allows for a 12-month digital subscription). There is only the one showing on Friday.

DANCE: Matthew Bourne’s Romeo and Juliet – Ahmanson Theatre – February 19th – February 21st

Ivo Váňa-Psota was the first choreographer of a ballet of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. It was set to the music by Sergei Prokofiev. The work had its world premiere in 1938.

In 2019 Matthew Bourne presented to the world his new Romeo and Juliet ballet, also set to Prokofiev’s music as interpreted by composer Terry Davies.

Center Theatre Group in Los Angeles is making the ballet available for rent this weekend only. Unlike other Bourne productions, Romeo and Juliet has never been performed in Los Angeles. Cordelia Braithwaite dances the role of Juliet and Paris Fitzpatrick dances the role of Romeo.

There are seven available performances this weekend. On Friday at 5:00 PM PST and 8:00 PM PST; Saturday at 2:00 PM PST, 5:00 PM PST and 8:00 PM PST and Sunday at 1:00 PM PST and 6:30 PM PST. Tickets are $10.

*TOP PICK* OPERA: Death – LA Opera – February 19th – May 4th

This is our third week in a row with Tyshawn Sorey on our list of best bets. This week his work Death will have its world premiere from LA Opera. Sorey sets the poetry of Paul Laurence Dunbar to music for solo voice and piano.

Dunbar is considered America’s first great Black poet. Sorey uses his poem of the same name from Dunbar’s 1903 collection Lyrics of Love and Laughter.

Performing Death are mezzo-soprano Amanda Lynn Bottoms and pianist Howard Watkins. Nadia Hallgren (Becoming) directed the film.

Sorey is obviously exploding with his inventive mix of jazz, classical and experimental music styles. With Save the Boys and Death, 2021 is clearly turning out to already be a remarkable year for the 40-year-old who was awarded a MacArthur “Genius Grant” in 2017.

There is no charge to watch Death, but you do need to register with LA Opera.

CLASSICAL MUSIC: Michelle Cann plays Florence Price – Philadelphia Orchestra – February 19th – February 25th

June 15, 1933 was a pivotal day in the life of composer Florence Price. The Chicago Symphony Orchestra performed her Symphony in E Minor. This marked the first time the work of a Black woman had her composition performed by a major orchestra in America.

The other important date happened well after Price had passed away. In 2009 a couple, while renovating a house they purchased in Illinois, came across manuscripts, books and other writings by Price. More than half of the works she composed were found. The rediscovery of Price had begun.

Pianist Michelle Cann, who has made Price’s Concerto in One Movement a regular part of her repertoire, joins The Philadelphia Orchestra and music director Yannick Nézet-Séguin, for a performance of the work in a film available through February 25th. They are using the original orchestration of the concerto. The website indicates this may be the first time since the 1930s that this orchestration has been performed.

Also on the program are Rossini’s Overture to La scala di seta and Schubert’s Symphony No. 4 (“Tragic”).

Tickets are $17.

DANCE: New Bach – Dance Theatre of Harlem – February 20th – February 27th

The second half of Dance Theatre of Harlem’s Winter 2021 Virtual Ballet Series takes place on Saturday with New Bach which will be posted on their YouTube channel on Saturday.

Robert Garland created New Bach which had its world premiere in 2001 just after the 9/11 tragedy. Anna Kisselgoff, in her New York Times review, said of the work upon its premiere (with specific names from that performance): “Mr. Garland has used the Balanchine model in the best sense in New Bach,’ and alludes to the jazzy syncopation of the Bach-Balanchine masterpiece Concerto Barocco. Bach’s Violin Concerto in A minor, (conducted here by Joseph E. Fields with Deborah Wong as the violin soloist), has impelled him into formal patterns studded with occasional pelvis swivels, limp arms descending from rotating shoulders and wiggles in plié. Nothing is overdone, however, as four couples are in frequent interplay with the leads — Donald Williams, wittily assertive in a noble style, and Tanya Wideman-Davis, eye-riveting in her robust but refined classical silhouette.”

There is no charge to watch New Bach.

OPERA: Puccini’s La Rondine – San Francisco Opera – February 20th – February 21st

Conducted by Ion Marin; starring Angela Gheorghiu, Gerard Powers, Anna Christy and Misha Didyk. This Nicolas Joël production is from the 2007-2008 season.

