Anaïs Mitchell wrote the book, music and lyrics for Hadestown. The show is directed by Rachel Chavkin (Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812). Hadestown actually began life as a concept record by Mitchell which was released in 2010. The premiere of the musical took place in 2016 at the New York Theatre Workshop (the same place where Rent had its premiere.)

As befits a musical based on these two myths, the show takes place on earth and in the underworld. The set (by Rachel Hauck) feels like we’re in a New Orleans venue much like Preservation Hall.

Reeve Carney (Penny Dreadful; Spider-man: Turn Off the Dark) plays Orpheus. Eva Noblezada (Miss Saigon revival) plays Eurydice. Patrick Page (Spring Awakening), who originated the role of Hades is currently filming, so Tom Hewitt (The Rocky Horror Show) assumes the part until Page returns on November 2nd. Amber Gray (Natasha, Pierre…) plays Persephone. André De Shields (The Full Monty) plays Hermes who serves as our guide through the story.

I got the feeling watching this show and witnessing the audience response that Hadestown is going to be the next hot show in New York. The music is terrific. The performances are uniformly great (including a trio of women called “Fate” who serve as sort of moral guardians in the musical). The choreography by David Neumann serves the story well. And Chavkin’s direction keeps the story moving and leaves you with numerous images that will linger long after the show is over.

It should also be noted that the instrumentation is sparse but energetic. The orchestra employs only seven musicians playing a piano, violin, cello, guitar, trombone, glockenspiel, double bass, drums and percussion. They are on stage and just as much a part of Hadestown as the cast.

Main photo: Eva Noblezada, André De Shields and Reeve Carney in “Hadestown.” All photos by Matthew Murphy

For tickets go here.

Update:  HADESTOWN won 8 Tony Awards including Best Musical, Best Direction of a Musical, Best Score and Best Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical

The post Hadestown – REOPENED 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.

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.

One reason for this is our Top Pick this week actually happens on Monday. It’s a reunion of the original off-Broadway cast of Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman’s musical Assassins.

There’s literally something for everyone this week with options for jazz, classical music, opera, dance, ballet and two top Broadway stars perform as well.

Here are the Best Bets: March 5th – March 8th:

*TOP PICK* – Assassins Reunion – Studio Tenn Theatre Company – March 8th – 8:00 EST/5:00 PM PST

On Monday, Studio Tenn Theatre in Franklin, Tennesse will be streaming a reunion of eleven of the original cast members of the Playwrights Horizon production of Assassins including: Victor Garber, Greg Germann, Annie Golden, Lyn Greene, Jonathan Hadary, Eddie Korbich, Terrence Mann, Debra Monk, William Parry and Lee Wilkof.

If you’re wondering why a theatre in Tennessee is holding this event, Studio Tenn Theatre’s Artistic Director is Patrick Cassidy who originated the role of The Balladeer in that production. He’s participating, of course.

If you aren’t familiar with the Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman musical Assassins, you should be. The show opened in December of 1990 at Playwrights Horizon in New York. It’s a musical that features successful and would-be presidential assassins as its subject matter. Yes, the likes of John Wilkes Booth, Lee Harvey Oswald and Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme had their stories musicalized.

Sondheim and Weidman along with director Jerry Zaks, music director Paul Gemignani and orchestrator Michael Starobin will also participate.

The following clip is from Sondheim: A Celebration at Carnegie Hall and features Patrick Cassidy and Victor Garber.

As Frank Rich explained in his New York Times review, “In Assassins, a daring work even by his lights, Mr. Sondheim and his collaborator, the writer John Weidman, say the unthinkable, though they sometimes do so in a deceptively peppy musical-comedy tone. Without exactly asking that the audience sympathize with some of the nation’s most notorious criminals, this show insists on reclaiming them as products, however defective, of the same values and traditions as the men they tried to murder.”

The timing of Assassins‘ opening wasn’t terrific. With the first Gulf War raging, producers didn’t believe audiences would be so interested in the show – even though the off-Broadway performances sold out.

Many consider the addition of the song, Something Just Broke, as a key to the musical’s emotional core. That song was added by Sondheim for the 1992 Donmar Warehouse Production. In a 1994 production in Toronto the characters of Lee Harvey Oswald and The Balladeer began to be played by the same actor.

Theatergoers did finally embrace the show, as did many critics, when the Roundabout Theatre staged the first Broadway production in 2004. That production would go on to win five Tony Awards including Best Revival of a Musical.

Given recent events in the past year, particularly the riot in Washington, D.C. on January 6th, this musical will be more topical than ever.

