We have links in the title for most of the events we have listed here. That will make it easy for you to find your way directly to these exciting performances.

So let’s get to it. Here are your Best Bets at Home: September 11th – September 13th:

This Is a Man’s World – Latino Theater Company – Now – September 17th

In Los Angeles-based Latino Theater Company’s ongoing series of streaming archived performances, this week they have added Sal Lopez’s one-person show This Is a Man’s World.

The play opened in 2015 and takes a look at masculinity. Lopez combines monologue and music to relay the important events in his life. These include the Watts Riots, falling in love and the birth of his son.

This Is a Man’s World was directed by Jose Luis Valenzuela

Table of Silence Project 9/11 – Buglisi Dance Theatre and Lincoln Center – September 11th – 7:55 AM EDT/4:55 AM PDT

For the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 tragedy in 2011, Jacqulyn Buglisi, Artistic Director of Buglisi Dance Theatre, created Table of Silence Project 9/11. The work found over 150 dancers gradually making their way to Lincoln Center’s Josie Robertson Plaza. The plaintive call of a conch shell brings them together as music from a flute, bass drums, a trumpet, bells and the sounds of a chorus fill the space.

Three of her collaborators – Composer/Music Director Daniel Bernard Roumain, spoken-word poet Marc Bamuthi Joseph, and Buglisi Dance Theatre Co-Founder/Principal Dancer Terese Capucilli – have re-worked Table of Silence Project 9/11 for 2020.

There will be a new Prologue which will feature dancers from Buglisi Dance Theatre, Ailey II, Alison Cook Beatty Dance, Ballet Hispánico’s BHdos, The Juilliard School, Limón Dance Company, Martha Graham Dance Company. In addition to other dancers from the NYC community, violinist Daniel Bernard Roumain and poet Joseph will be joining this year’s performance.

The entire event will be streamed live with the following program:

A Prologue, performed live from Lincoln Center; welcome remarks from industry leaders; an excerpt from Buglisi’s Requiem, (choreographed in 2001 as an immediate response to the events of 9/11); the World Premiere of Études, a new three-minute film featuring more than 100 dancers from around the world who have been inspired by the Table of Silence Project 9/11 to create and submit small scale works recorded during the month of August and, finally, the full presentation of the 2019 Table of Silence Project 9/11.

If you cannot watch the event live, it will be available on-demand after its premiere.

Amanda Green AF in Q – Birdland – September 11th – 7:00 PM EDT/4:00 PM PDT

If you don’t know Amanda Green by name, you might be familiar with some of her work. She wrote the lyrics for the musical High Fidelity; lyrics with Lin-Manuel Miranda for Bring It On: The Musical; music with Trey Anastasio and lyrics for Hands on a Hardbody; additional material for the 2019 revival of Cole Porter’s Kiss Me Kate and additional lyrics for the 2015 revival of On the Twentieth Century.

Green has a distinct connection to the last musical. Her father, the late Adolph Green, co-wrote the music and lyrics for On the Twentieth Century with his long-time writing partner Betty Comden. In the interest of being fair to both parents, her mother was the late Phyllis Newman, a Tony Award winner for her performance in the musical Subways Are For Sleeping.

In one of the Radio Free Birdland! concerts filmed at the venue without an audience, Green performs along with her guests singer Natalie Douglas, singer/songwriter Curtis Moore and drummer Sean McDaniel. The music director is James Sampliner.

She’s working on a couple new musicals – including one with Jason Robert Brown and Billy Crystal. Perhaps there will be previews of the new material.

Tickets are $23.50.

The Royal Ballet’s Romeo and Juliet – Great Performances PBS – September 11th (Check local listings)

In 1965 legendary choreographer Kenneth MacMillan debuted his new ballet, Romeo and Juliet, with the Royal Ballet. It’s Shakespeare’s classic tale danced to the music of composer Sergei Prokofiev. It received phenomenal reviews and the company, which featured Rudolf Nureyev and Margot Fonteyn, gave 43 curtain calls during the 40-minute standing ovation at the ballet’s completion.