Puccini’s La Rondine had its world premiere in Monaco in 1917. The libretto, based on a libretto by Alfred Maria Willner and Heinz Reichert, was written by Giuseppe Adami.

Multiple people collide in this opera about love. Magda is Rombaldo’s kept mistress. While entertaining friends, including the poet Prunier, she realizes how much she misses being in love. Prunier is in love with Lisette, who is Magda’s maid. A young man enters their group, Ruggero, who falls in love with Magda. Could he possibly provide the true love she so desperately desires? Who will end with whom and will they all live happily ever after?

This production marked Gheorghiu’s debut with San Francisco Opera. Joshua Kosman, writing in the San Francisco Chronicle, said, “Gheorghiu’s company debut is long overdue, but her performance in the signature role of Magda was worth the wait. Her tone was strong but tender, with an irresistible blend of earthiness and purity, and when she lofted the high notes of “Chi il bel sogno di Doretta,” her breath control and flawless intonation seemed to make time stand still.”

JAZZ: Jason Marsalis and the K Love Experience – Snug Harbor (on Stage it) – February 21st – 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST

You know Wynton Marsalis, Branford Marsalis, the late Ellis Marsalis and perhaps even Delfeayo Marsalis. But do you also know drummer/vibraphonist Jason Marsalis? If not, Sunday’s performance from New Orleans’ Snug Harbor will give you a great opportunity to hear the youngest of the Marsalis brothers.

This concert will feature music with Afro-Cuban, funk, samba, reggae coursing through its veins. This won’t just be music to sit and listen to, you’ll want to get up and dance.

Tickets are $15.

CLASSICAL MUSIC: Daniil Trifonov Recital – Shriver Hall – February 21st – 5:30 PM EST/2:30 PM PST

Are you tired of me constantly having a recital by pianist Daniil Trifonov on my best bets? I hope not, because there’s a reason his performances regularly appear on my list, he’s that good.

This performance, filmed at New York’s 92nd Street Y, finds Trifonov performing Szymanowski’s Sonata No. 3, Op. 36 and Debussy’s Pour le piano.

He concludes with Brahms’ Sonata No. 3 in F minor, Op. 5.

Tickets are $15 and allow for on-demand streaming through February 28th.

CONTEMPORARY CLASSICAL MUSIC: Bang on a Can Marathon #5 – February 21st – 1:00 PM EST/10:00 AM PST

Fans of contemporary classical music will not want to miss this Sunday’s Bang on a Can Marathon. All you have to do is look at the line-up:

Hour 1: Jakhongir Shukur’s Potter’s Wheel performed by Robert Black; Jennifer Walshe performing her Happiness Starts Right Now; Maria Huld Markan Sigfusdottir’s Pending, performed by Chi-chi Nwanoku and a new work by Amir Elsaffar performed by Ken Thomson

Hour 2: A new work by Gregory Spears performed by David Byrd-Marrow; a new work by Kristina Wolfe performed by Molly Barth; Gabriel Kahane’s Hollywood & Vine performed by Arlen Hlusko and a new work written and performed by Bora Yoon with video by R. Luke Dubois

Hour 3: Matthew Shipp performs his Spaceman’s Blues; Joel Thompson’s Supplication and Compensation performed by Anthony Roth Costanzo; Rohan Chander’s △ or The Tragedy of Hikkomori Loveless from FINAL//FANTASY performed by Vicky Chow and a new work written and performed by David Cossin.

HOUR 4: Eve Beglarian’s A Solemn Shyness performed by Lara Downes; a new work written and performed by Ingrid Laubrock; Molly Herron’s Canon No. 4 performed by Maya Stone and a new work by Alvin Lucier performed by Mark Stewart.

There is no charge to watch the marathon, but donations are encouraged.

OPERA: Sole e Amore – Lyric Opera of Chicago – Begins February 21st – 7:00 PM EST/4:00 PM PST

Fans of Italian opera will want to check out Sole e Amore which will feature arias by Bellini, Donizetti, Mascagni, Puccini, Rossini and Verdi. Members of the Ryan Opera Center Ensemble will be performing.

They include baritones Leroy Davis and Ricardo José Rivera; bass Anthony Reed; bass-baritone David Weigel; mezzo-sopranos Katherine Beck, Katherine DeYoung, and Kathleen Felty; sopranos Maria Novella Malfatti and Denis Vélez; tenors Martin Luther Clark and Lunga Eric Hallam and pianist Chris Reynolds.