There is no charge to watch this reunion, however donations are certainly encouraged.

DANCE: ‘kwirē/ – REDCAT – Now – March 6th

This solo work by dancer/choreographer Jessica Emmanuel finds the dancer seeking details about her past from her ancestors. ‘kwirē/ takes place in a dystopian world. Most information about public and personal history along with ancestral information has long ago been destroyed. Very few human beings are still alive. Through dance and sound, Emmanuel utilizes natural resources to reconnect with her own memories and her DNA.

Emmanuel is Los Angeles-based and has worked with Poor Dog Group, Heidi Duckler Dance Theatre and countless other companies.

There are two performances this weekend available for streaming: Friday at 11:30 PM EST/8:30 PM PST and Saturday at 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST. Tickets are $15 for general admission; $12 for REDCAT members and students and $8 for CalArts students, faculty and staff.

BALLET: Wooden Dimes World Premiere – San Francisco Ballet – Now – March 24th

As part of their digital programming, San Francisco Ballet is presenting the world premiere of choreographer/director Danielle Rowe’s Wooden Dimes. Joining this work are two archived works: Symphony #9 by Alexei Ratmansky and Swimmer by Yuri Possokhov.

Symphony #9 had its world premiere by American Ballet Theatre in 2012. It is set to composer Dmitri Shostakovich’s 9th Symphony.

Ratmansky is a former dancer who went on to be the artistic director of the Bolshoi Ballet in 2004. He joined ABT in 2009 as Artist in Residence.

Symphony #9 features a cast of 21 dancers with two couples in the lead and a solo male. Can you dance to Shostakovich?

Wooden Dimes by Rowe features the music of composer James M. Stephenson. Not much is officially known about Wooden Dimes except that it takes place in the roaring 20s, is a backstage story and that it title comes from the expression “Don’t take any wooden nickels.”

On Stephenson’s website, he says the ballet is about Fanny Brice (the actress brought to life by Barbra Streisand in the stage and film musical Funny Girl).

Swimmer as 1960s pop culture in its sightline. Posskhov, is a former dancer with both the Bolshoi Ballet and the San Francisco Ballet. He’s a very popular choreographer with SF Ballet and this work, which dates to 2015, is immensely popular.

His work is set to music by Shinji Eshima, Kathleen Brennan, Gavin Bryars and Tom Waits.

Tickets are $29 and allow for 72 hours of access.

PLAY: Jericho – New Normal Rep – Now – April 4th

In Jack Canfora’s play, Jericho, a family gathers for Thanksgiving in the aftermath of the September 11th tragedy. While that sounds like heavy material, Canfora infuses the play with generous amounts of humor and compassion. The play had its world premiere at the New Jersey Repertory Theatre in 2011.

Appearing in this reading of Jericho are C. K. Allen, Jill Eikenberry, Eleanor Handley, Jason O’Connel, Michael Satow and Carol Todd. Directing is Marsha Mason.

Anita Gates, in her New York Times review of the play said, “Mr. Canfora has delivered a smart, hard-hitting drama filled with biting wit. One character says: ‘It’s an oxymoron. Like jumbo shrimp or Fox News.’ The best jokes consist of wordplay with expletives that are not printable here. But to give you a sense of the tone, one character, Jessica, complains in Act I that her husband considers her occasional viewing of the celebrity-gossip show Access Hollywood ‘the moral equivalent of sodomizing kittens.’

Tickets are $25 and can be purchased here.

OPERA: The Marriage of Figaro – Royal Opera House – March 5th – April 4th

Conducted by Ivor Bolton; starring Erwin Schrott, Sophie Bevan, Stéphane Degout, Ellie Dehn, Kate Lindsey and Carlo Lepore. This revival of David McVicar’s 2006 production is from the 2015-2016 season.

Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro is based on the 1784 play La folle journée, ou le Mariage de Figaro (translated: “The Mad Day, or The Marriage of Figaro”) by Pierre Beaumarchais.

Lorenzo da Ponte wrote the libretto. La Nozze di Figaro had its world premiere in Vienna in 1786.

Figaro and Susanna are getting married. They are in a room made available to them by the Count who plans to seduce the bride-to-be based on an old law that gave permission to lords to have sex with servant girls on their wedding night. When Figaro gets wind of this plan he enlists several people to outwit the Count using disguises, altered identities and more.