For this film airing on Great Performances, the ballet leaves the stage and takes place in and around multiple locations and sets in Budapest, Hungary.

Dancing the role of Juliet is Francesca Hayward, William Bracewell dances Romeo and Matthew Ball dances the role of Tybalt. BalletBoyz Michael Nunn and Wiliam Trevitt directed the film.

As with all PBS airings, best to check your local listings for exact dates and times.

SHE – Latino Theater Company – September 11th – September 20th

Latino Theater Company also continues new readings of plays and this week it is SHE written by Marlow Wyatt. This is a sneak peak at a production that has been rescheduled for next year.

In the play the title character is a 13-year-old. She’s growing up in a small town where poverty is all-too-present. SHE uses her imagination to escape the trappings of her world by creating poetry. When she gets the chance to go to Vanguard Academy, a prestigious school, she comes face-to-face with the harsh realities of the real world. Her dreams have a price. But support comes from the most unlikely of places.

This reading is directed by IMANI.

Joyce DiDonato in Bochum, Germany – Metropolitan Opera – September 12th – 1:30 PM EDT/10:30 AM PDT

If you are a regular reader of Cultural Attaché (particularly the weekly listings of Metropolitan Opera nightly streams), you’ll immediately recognize the name of mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato. She has appeared in their streamed productions of Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Le Comte Ory, La Donna del Lago and La Cenerentola; Donizetti’s Maria Stuarda; Massenet’s Cendrillon and Handel’s Agrippina.

This Saturday she joins the Met Opera Stars Live in Concert series with a recital of her own from Bochum, Germany. Joining DiDonato for the performance will be pianist Carrie-Ann Matheson and chamber ensemble Il Pomo D’Oro.

Her program is scheduled to include works by Claudio Monteverdi, Hector Berlioz, Gustav Mahler, George Frideric Handel, Antonio Cesti, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Alberto Evaristo Ginastera, Louiguy and Rodgers and Hammerstein. There will also be the world premiere of a new work by Kenyatta Hughes with text by Langston Hughes.

Tickets are $20.

Moonlight Sonata Gala – Pasadena Symphony & Pops – September 12th – 9:00 PM EDT/6:00 PM PDT

Like many a gala in 2020, the Pasadena Symphony and Pops have gone on-line. Their Moonlight Sonata Gala will be free to watch, but you’ll have to register to do so. The registration does require you add credit card details. Your card will only be charged if you choose to bid on and win items in their auction.

The event will feature performances by Michael Feinstein, singer Catherine Russell, Broadway’s Cheyenne Jackson and others. Patti Austin will appear as will Pops conductor Larry Blank. Music Director David Lockington serves as host. After the event is over there is an after-party with Michael Cavanaugh who appeared on Broadway in the musical Movin’ Out.

Love in Action: A Telethon To Support the LGBTQ Community – KTLA TV – September 12th – 10:00 PM EDT/7:00 PM PDT

So what makes a telethon something to consider at Cultural Attaché? Well, any telethon that has a line-up like this one is bound to appeal to fans of culture:

Tony Award winners Cynthia Erivo, Cyndi Lauper, Leslie Odom Jr., Billy Porter and Lily Tomlin

Tony Award nominee Andrew Rannells

Drama Desk Award-winner Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Drama Desk nominee Anthony Rapp

Singers Melissa Etheridge, k.d. lang, Sia and the vocal ensemble Tonality

Actors Alexandra Billings, Wilson Cruz, Armie Hammer, Alec Mapa, Peter Paige, Pauley Perrette and Brian Michael Smith

Comedians Margaret Cho, Ilana Glazer, Jay Leno and Bruce Vilanch

Drag icons RuPaul, Miss Coco Peru and Shangela.

And a certain Oscar winner named Cher is also joining the fun.

Jane Lynch is hosting the two-hour event along with KTLA News anchor Cher Calvin. You know what they say, Cher and Cher alike.