Enrique Mazzola, who will become the Lyric’s music director in the 2021-2022 season, curated the program and will also play piano for much of the recital.

The program is free and will be available on the Lyric Opera of Chicago’s YouTube channel.

PLAYS/MUSICALS: TruSpeak…Hear Our Voices – February 21st – 5:00 PM EST/2:00 PM PST

Theater Resources Unlimited (TRU) has assembled a very impressive line-up for their gala event, TruSpeak…Hear Our Voices on Sunday.

Maggie Baird, Brendan Bradley, Brenda Braxton (Smokey Joe’s Cafe), Jim Brochu (The Big Voice: God or Merman?), Nick Cearley (one half of The Skivvies), Robert Cuccioli (Irish Rep’s A Touch of the Poet), Andrew Lynn Green, Ann Harada (Avenue Q), Dickie Hearts (Grace and Frankie), Cady Huffman (Tony Award-winner The Producers), Crystal Kellogg (School of Rock), Will Mader, Lauren Molina (the other half of The Skivvies), Jill Paice (An American in Paris), Tonya Pinkins (Caroline, or Change), Jana Robbins (Gypsy), Dominique Sharpton, Haley Swindal, Regina Taylor (I’ll Fly Away), Crystal Tigney and Tatiana Wechsler are all participated.

The gala will feature monologues, plays and an online musical.

TRU is a non-profit that helps in the development of new theatre companies and new works.

Tickets are $55 with VIP tickets also available (this is a fundraiser after all) that will include virtual meet-and-greet opportunities.

BROADWAY/CABARET: Santino Fontana with Seth Rudetsky – February 21st: 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST

One of my favorite movies of all time is Tootsie. When the musical was announced Santino Fontana was cast in the role of Michael Dorsey/Dorothy Michaels. (If you don’t know the movie, please do yourself a favor and watch it.) I purchased a ticket to see the show only to find out Fontana was out after the birth of his daughter. I held onto my ticket in hopes that I could see Fontana’s Tony Award-winning performance, but sadly the show closed before I had a chance to do so.

Luckily we can all see how talented he is when he joins Seth Rudetsky for this weekend’s concert. He’ll share music and stories from his career that has included being Prince Topher in Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella and Tony in Billy Elliot. Filmgoers will recognize him as the voice of Prince Hans in Frozen.

If you are unable to watch the live performance on Sunday, there is an encore showing of the concert on Monday, February 22nd at 3:00 PM EST/12:00 PM PST.

That is my list of my Best Bets: February 19th – February 21st. But before I go, I have a few reminders:

The Metropolitan Opera’s weeklong look at the work of Franco Zeffirelli concludes with the first-ever streaming of his 1989-1990 season production of Mozart’s Don Giovanni on Friday; the first-ever streaming of his 1996-1997 season production of Bizet’s Carmen on Saturday and concludes with the 2009-2010 revival of his 1987 staging of Puccini’s Turandot on Sunday.

Irish Repertory Theatre’s @Home Winter Festival continues this weekend. There are five different productions available for viewing. You can find out details here.

Los Angeles Philharmonic’s Icons on Inspiration with Julie Andrews, Common, Katy Perry, Yuja Wang and more is still available for free streaming (though donations are encouraged)

There you have it. The complete list of Best Bets: February 19th – February 21st. I hope you enjoy the culture, you enjoy the weekend and for those of you struggling with the aftermath of the winter storms this week, I’m sending you my best.

Main Photo: Tyshawn Sorey in a still from Death (Courtesy LA Opera)

The post Best Bets: February 19th – February 21st appeared first on Cultural Attaché.

Clearly not all the fireworks are going to be taking place in Tampa. In fact, I’d be willing to wager that these are some of the best offerings on any given weekend in recent memory. Though I will admit there aren’t a lot of new offerings on Sunday, but many of these listings are for more than just one day.

Our top pick this weekend is drummer/multi-instrumentalist/composer Tyshawn Sorey at the Village Vanguard on Friday and Saturday.

So let’s get to it. Here are the Best Bets: February 5th – February 7th.