Tim Ashley, in his review for The Guardian, said, “At the centre of it all, however, lies a grand confrontation between Erwin Schrott’s Figaro, and Stéphane Degout’s Count. Schrott’s interpretation has also changed somewhat since he last sang the role here. There’s less political anger, more manipulative wit: he sings Se Vuol Ballare with bemused irony rather than scorn, not so much as a manifesto, but as a prelude to a game that turns increasingly dangerous. Degout, a wonderfully patrician singer with a handsome, ringing tone, has an innate charm that can turn to menace in a flash: it’s a superbly accomplished characterisation.

Tickets are £3 which equates to approximately $4.20.

JAZZ/EXPERIMENTAL: Laurie Anderson and Tammy L. Hall – SFJAZZ – March 5th – 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST

In 2018 Laurie Anderson served as Resident Artistic Director for SFJAZZ. Over the course of one week in late November she performed and curated a series of concerts. Amongst them was Songs for Women.

Anderson was inspired to create Songs for Women after hearing Tammy L. Hall’s song For Miss Jones.

From there a musical collaboration was born with songs written for and about women by both artists.

Laurie Anderson is known for her innovative films and recordings including Big Science, Strange Angels and Home of the Brave.

SFJAZZ will stream this concert as part of their Fridays at Five series. You must have either monthly digital membership ($5) or an annual digital membership ($60) to stream this and all other Fridays at Five concerts.

BROADWAY/VOCALS: Leslie Odom Jr. in Concert – PBS – March 5th (Check local listings)

Tony Award winner Leslie Odom Jr. (Hamilton) performs Live From Lincoln Center in this concert which originally aired in 2018. But don’t expect to hear all of his songs from Lin-Manuel Miranda’s juggernaut of a musical. This performance showcases Odom’s jazz and soul chops.

As with all PBS programming, best to check your local listings. For instance, in Los Angeles this show is not scheduled to run until March 11th and 12th.

OPERA: Das Rheingold – San Francisco Opera – March 6th – March 7th

San Francisco Opera streams their 2018 production of Richard Wagner’s Ring Cycle with each of the four operas available in successive weeks. The first opera is, of course, Das Rheingold.

Conducted by Sir Donald Runnicles; starring Greer Grimsley, Jamie Barton, Falk Struckmann, Ronnita Miller and Stefan Margita.

This revival of Francesca Zambello’s 2011 production is from the 2017-2018 season.

This is the first in Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen (also known as The Ring Cycle). As with all four of these operas, Wagner wrote the music and the libretto. Das Rheingold had its world premiere in 1869 in Munich. It was premiered as a stand-alone opera. The first performance of the entire cycle was at Bayreuth in 1876.

Alberich is a dwarf who renounces love in his successful effort to take gold from the Rhinemaidens and have possession of a ring bestowing power to the wearer. With this one action, he sets in motion the storyline that runs through all four operas in the Ring Cycle. Fafner and Fasolt are the giants who built Valhalla. The long-suffering Wotan is introduced here as are the challenges the gods face in repaying the architects of Valhalla. When the ring is stolen from Alberich he puts a curse on it and on anyone who takes possession of it.

Zambello sets this production in the American west beginning with the Gold Rush and ending with the tech age.

All four operas in the Ring Cycle will be presented in order on consecutive weekends. There is also a Ring Festival with additional programs. You can find details about that here.

DANCE/CLASSICAL MUSIC: Sasha Waltz & Guests in C – Bang on a Can Website – March 6th – 2:00 PM EST/11:00 AM PST

If you thought dancing to Shostakovich was intriguing, how about dancing to Terry Riley’s In C? It’s a work that has an undefined length. Riley wrote 53 different musical phrases. They are all numbered. It is up to the musicians performing the work to figure out exactly how long they want to play each phrase, in what order and when they start.

Choreographer Sasha Waltz, Co-Director of the Staatsballett Berlin with Johannes Öhman for the 2019-2020 season, is using a recording of In C by Bang on a Can for this live-streaming performance from Berlin. Here’s how she explains what this project is:

“The score of In C consists of fifty-three musical phrases and reads like stage directions for musicians. The thought of translating these detailed instructions into dance through a choreographic exploration of the music appealed to me. The result is an experimental system of fifty-three movement phrases for a structured improvisation with clear rules and laws. The length of the piece remains variable, as does the number of musicians and dancers.”

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

DANCE: Israel Galván/Maestro de Barra, Servir el Baile – CapUCLA – March 6th – 10:00 PM EST/7:00 PM PST

To get a sense of flamenco dancer/choreographer Israel Galván, let’s turn to an interview he gave Dance Magazine in 2019 where he told them:

“I know it sounds odd, but I think I dance because I don’t like to dance. It’s not logical, but there is something freeing in accepting that. I literally cannot remember a time in my life when I didn’t dance. I’ve danced since I’ve had consciousness. It’s simply in my DNA. And you can’t escape what you are.