For the Love of Lyric Concert – Lyric Opera of Chicago – September 13th – 7:00 PM EDT/4:00 PM PDT

Established in 1954, the Lyric Opera of Chicago has been a prominent part of the performing arts in Chicago. Like many an institution struggling to navigate the pandemic, they have chosen to go on-line with their gala this year. For the Love of Lyric Concert is this year’s program.

Soprano Renée Fleming, who has served as Creative Consultant to the Lyric Opera since 2010, will headline the event.

Joining her will be Ryan Opera Center alumna mezzo-soprano J’Nai Bridges, Heather Headley (Tony Award-winner for Aida); bass Soloman Howard and soprano Ailyn Pérez. Doug Peck is the music director.

The program is set to include music from opera, Broadway, popular songs and “some surprising sources.” I’m not quite sure what that means. I guess that is why it will be a surprise.

The event will stream for free on the Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Facebook page a day after it virtually runs for sponsors.

Miscast20 – MCC YouTube Page – September 13th – 8:00 PM EDT/5:00 PM PDT

New York’s MCC Theater (Manhattan Class Company) annually holds an event that is one of the most popular and most-anticipated events every year. It is called Miscast. The concept is rather simple: actors perform songs from musicals that are performed by characters they would never get cast to play.

Take for example this video of Hamilton‘s Jonathan Groff performing Reno Sweeney’s title song from the Cole Porter musical Anything Goes:

I have no idea what songs are going to be performed and by whom during Sunday’s event. But, I can tell you who will be performing:

Tony Award winners Norbert Leo Butz (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels), Heather Headley (Aida) and Leslie Odom Jr. (Hamilton)

Tony Award nominees Robert Fairchild (An American In Paris), Joshua Henry (Carousel), Rob McClure (Mrs. Doubtfire), Lauren Ridloff (Children of a Lesser God), Phillipa Soo (Hamilton) and Adrienne Warren (Tina)

Also joining are Beanie Feldstein (Hello, Dolly!), Ingrid Michaelson (Natasha, Pierre and The Great Comet of 1812), Isaac Powell (Once on This Island) and Nicolette Robinson (Waitress).

There will also be a reunion of the original company of Hairspray including Laura Bell Bundy, Kerry Butler, Tony Award winner Harvey Fierstein, Jean Gambatese, Jackie Hoffman, Kamilah Marshall, Matthew Morrison, Tony Award nominee Corey Reynolds, Judine Somerville, Shayna Steele and Tony Award winner Marissa Jaret Winokur.

Presenters include Jocelyn Bioh, Raúl Esparza, Judith Light, Julianna Margulies, Piper Perabo and Thomas Sadoski.

If you enjoy Broadway musicals, this is truly a must-see event.

Jeremy Jordan with Seth Rudetsky – September 13th – 8:00 PM EDT/5:00 PM PDT

On June 14th, Jeremy Jordan was one of Seth Rudetsky’s first guests in his online concert series. He’s back with a new show as Rudetsky’s guest on Sunday.

In addition to his well-known roles in Broadway’s Bonnie & Clyde and Newsies, Jordan has also appeared in West Side Story, Rock of Ages and Waitress. He was a series regular on Smash and appeared with Anna Kendrick in the film adaptation of The Last Five Years.

Tickets for the show are $25. If you can’t see the show live on Sunday, there is an encore presentation on Monday, September 14th at 3:00 PM EDT/12:00 PM PDT.

Kritzerland 10th Anniversary Show – September 13th – 8:00 PM EDT/5:00 PM PDT

Fans of rare recordings of Broadway musicals and new recordings of lost musicals are well acquainted with Kritzerland Records. They have released recordings of the musicals Anya, Ilya Darling, The Grass Harp and restored recordings of the 1971 production of Follies, House of Flowers and more.

They will be celebrating the 10th anniversary of their live shows with an on-line concert. The show promises to include rarities, well-known material and a few songs that have never been heard before.