PLAYS/READINGS: Christa McAuliffe’s Eyes Were Blue – Center Theatre Group – Now – April 4th

If you’ve seen the film One Night in Miami, you are familiar with the work of playwright Kemp Powers. He adapted his play for the Regina King-directed film now available on Amazon. (Earlier this week the film received two Golden Globe nominations for Best Supporting Actor – Leslie Odom, Jr. and Best Director for King). Kemp is also the co-director and co-writer of Pixar’s newest film, Soul.

Christa McAuliffe’s Eyes Were Blue tells the story of twin brothers who find life treats them very differently. One brother has to battle with racism because of his dark skin and the other can pass as white. The play takes place in two different settings: New York City in the 1980s when they were just boys and a Minnesota courthouse in 2006, by which time their lives have taken very different paths.

This “produced reading” (meaning there are sets and costumes) stars Giovanni Adams, Jovan Adepo (Fences), Amaia Arana, Lorena Martinez (South Coast Rep’s Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, Connor Paolo (Business Doing Pleasure), Adam J. Smith (Taken 3), Cory Michael Smith (1985), Larry Bates (Big Little Lies) and Justin Lawrence Barnes (InterVallum). It was directed by Jennifer Chang.

Center Theatre Group subscribers and donors can access Christa McAuliffe’s Eyes Were Blue for free. There is a $10 streaming fee for all others.

MUSIC/DANCE FESTIVAL: Whistleblower – Philip Glass’ Days and Nights Festival – Now Available

In a lead-up to their tenth annual Days and Nights Festival in Big Sur, they are holding a digital celebration beginning this week. Composer Philip Glass created the festival and many of his works will be available through at least May. Ten projects have been announced so far and the festival launches with a film of the 2017 performance of Whistleblower.

Inspired by Edward Snowden’s leak of classified information, Whistleblower has music by Glass with concept and text by performance poet Jerry Quickley. Glass appears in this film. Also performing are Miranda Cuckson, Matt Haimovitz, David Harding, Tara Hugo, Lavina Meijer, Alex Weil and Alex Weston.

Also debuting this weekend are The Pattern of the Surface from Molissa Fenley Dance Company in a performance also from 2017 and Heart Strings, a musical depiction of the Dalai Lama’s escape from Tibet created by Tenzin Choegyal and Glass.

Tickets to watch each performance are $5. You can buy each for $20. The Festival is also offering discounts or comps for those who don’t have the ability to pay. You can submit a request for that here.

PLAYS: All the Devils are Here: How Shakespeare Invented the Villain – Shakespeare Theatre Company – Now – February 7th

Patrick Page may be best known for his menacing portrayals of some of the theatre’s great villains. He was Tony-nominated for his performance as Hades in Hadestown. He also appeared opposite Denzel Washington in a Broadway production of Julius Caesar, The Green Goblin in the ill-fated musical, Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark and as Scar in The Lion King.

In this 80-minute film, the first-ever online production produced by Washington, D.C.’s Shakespeare Theatre Company, Page examines the many villains William Shakespeare created in his plays and how they progressed from simple stock characters in the playwright’s early works to fully-realized villains that set a new standard for the depiction of those characters we most love to hate.

Page has played his share of Shakespeare’s characters with STC including Claudius in Hamlet, the title character in Macbeth, Iago in Othello and Prospero in The Tempest.

Page wrote the script for All the Devils are Here. I’ve seen Page in multiple shows and can assure you that this is a perfect pairing of actor and material. And his voice…if you haven’t heard it (no doubt you have, even if you aren’t aware), you’re in for a real treat with his take on Shakespeare’s bad guys.

Tickets are $25

CLASSICAL MUSIC: Jupiter String Quartet – Kranner Center for the Performing Arts – February 5th – 1:00 PM EST/10:00 AM PST

Violinists Nelson Lee and Meg Freivogel, violist Liz Freivogel and cellist Daniel McDonough make up the classical music ensemble known as Jupiter String Quartet. It’s a family affair. Liz is Meg’s older sister and Daniel is Meg’s husband. This family, however, makes beautiful music together.

On Friday, February 5th they are releasing a new album with Jasper String Quartet that features works by Felix Mendelssohn, the world premiere recording of a work by Dan Visconti and Last Round by Osvaldo Golijov on Marquis Classics.

That same day they launch the first of four digital concerts in collaboration with the Kranner Center for the Performing Arts under the title Reflection and Renewal.

Each performance becomes available at 1:00 PM EST/10:00 AM PST and is free to stream.