“I was always going to be a dancer, but my saving grace as an adult is that I don’t feel any pressure. I feel total freedom when it comes to how I choose to dance. As long as people continue asking me to perform, I will, but it has to be on my terms.”

His terms will be on full display on Saturday when CAP UCLA offers up Maestro de Barra Servir el Baile which roughly translated means Master of the Bar, Serving the Dance. This is Galván’s way of keeping dance alive during the pandemic. He utilizes the concept of music and dance as played out in cafes and bars around the world for this work.

There is no charge to stream this performance, however donations are encouraged.

BROADWAY/VOCALS: Eva Noblezada – Seth Concert Series – March 7th – 3:00 PM EST/12:00 PM PST with an encore at 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST $25

If you were lucky enough to see Hadestown on Broadway before theatres closed in New York, you got to experience the wonderfully talented Eva Noblezada. She received her second Tony Award nomination for her performance as Eurydice in the musical.

Her first nomination came for her performance as Kim in the 2017 revival of Miss Saigon.

Noblezada is Seth Rudetsky’s guest for this weekend’s conversation and performance program.

Tickets are $25. Note that the schedule has changed a little for these performances (at least through the month of March.) The live show is in the afternoon on Sunday and the encore stream of the performance is Sunday evening.

JAZZ: Alan Broadbent Trio – Smalls Live – March 7th – 5:00 PM EST/2:00 PM PST and 7:00 PM EST/4:00 PM PST

For nearly 50 years, pianist Alan Broadbent has been making great music. He’s worked as a bandleader and has collaborated with some of the biggest names in multiple genres of music. That list would include David Byrne, Kristin Chenoweth, Natalie Cole, Charlie Haden, Shirley Horn, Diana Krall, Linda Ronstadt and Barbra Streisand.

If you haven’t heard his solo recording, Heart to Heart from 2013, I suggest you do so. It’s beautiful.

For these two sets at New York’s Smalls Broadbent will be joined by Billy Mintz on drums and Harvie S on bass.

You can make reservations for either streaming show (which includes a donation), or you can wait for the show to just go live at the link above.

That does it for Best Bets: March 5th – March 8th. But I want to remind you of a few other options I’ve already covered this week:

The Los Angeles Philharmonic begins the second season of Sound/Stage on Friday, March 5th with a performance of Camille Saint-Saëns’ The Carnival of the Animals. Yuja Wang and David Fung join Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic for this performance filmed on the stage at the Hollywood Bowl.

CaltechLive! has begun streaming Herbert Sigüenza’s A Weekend with Pablo Picasso. You can read our full preview here and my interview with Sigüenza here.

The 25th anniversary celebration of Rent will remain available through 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST on Saturday, March 6th.

This weekend’s offerings from the Metropolitan Opera where they are celebrating Women’s History Month are Benjamin Britten’s Peter Grimes from the 2007-2008 season on Friday; Antonín Dvořák’s Rusalka from the 2013-2014 season on Saturday and Giuseppe Verdi’s La Forza del Destino from the 1983-1984 season on Sunday.

With our new line-up extending to Monday, here’s a preview of next week at the Metropolitan Opera: Monday’s production is Giacomo Puccini’s Manon Lescaut from the 1979-1980 season and kicks off Week 52 at the Met with the theme Verismo Passions.

I hope you enjoy your weekend and enjoy whichever of my Best Bets: March 5th – March 8th interest you the most! Have fun!

Main photo: The cast of the Playwright’s Horizon production of Assassins (Photo courtesy Studio Tenn Theatre Company)

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For those of us who remember when we first heard of the show or first saw it, it seems inconceivable that it has been a quarter century since the show become a phenomenon and would go on to win the Tony Award for Best Musical and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

It also made stars out of Taye Diggs, Jesse L. Martin, Idina Menzel (in her Broadway debut), Adam Pascal (in his Broadway debut), Anthony Rapp and Daphne Rubin-Vega (in her Broadway debut). Rent ran for over 12 years on Broadway with a total of 5,123 performances.

To celebrate this silver anniversary, New York Theatre Workshop is holding a fundraiser called 25 Years of Rent: Measured In Love. The event will feature a reunion of numerous cast veterans from the many productions of the musical that have taken place.