The cast includes Daniel Thomas Bellusci, Jason Graae (Wicked tour), Peyton Kirkner, Beth Malone (the 2018 revival of Angels in America), Pamela Myers (original cast of Company), Kerry O’Malley (Billy Elliot: The Musical), Hartley Powers, Sami Straitman, Adrienne Stiefel and Robert Yacko (Mark Taper Forum production of Parade).

They also have one very special guest: Petula Clark. In addition to having hit songs with Downtown and I Know a Place, she has appeared on stage in The Sound of Music, Sunset Boulevard and on Broadway in Blood Brothers.

This concert is free, but donations that will go to The Actors Fund are encouraged. Donations can be made here.

Those are my selections of your Best Bets at Home: September 11th – September 13th. I also have some reminders for you:

Los Angeles area residents can catch this week’s In Concert at the Hollywood Bowl on PBS SoCal on Friday, September 11th at 8:00 PM. This week’s theme is Musicals and the Movies and includes performances by Kristin Chenoweth, Audra McDonald and Brian Stokes Mitchell.

Here are reminders from this week’s Jazz Stream:

Red Baraat are featured in this week’s Fridays at Five from SFJazz on September 11th.

John Scofield Trio will perform from New York’s Blue Note on September 11th.

Bill Charlap Trio performs September 11th and 12th from the Village Vanguard in New York.

Pasquale Grasso Quartet performs September 13th from Smalls.

Here are reminders of this weekend’s schedule at the Metropolitan Opera:

Georges Bizet’s Les Pêcheurs de Perles on Friday; Hector Berlioz’s Les Troyens on Saturday and Jules Massenet’s Werther on Sunday.

Will that suffice? Do you have enough options to keep you entertained this weekend? I hope so and I hope you have enjoyed Best Bets at Home: September 11th – September 13th.

Montage of Miscast performers courtesy of MCC Theater

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Lauper, who was named Best New Artist at the Grammy Awards in 1985, had massive hits with the songs “Time After Time,” “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” and “True Colors.”

She is also a Tony Award winner for her score and lyrics for Kinky Boots. Her collaboration there with book writer Harvey Fierstein and Tony Award-wining star Billy Porter should come as no surprise. She’s a staunch LGBTQ advocate and recently performed a few weeks ago at the Stonewall 50 – World Pride event in New York.

As talented as she is, my reason for going to this show is three-time Grammy Award winner Cécile McLorin Salvant. Her three most recently released albums:  “For One to Love,” “Dreams and Daggers” and “The Window” earned her those three Grammy Awards.

In 2015 Nate Chinen of the New York Times acknowledged that she was then just about to turn 26. And though he had a quibble here and there he also admitted that she “is still exploring….And she knows as well as anyone that she’s too good not to get better.”

I’ve had the privilege of seeing her perform several times. The first was when she opened for Bryan Ferry at the Hollywood Bowl. Since then I’ve tried to catch at least one show while she’s in Los Angeles.

She is joined by the Aaron Diehl Trio for this performance.

Salvant is an incredibly smart and talented singer. But it would be irresponsible not to mention that she’s dealing with tragedy as she embarks on these two performances. Her drummer, Lawrence Leathers, was murdered in New York in early June.

In a 2015 interview with the Lansing City Pulse, Leathers said of Salvant, “I´ve never met a person that age with so much depth of understanding of the history of her craft.” He went on to say, “The beautiful thing with her is that her talent and her personality does all the talking.”

Expect that she will do as he said and let her song choices and brilliant performance say everything.

For tickets for Friday night go here.

For tickets for Saturday night go here.

Photo of Cécile McLorin Salvant by RR Jones/All photos courtesy of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association

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July 10th: Tony Bennett

Does anything else really need to be said beyond his name? Less than one month prior to his 93rd birthday, this legendary singer returns to the Hollywood Bowl for another evening of standards interpreted like no other.