This week’s first concert features Beethoven’s String Quartet No. 11 in F Minor, Op. 95, “Serioso” and Kati Agócs’ Imprimatur (her second string quartet). Imprimatur was commissioned by The Aspen Music Festival and School, Harvard Musical Association, and the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts/University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

The link takes you to the full line-up which will include works by William Bolcom, Haydn, Mendelssohn and Schubert.

OPERA: Il trittico – Royal Opera House – Debuts February 5th – 2:00 PM EST/11:00 AM PST

This weekend the Royal Opera House begins streaming (through March 7th) their 2011 production of Giacomo Puccini’s Il trittico.

Il trittico is a trilogy of one-act operas. The three operas are Il tabarro, Suor Angelica and Gianni Schicchi. The latter is the best-known of the three as it is the most commonly performed.

Jealousy and murder are on tap in Il tabarro involving the love triangle of Michele (Lucio Gallo), his wife Giorgetta (Eva-Maria Westbroek) and her lover Luigi.

Suor Angelica is the dramatic story of a nun (Ermonela Jaho) dealing with loss.

Gianni Schicchi (Gallo) depicts what happens when someone dies and the will goes missing. And you think your relatives were difficult?

Richard Jones directed this 2016 production (a revival of his 2011 production) and Antonio Pappano conducted.

Tickets are £3 which equates to roughly $4.10 (as of press time).

PLAYS/CONVERSATION: TCG Books’ First Friday with Michael R. Jackson – February 5th – 7:30 PM EST/4:30 PM PST

This year’s Pulitzer Prize for Drama went to playwright Michael R. Jackson for his musical A Strange Loop. TCG Books, a publisher who releases plays and musicals in book form, is hosting a conversation with Jackson on the occasion of their publishing A Strange Loop.

The leader character in A Strange Loop, Usher, offers perhaps the most succinct description of the show. “It’s about a black, queer man writing a musical about a black, queer man who’s writing a musical about a black queer man who’s writing a musical about a black queer man, etc.”

Jackson told the New York Times in a 2019 interview about his experience seeing Brian Dennehy in a production of Death of a Salesman. As a black, gay, young man he felt innate sadness and that Arthur Miller’s play revealed that in “America you’re worth more dead than alive.” But he also asked himself the question that would lead to A Strange Loop.

“What if I can make an old white man empathize with what it might be like to be a young, black, gay man and suffer — and not because he’s being killed by the police or destroyed in some way like that, but it’s actually an emotional journey from the inside?”

This conversation will take place on TCG’s Facebook Page. Those interested in buying the book can purchase it here.

JAZZ: Christian McBride’s New Jawn – SFJAZZ – February 5th – 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST

When jazz bassist Christian appeared at SFJAZZ in 2016 for this concert, he was certainly working out the material that ended up on his 2018 album Christian McBride’s New Jawn. The line-up on the album and this concert are the same: trumpeter Josh Evans, saxophonist Marcus Strickland, and drummer Nasheet Waits.

By the time the album was released, McBride and his ensemble coalesced their work into a Grammy-nominated work that garnered this praise from Hilary Brown in Downbeat Magazine, “The word ‘jawn’— a fresh new phenomenon—is familiar argot to Christian McBride, a Philadelphia native. And when it comes to trailblazing new, cool jazz concepts in eponymous trios or big bands, the venerable bassist always delivers. Enter his latest jawn—a pianoless quartet, born of a New York scene that sates East Coast soul-seekers and purists alike. Christian McBride’s New Jawn faithfully salutes its forebears—Gerry Mulligan, Ornette Coleman and the like—but leave it to this next-gen assimilation of bandleaders to take musical liberties.”

Hearing these four amazing musicians work on this material live well before putting it to vinyl is going to be a great way to launch your weekend.

Tickets are $5 which allows for one month of Fridays at Five performances or $60 for a complete year of them.

TOP PICK: JAZZ: Tyshawn Sorey – Village Vanguard – February 5th and 6th – 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST

February is a busy month of drummer/composer Tyshawn Sorey. Next week Opera Philadelphia will unveil the world premiere of his Save the Boys, a composition written for and performed by countertenor John Holiday. But before that happens, he’s taking to the stage at the Village Vanguard in New York.