Those scheduled to perform include: Gilles Chiasson (Steve and others on Broadway), Wilson Jermaine Heredia (originated the role of Angel/Tony Award), Rodney Hicks (Benny on Broadway), Christopher Jackson (Hamilton), Kristen Lee Kelly (Maureeen – Broadway), Tamika Lawrence (Mrs. Jefferson and others in the 2011 off-Broadway revival), Jesse L. Martin (originated the role of Tom Collins), Idina Menzel (originated the role of Maureen), Aiko Nakasone (Alexi Darling on Broadway), Eva Noblezada (Hadestown), Adam Pascal (originated the role of Roger), Ben Platt (Dear Evan Hansen), Billy Porter (Kinky Boots), Anthony Rapp (originated the role of Mark), Daphne Rubin-Vega (originated the role of Mimi), Ali Stroker (Oklahoma!), Tracie Thoms (Joanne on Broadway), Byron Utley (multiple roles on Broadway for the entire run), and Fredi Walker-Browne (Joanne on Broadway).

New songs from Joe Iconis (Be More Chill), The Lazours, Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (Dear Evan Hansen) and Rona Siddiqui will also be performed.

Additional participants will include: Sebastian Arcelus (Roger on Broadway), Annaleigh Ashford (Maureen in an off-Broadway revival in 2011), Assistant Director Martha Banta, Adam Chanler-Berat (Mark in the 2011 off-Broadway revival), Linda Chapman, Nicholas Christopher (Collins in the 2011 off-Broadway revival), Set Designer Paul Clay, Wilson Cruz (Angel on Broadway), Brandon Victor Dixon (Hamilton), casting director Wendy Ettinger, producer Stephen Graham, director Michael Greif, Janet Harckham, playwright Jeremy O. Harris (Slave Play), Neil Patrick Harris (Mark on tour), Victoria Leacock Hoffman (producer of tick, tick…Boom!, Mariko Kojima, Julie Larson (the composer’s sister), Telly Leung (Angel at the Hollywood Bowl), Kamilah Marshall, producer Kevin McCollum, Lin-Manuel Miranda (Hamilton), Anaïs Mitchell (Hadestown), Shakina Nayfack (Difficult People), NYTW Artistic Director James C. Nicola, playwright Dael Orlandersmith (Until the Flood), Councilmember Carlina Rivera, Jai Rodriguez (Angel on Broadway), producer Jeffrey Seller, director Leigh Silverman (Grand Horizons), Ephraim Sykes (Benny in the 2011 off-Broadway revival), casting director Bernie Telsey, producer Jennifer Ashley Tepper, director Ivo van Hove (West Side Story revival), Tom Viola (Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS), Rent Music Supervisor Tim Weil, Rent Costume Designer Angela Wendt, Rent Choreographer Marlies Yearby and more.

My personal Rent memory surrounds my first time seeing the musical in New York on December 19, 1996. I was in New York with my friend, Matthew Barry. Like everyone I knew, I, too, was fascinated about seeing this musical that was the must-see show on everyone’s list. I didn’t know much about it beyond it depicted the lives of a group of people who lived in the East Village of New York. I also knew that it was inspired by Puccini’s opera, La Bohème. That was it.

Almost the entire original cast was performing that night. The only person out for that performance was Timothy Britten Parker (who played Gordon, the man, Mr. Grey and others). He was attending his sister’s opening night in Once Upon a Mattress (his sister is Sarah Jessica Parker).

By the end of the first act I was, along with majority of theatergoers, convinced that this was a special musical. Then the second act began with the company singing Seasons of Love.

They got to the bridge with the lyrics:

In truths that she learned
Or in times that she cried
In bridges he burned
Or the way that she died

My mother had passed away three months earlier. As you can imagine, I was a mess. All I could think about was mom. I’m sure there were people around me at the Nederlander Theatre who couldn’t understand what was going on with me. I was too caught up in my emotions to care. I somehow managed to pull myself together and enjoy the second act.

After the performance was over, Matt and I left the theatre and it was lightly snowing. It felt like a sign that everything was going to be just fine. Rent, with its own story of love and loss (both on stage and off) had offered one of many forms of catharsis I would rely on to get me through that first year after my mother’s death. To this very day whenever I hear any of Larson’s songs, I always think of my mother.

What are your personal memories and experiences of seeing Rent? Leave a comment on this post.

Tickets for 25 Years of Rent: Measure in Love are $25. The show will be available for streaming through March 6th at 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST.

Photo: The cast of Rent at New York Theatre Workshop (Photo by Joan Marcus)

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Quite a few of this week’s offerings are concerts. We have jazz, classical, Broadway vocals and one jazz/dance combination.