There are certain performers who cannot imagine not performing – regardless of age. Amongst them are Chita Rivera, Ben Vereen, Angela Lansbury and Tony Bennett. For Bennett he just keeps singing – and aren’t we all the better for it?

Though he left his heart in San Francisco, he finds his home every couple years at the Hollywood Bowl. If you’ve never seen and heard Bennett – and even if you have – this is a concert you don’t want to miss.

July 12th & 13th: Cécile McLorin Salvant

If you look at the schedule for the Hollywood Bowl, this concert is listed as Cyndi Lauper with Orchestra. Not exactly jazz. Look at the second billing and you’ll see why this concert is listed amongst your best bets: Cécile McLorin Salvant returns to the Hollywood Bowl as an opening act. (She previously opened for Bryan Ferry in 2017.)

If you read Cultural Attaché on a regular basis, you know how much I am a fan of Salvant and her singing. She takes songs you know and turns each one into a master class of interpretation.  She is a three-time Grammy Award winner with her most recent win coming earlier this year when she was awarded Best Jazz Vocal Album for The Window.

Salvant will be joined by the Aaron Diehl Trio. You might recall we spoke with this talented pianist when he performed earlier this season with the LA Philharmonic. He told us then about Salvant:

“She’s a special artist because what she does that most people can’t do is make connections. And not just between Duke Ellington and say Herbie Hancock, but connections between art and human relations to that art and culture. She points things out – anything you can think about – she can make all kinds of associations. That’s so rare. That’s another level of artistry.”

When Lauper takes the stage she will be joined by the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra under the direction of Thomas Wilkins.

August 14th: Ivan Lins and Friends: A Journey to Brazil

This evening will be an all-Brazil evening with two different ensembles taking the stage.

Opening the evening will be Lee Ritenour’s World of Brazil. Joining the Grammy Award-winning guitarist (who has long celebrated the music of Brazil) will be composer and pianist Dave Grusin, vocalist Luciana Souza, percussionist Paulinho Da Costa, harmonica stylist Gregoire Maret and guitarist/composer Chico Pinheiro.  That’s a very impressive line-up for an opening act.

The headliner of this concert is the Ivan Lins Quartet. Lins, who was born in Rio de Janeiro, is a master of Brazilian music. He’s a songwriter whose songs have been performed by such artists as Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Barbra Streisand, Sting and Michael Bublé. He’s also written music for Brazilian films and soap operas.

Lins will not only perform with his quartet, but also with his big band which will be conducted by John Beasley.

For this concert he will also be joined by special guests singer Dianne Reeves, four-person vocal ensemble New York Voices and guitarist Romero Lubambo.

August 21st: Herbie Hancock: Next Generation R+R=NOW

For those who like their jazz with more edge, this concert is for you. Herbie Hancock, who truly needs no introduction, has always been on the forefront of jazz. He’s also been a keen shepherd to those who have come, and are coming up, behind him.

This past January he celebrated the Edge of Jazz at Walt Disney Concert Hall with world premieres of works by Hitomi Oba, Vijay Iyer, Billy Childs, Kamasi Washington, Tyshawn Sorey and Hermeto Pascoal.

At this concert you will get to hear Hancock play some of his best known and most inventive compositions. But remember, he’s there as a mentor. So joining him for this Next Generation concert will be some very talented artists.

R+R=Now is a Blue Note Records ensemble that was put together by Robert Glasper. Glasper will be on keys with Terrace Martin on synthesizer and vocoder, Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah on trumpet, Derrick Hodge on bass, Taylor McFerrin on synth and beatbox and Justin Tyson on drums.

Joining the concert is Noname, a poet, rapper and producer from Chicago. Earlier this year she released her new record, Room 25. Also from Chicago and on the bill is vocalist, producer, instrumentalist Phoelix. He’s collaborated with Noname and also Saba and Smino. In 2018 he released his second record, Tempo. A new song, BBS, was released in May.