Sorey was recently profiled in the New York Times Magazine where writer Adam Schatz wrote, “Sorey who turned 40 over the summer, would be worth writing about for his drumming alone. The power, precision and inventiveness of his playing often draw comparisons with masters like Max Roach, Elvin Jones and Tony Williams. But Sorey refuses to play conventionally virtuosic drum solos — he prefers to play delicately and sparely, if at all — and he avoids being photographed with his sticks in the athletic poses that have defined the image of most jazz drummers. He is also a brilliant trombonist and pianist, and in the last few years he has become as arresting a figure in contemporary classical and experimental new music as he is in jazz..”

Joining Sorey for these two performances are saxophonist Joe Lovano (who just released a new album, Garden of Expression, on ECM Records last week) and guitarist Bill Frisell.

Tickets are $10 for each performance.

OPERA: Lohengrin – San Francisco Opera – February 6th – February 7th

Conducted by Nicola Luisotti; starring Brandon Jovanovich, Camilla Nylund, Petra Lang and Gerd Grochowski. This Daniel Slater production is from the 2012-2013 season.

Richard Wagner’s Lohengrin had its world premiere in 1850 in Weimar. It is one of his few romantic operas.

The setting is Antwerp in the 10th century. Elsa is accused by Friedrich von Telramund of killing her brother in an effort to prevent Telramund from assuming the dukedom. The dispute is to be resolved by combat. In an answer to her prays a mysterious knight named Lohengrin appears. He agrees to help Elsa as long as she never asks who he is or where is from. When Lohengrin defeats Telramund in battle, but spares his life, revenge is foremost on Telramund’s mind.

Director Slater updated Wagner’s opera to take place in the mid-20th century in an unnamed Eastern European country.

Joshua Kosman, writing in the SF Chronicle, said of Jovanovich, “In his debut as the mysterious, nameless knight who shows up to defend Elsa of Brabant against the baseless charge of fratricide, Jovanovich combined sweet-toned lyricism and ardent heroism in just the proportions required by this tricky role. His singing was thrillingly pure and tireless, his stage presence simultaneously tender and aloof.”

OPERA RECITAL: Anna Netrebko – Met Stars Live in Concert – February 6th – 1:00 PM EST/10:00 AM PST

Soprano Anna Netrebko is arguably one of the biggest opera stars in the world. She will be performing a recital from Vienna’s Spanish Riding School with pianist Pavel Nebolsin on Saturday as part of the Metropolitan Opera’s Stars Live in Concert Series.

The program is slated to include four works by Sergei Rachmaninoff; two by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov; three by Richard Strauss; five by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky an one each by Frank Bridge, Gustave Charpentier, Claude Debussy, Antonín Dvořák, Gabriel Fauré, Ruggero Leoncavallo and Jacques Offenbach.

During the recital Mezzo-soprano Elena Maximova will join Netrebko for two duets.

Tickets are $20 and the performance will remain on demand for 14 days.

PLAYS: While Yet I Live – Play-Per-View – February 6th – February 10th

Tony Award-winner Billy Porter’s semi-autobiographical play, While Yet I Live, had its world premiere in the fall of 2014. The cast was Lillias White (The Life, Fela!), Emmy Award winner S. Epatha Merkerson(Come Back, Little Sheba), Elain Graham (Smash), Sheria Irving (Romeo & Juliet, Ethel Sings), Kevyn Morrow (Moulin Rouge! The Musical), Sharon Washington (The Scottsboro Boys) and Larry Powell (The Gaze…No Homo).

They are all reuniting with director Sheryl Kaller (Next Fall, Mothers and Sons) to do a reunion reading of the play. The live reading takes place on February 6th at 7:00 PM EST/4:00 PM PST. It will be available afterwards on demand through February 10th at 11:30 PM EST/8:30 PM PST.

At the time of the production, Porter said, “This play is a love letter to my mother, my sister, and the women who raised me. Reflecting on my own life experience as a gay, black, Christian man, and survivor of abuse, I wanted to write a play that was about family, faith and the healing power of forgiveness, three things very necessary to move forward and make change in your life. Change is possible, but it takes patience.”

Tickets for the live performance range from $5 – $50 based on your ability to pay. To watch the show afterwards, the price is $15. All proceeds will benefit the Actors Fund Covid-19 Emergency Relief Fund​.