I’ve made a change to help you navigate my listings. Before each title there is a category that defines the genre of the listing. So if you only want to find jazz concerts, just look for JAZZ. For ballet or dance, look for DANCE. And in the case of our hybrid event, you’ll find DANCE/JAZZ combined. All listings are in order of when they become available.

Topping our list this week is the world premiere of a new work by composer Nico Muhly that is being performed by organist James McVinnie on Saturday.

Here are my choices as your Best Bets at Home: December 4th – December 6th.

PLAY: The Night of the Iguana – La Femme Theatre Productions – Now – December 6th

Tennessee Williams’ The Night of the Iguana gets an all-star reading from New York’s La Femme Theatre Productions.

Williams based the play on his own short story that in and of itself was inspired by his cousin. The Night of the Iguana had its Broadway debut in 1961.

Reverend Shannon has been forced out of his church after a sermon where he demonized God. He’s relegated to serving as a tour guide and accused of statutory rape of a 16-year-old girl.

While escorting a group of women to Acapulco and staying at a cheap motel, Shannon battles the pressures from the outside world and the demons within himself.

Dylan McDermott stars as Reverend Shannon; Phylicia Rashad plays Maxine; Roberta Maxwell as Judith Fellowes; Austin Pendleton as Nonno and Jean Lichty as Hannah, with Keith Randolph Smith, Carmen Berkeley, Eliud Kauffman, Julio Macias, Stephanie Schmiderer, Bradley James Tejeda and John Hans Tester. Emily Mann directs.

Tickets are range from $10 – $250 depending on your ability to pay. This reading serves as a fundraiser for The Actors Fund.

DANCE: in the absence of things – Baryshnikov Arts Center – Now – December 15th

In this ten-minute experimental dance short film, Somi Kakoma explores the impact the pandemic is having on her and her creative process.

Instead of being on the road, she returned home to Illinois and found herself wrestling with the the desire to create and perform and the need to just live.

Movement, art songs, spoken word and more are utilized to tell her story. Kakoma’s mother provides some of the film’s narration. There is also music from a recent live album, Holy Room – Live at Alte Opera with Frankfurt Radio Big Band in the film.

CLASSICAL: Beethoven’s The Creatures of Prometheus – The Philharmonia Orchestra of London – Beginning December 4th – 2:30 PM EST/11:30 AM PST

In February of this year, the Los Angeles Philharmonic had one of their most exciting concerts when Esa-Pekka Salonen, Simon McBurney and Gerard McBurney collaborated on The Weimar Republic: Salonen Conducts The Seven Deadly Sins.

Starting on Friday, Salonen and Gerard McBurney are once again collaborating on a concert. The Philharmonia Orchestra of London is performing Beethoven’s The Creatures of Prometheus.

Most concertgoers are familiar with the work’s overture; far fewer are familiar with the complete score Beethoven composed for this ballet that had its world premiere in Vienna in 1801.

McBurney has written a new script for this concert. There will be animation by Hillary Leben whose work has been seen in performance with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Silk Road Ensemble and more.

When you add that the narration will be performed by Stephen Fry, what else do you need?

The link takes you directly to The Philharmonia Orchestra of London’s YouTube page where this performance can be seen.

DANCE/JAZZ: waiting – 92nd Street Y – December 4th – 7:00 PM EST/4:00 PM PST

Dancer/choreographer Sidra Bell was working on waiting in anticipation of its world premiere performance in June of this year. That was postponed due to the pandemic.

The work is a collaboration with jazz composer/saxophonist Immanuel Wilkins.

Wilkins’ debut album, Omega, was named the Best Jazz Album of 2020 by the New York Times this week.

What is being shown is a work-in-progress of waiting. Sidra Bell and Immanuel Wilkins will participate in a post-performance Q&A.

Tickets are $10.

JAZZ: Christian McBride – Village Vanguard – December 4th – December 5th – 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST

Bassist Christian McBride is joined by Marcus Strickland on saxophone; Josh Evans on trumpet and Nasheet Waits on drums for these two performances from New York’s Village Vanguard.

McBride’s most recent album is The Movement Revisited: A Musical Portrait of Four Icons.

On this record McBride celebrates Rosa Parks, Malcom X, Muhammad Ali and Martin Luther King, Jr.

He just received two Grammy Award nominations recently for Round Again (which finds him recording with Joshua Redman, Brad Mehldau and Brian Blade) and also for Trilogy 2 (which is a live recording with Chick Corea and Blade). He can’t win both awards unless there is a tie – he’s competing against himself.

Tickets are $10 for each performance.