September 12th: An American in Paris

This isn’t truly a jazz concert. Honestly it falls into the category of live music performed to a screening of the Academy Award-winning Best Picture of 1951. The Los Angeles Philharmonic will be playing the glorious George Gershwin music under the direction of Brett Mitchell.

George Gershwin always straddled the line between jazz and classical music. An American in Paris is most commonly found, as are his other major compositions like Rhapsody in Blue, in the concert hall. But Gershwin’s roots were always in jazz. An American in Paris is no exception.

And unlike films today, this Vincente Minnelli classic lets the music live front and center. From the classic songs performed throughout the film to Oscar Levant’s ego-nightmare brilliantly set to Gershwin’s Concerto in F to the staggeringly beautiful ballet choreographed and directed by Gene Kelly – this is a movie that knew where to put the emphasis.

The only other concert likely to include Gershwin this season will be Tony Bennett. Which brings us full circle.

For tickets to these concerts, go here.

Main photograph: Tony Bennett.  Unless otherwise noted, all photographs courtesy of the LA Philharmonic Association.

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Based on the 2005 film of the same name, Kinky Boots tells the story of the failing British shoe factory Price and Son. Charlie, the son, doesn’t want to continue in his father’s footsteps, but he doesn’t want the workers to lose their jobs. Through his friend Harry he meets a drag artist named Lola. She and Charlie team up to create shoes for drag queens in hopes of turning the business around.

“I only write about being human,” the four-time Tony Award winner Fierstein says. “Kinky Boots is about wounds we have as adults that we carry from childhood. You have this boy; he grew up his entire life looking at this factory with his name on it and he has no choice but to be a shoemaker. His girlfriend asks what he wants to do and he says ‘not that.’ Then you have the other boy whose father is a champion boxer who knows his son is a big ol’ drag queen. The opening of the show is him putting on high heels [after] a boxing class. And his father, one assumes, teaches him to box to take care of himself. These two boys look like complete opposites but are actually in the same situation: disappointing [their] fathers.”

Fierstein credits Gloria Steinem with inspiring the themes in Kinky Boots. “She says I don’t care how great your parents are, as a child you have a limited vocabulary to say what you need, what frightens you,” he explains. “You still grow up with certain holes in you.”

Pop princess Cyndi Lauper, who wrote the music and lyrics for Kinky Boots, also won a Tony for her work on the show. She joins an ever expanding list of Fierstein collaborators. “Every collaboration is different even when you work with someone a second time,” he says. “Working with Jerry Herman, I wasn’t even 30 when I wrote La Cage Aux Folles and I’m working with someone who wrote Hello, Dolly! and Mame. Girlfriend was getting schooled. Working with Peter Allen (Legs Diamond), he was always willing, but his brain was somewhere else. If I asked him for a number for the girl character, I’d just get another song for him. Working with Cyndi has its own challenge, not just because she’s Cyndi and has a very strong personality, but her work schedule. It was tough getting her pinned down. That’s why she calls me Mommie Dearest.”

Fierstein’s breakthrough came with his 1982 play Torch Song Trilogy. I asked if he had any plans to revive the show. “It’s hard. It’s not an easy play. We just don’t have the right kid. We’ve done two readings now with actors I thought would work. We offered it to somebody I thought would do a bang-up job and he chickened out. But it has to be right. I let somebody produce it in London, Doug Hodge, who played in La Cage. I’ll allow you to experiment, but if you fuck it up, it will be your last experiment. And boy did he fuck it up.”

His most recent play, Casa Valentina, depicted heterosexual transvestites. He hopes to mount the show in Los Angeles and explains why he uses drag in much of his work: “It’s so dynamic. Quite frankly it’s safer for an audience to hear a story told that way, especially for a heterosexual audience because they can stand back from it. It doesn’t say ‘This is you.’ Gay men can say, ‘I’m no drag queen,’ so they can watch it from a safe distance and not feel like they are being questioned. It’s a lovely device.”

Fierstein might have been late for our phone call, but he doesn’t mince words.

Photo Credit: Matthew Murphy

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