DANCE: Passage – Dance Theatre of Harlem YouTube Channel – February 6th – 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST

Dance Theatre of Harlem launches a one-month Winter Series of virtual events and performances with Passage which begins streaming on the company’s YouTube Channel on Saturday, February 6th.

Choreographer Claudia Schreier created Passage for a commission from the Virginia Arts Festival and the State of Virginia’s 2019 Commemoration. Their event recognized the 400th anniversary of the arrival of slaves from Africa to Virginia.

Schreier told the Center for the Performing Arts at Penn State that Passage, “addresses themes of struggle and aspiration and reflects, in abstract, the fortitude of the human spirit and an enduring will to prevail. There are several images throughout the ballet that suggest descent or ascent, as well as the presence of water. The movement is borne out of this ebb and flow, much of which is drawn from Jessie’s sweeping score.”

The Jessie is composer Jessie Montgomery. If her name sounds familiar, the Los Angeles Philharmonic has recently included her works in their In Concert at the Hollywood Bowl series. Her music will also be performed by the orchestra in their Icons on Inspiration concert on Saturday (see immediately below for details).

On Friday, February 5th, Schreier and Montgomery will have a conversation on Dance Theatre of Harlem’s YouTube channel and Facebook page at 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST.

CLASSICAL MUSIC: Icons on Inspiration – Los Angeles Philharmonic – February 6th – 9:00 PM EST/6:00 PM PST

The Los Angeles Philharmonic has certainly figured out how to go big with their events during the pandemic. Icons on Inspiration, their gala on Saturday night is no exception. They have a starry line-up of artists and music lined-up.

Lead by Music Director Gustavo Dudamel, their special guests are long-time Board member and Oscar-winner Julie Andrews, Oscar-winner Common, 13-time Grammy nominee Katy Perry, Oscar-winner Natalie Portman, soprano Liv Redpath, Colombian singer/songwriter and 2-time Grammy Award winner Carlos Vives and classical pianist and 4-time Grammy Award-nominee Yuja Wang.

The program will include Jessie Montgomery’s Starburst; Duke Ellington’s Martin Luther King from The Three Black Kings (arranged by Terence Blanchard); Tchaikovsky’s Scherzo: Pizzicato ostinato; Stravinsky’s Berceuse from The Firebird; Arturo Márquez’s Danzon No. 2; Romero’s Fuga can Pajarillo and Mahler’s Das himmlische Leben (arranged by Erwin Stein).

This event is a fundraiser, but you don’t have to make a donation to watch it (though donations are strongly encouraged).

CLASSICAL MUSIC: Schoenberg & Bach – Bard College’s The Orchestra Now – February 7th – 2:00 PM EST/11:00 AM PST

Works by Bach, Lutoslawski, Carreño and Schoenberg are featured in Bard College’s TŌN (The Orchestra Now) first concert of their 2021 season. Leon Botstein leads the orchestra through performances of Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 3; Lutoslawski’s Funeral Music; Carreño’s Serenade for Strings and closes with Schoenberg’s Verklärte Nacht (Transfigured Night).

There is no fee to watch the concert (scheduled to run approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes); however reservations are required. Donations, of course, are accepted with a suggested donation of $15-$35.

Those are my official Best Bets: February 5th – February 7th, but you know I’ll always offer a few reminders of shows that might be ending, or only have one upcoming airdate. Here they are:

MUSICALS: This is your last weekend to catch You I Like the loving tribute to Jerry Herman from the Pasadena Playhouse. Fans of musical theatre – do not miss it! For more information about this show, check out my interview with creator Andy Einhorn here.

CLASSICAL MUSIC/POP MUSIC: For the second week in a row, there are back-to-back episodes of In Concert at the Hollywood Bowl on PBS stations nationwide. The two episodes are Fireworks and Gustavo and Friends. Check your local listings

OPERA: The first week of Black History Month at the Metropolitan Opera concludes this weekend with performances of Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro from the 1985-1986 season on Friday; Strauss’ Ariadne auf Naxos from the 1987-1988 season on Saturday and the 1978-1979 production of Puccini’s Tosca on Sunday.

That should keep you busy this weekend. Whatever you choose to watch from amongst my Best Bets: February 5th – February 7th, I hope you enjoy yourselves!

Photo: Tyshawn Sorey (Courtesy TyshawnSorey.com)

The post Best Bets: February 5th – February 7th appeared first on Cultural Attaché.