JAZZ: Robert Glasper Acoustic Trio – The Kennedy Center – December 4th – 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM EST

Composer, pianist, producer Robert Glasper is equally comfortable working in the hip-hop world (Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly, Maxwell, Common) and the jazz world (Terence Blanchard, Roy Hargrove, Christian McBride).

He has released albums that find him collaborating with such artists as Kamasi Washington, Terrace Martin, Phoelix and Herbie Hancock.

For this concert at The Kennedy Center he’s working in the trio configuration with Vicente Archer on bass and Justin Tyson on drums. As befits an artist who works in multiple genres, the trio will be joined by DJ Jahi Sundance.

I believe Glasper is one of our most interesting musicians and this should be a terrific concert.

After the performance, Glasper will be joined by Jason Moran for a conversation. Moran is the Kennedy Center Artistic Director for Jazz.

Tickets are $20 and the program will remain available for renting beyond this premiere showing.

PLAY/MAGIC: The Future – Geffen Stayhouse – December 4th – January 31st

It seems like only yesterday that magician Helder Guimarães just concluded his run of The Present with the Geffen Playhouse. He’s back with a new show and given its title I’m wondering if a trilogy is being planned.

The Future finds gambling at the core of Guimarães’ storytelling and perspective is the fulcrum through which we will view the story and guide its direction.

Frank Marshall returns as director. Will there also be a show next year called The Past?

Tickets are $95 with a majority of the performances already sold out. If you’re interested, act quickly. To do otherwise might gamble away your chance to get a look into The Future.

JAZZ: Pink Martini – SFJAZZ – December 4th – 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST

This week’s Fridays at Five concert from San Francisco Jazz is a holiday concert by Pink Martini that was performed at the venue last December.

This seventeen-member ensemble successfully blends musical styles to create a sound all their own. For instance, did you ever think this rhythm would be part of “We Three Kings?”

Having watched many a concert from this Fridays at Five series, I’m always pleased with how good these shows look and how great they sound.

The concert will air only at this one time. Tickets are $5 for a one-month subscription or $60 for a one-year subscription.

BROADWAY VOCALS: Vanessa Williams: Live from the West Side – Segerstrom Center – December 5th – 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST

In the third and final concert from the Women of Broadway series Live from the West Side, Vanessa Williams take to the stage.

Williams was a Tony Award and Drama Desk Award nominee for Best Actress in a Musical for her performance as The Witch in Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s Into the Woods revival from 2002.

She made her Broadway debut when she joined the cast of Kiss of the Spider Woman as Aurora/Spider Woman in 1994. Her other Broadway credits include 2010’s Sondheim on Sondheim and the 2013 revival of The Trip to Bountiful.

Beyond her Broadway career she’s had best-selling albums and singles including The Colors of the Wind from the Disney animated film Pocahontas.

Tickets are $30 and allow for additional viewings for 72 hours.

JAZZ: Arturo Sandoval Live from the Broad Stage – The Broad Stage – December 5th – December 13th

In October of this year, trumpeter Arturo Sandoval and a small ensemble of musicians came together to film a live concert at the Broad Stage in Santa Monica. The end result is 60 minutes of Latin jazz sure to entertain.

Sandoval is a 10-time Grammy Award winner who was born in Cuba. There isn’t enough space to list all the recordings he’s made and all the musicians with whom he’s recorded. But perhaps the names Bennett, Estefan, Keys, Monk and Sinatra might sound familiar.

Joining him are Will Brahm on guitar; Ricard Pasillas on percussion; Johnny Friday on drums; John Belazaguy on bass and Max Haymer on piano.

Tickets are $10 for non-members. Free for members.

JAZZ: Barbara Morrison: Standing on Their Shoulders – The Wallis – December 5th – 11:00 PM EST/8:00 PM PST

No jazz vocalist can claim not to have been influenced by Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan and Dinah Washington. Singer Barbara Morrison is no exception.

In this concert, part of the virtual version of The Sorting Room from The Wallis, Morrison will put her own stamp on the songs these women made famous.

Tickets are $25 and allow for viewing for 24 hours. There are more concerts in this series and package deals are available for viewing either half or all six of The Sorting Room series.

CLASSICAL: James McVinnie Live from Concert Hall ‘Latvija’ in Ventspils – December 6th – 12:00 EST/9:00 AM PST

In February of 2018 I saw and heard organist James McVinnie give the world premiere performance of Register by Nico Muhly. It was an amazing performance of truly fascinating music.

It wasn’t their first collaboration. Muhly wrote 2013’s Cycles for McVinnie. Muhly and McVinnie have collaborated again on Nativity Cycle.

This music was written specifically for this concert and for McVinnie by Muhly.

The composer was inspired by plainsong. That term refers to unaccompanied church music sung in medieval modes and free rhythm. The text is taken from liturgical material.

Each of Muhly’s pieces will include the plainchant at the end, but expect him to transform the original music into something that is at times, much simpler and at other times, much more complex. All of which suits McVinnie’s talents.

Tickets are €8 which is just under $10 as of press time. This does not include any service charges. There is a note on the website that says ticket prices will increase as the concert dates get closer.

JAZZ: Billie Holiday: A Concert Celebration – 92nd Street Y – December 6th – December 9th

On November 21st, the Emmet Cohen Trio was joined by singers Catherine Russell and Veronica Swift for a celebration of the music of Billie Holiday filmed at New York’s 92nd Street Y. That concert will start being available on Sunday at 3:00 PM EST/12:00 PM PST and remain available for renting through December 9th.

Also joining the concert is saxophonist Tivon Pennicott who joins for a special tribute to the collaborations Holiday had with Lester Young.

I wasn’t familiar with Swift before reading about this concert. She’s quite good. It will be exciting to see where she goes with her career.

The members of Cohen’s trio are Yasushi Nakamura on bass and Kyle Poole on drums. (Cohen, of course, plays piano.)

Tickets are $15.

BROADWAY VOCALS: Eva Noblezada Live from Adelphi – Adelphi PAC Concert Hall – December 6th – 5:00 PM EST/2:00 PM PST

Eva Noblezada has appeared on Broadway in two musicals: She played Kim in the 2017 revival of Miss Saigon. She originated the role of Eurydice in the Tony Award-winning musical Hadestown. She was Tony nominated for both performances. In other words, she’s gotten a nomination for every role she’s performed on Broadway. She hasn’t yet snagged one of the trophies, but just you wait.

You’ll be able to see what makes her so engaging in this live concert on Sunday. I’ve seen her in Hadestown. She’s very talented and this should be a great opportunity to see her shine.

Tickets are $15.

CLASSICAL: McGill/McHale Trio – Shriver Hall Concert Series – December 6th – 5:30 PM EST/2:30 PM PST

Clarinettist Anthony McGill and his flautist brother Demarre met pianist Michael McHale when they were artists-in-residence at Bowling Green University. The trio first performed together in 2014 and they’ve been making music together ever since.

For this program, which took place at New York’s 92nd Street Y last December, the trio will celebrate dance. The concert features works by Chris Rogerson, Francis Poulenc, Antonin Dvořák, Guillaume Connesson, Claude Debussy and Paul Schoenfield.

There will be a post-performance Q&A with the artists available after the concert.

Tickets are $15 and allow for continued viewing through December 9th.

BROADWAY VOCALS: Ana Gasteyer with Seth Rudetsky – December 6th – 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST

Columbia, Elphaba and Mrs. Peachum are all familiar characters to fans of musicals. Martha Stewart, Celine Dion and Hillary Rodham Clinton are familiar to most people.

Saturday Night Live veteran Ana Gasteyer has played them all.

Her Broadway debut came in the 2001 Broadway production of The Rocky Horror Show. Several years later she played that oh-so-green woman in Wicked after having appeared in a new production of The Threepenny Opera with Alan Cumming.

She joins Seth Rudetsky for his concert series this weekend. The live performance takes place on Sunday. If you are unable to watch that performance, it will be re-streamed on Monday, December 7th at 3:00 PM EST/12:00 PM PST.

Tickets for either performance are $28.50 (which includes service charges).

That concludes my selections of the Best Bets at Home: December 4th – December 6th. But there are always going to be a few reminders:

Ute Lemper’s Rendezvous with Marlene has a final streaming performance on Saturday, December 5th at 2:00 PM EST/11:00 AM PST.

Larry Powell’s The Gaze…No Homo continues with new episodes at The Fountain Theatre’s website.

Greenway Court Theatre’s If I Should Wake makes both parts available for the first time beginning on Friday. The show ends its streaming on December 10th.

All concerts that are part of the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s Sound/Stage series remain available for streaming. The Solitude episode, featuring works by Thomas Adés and Duke Ellington, will only be available through December 15th.

The Metropolitan Opera concludes its Stars in Signature Roles week with Elīna Garanča in Bizet’s Carmen on Friday; Jessye Norman, Kathleen Battle and Tatiana Troyanos in Strauss’ Ariadne auf Naxos on Saturday and Shirley Verrett, Luciano Pavarotti and Cornell MacNeil in Puccini’s Tosca on Sunday.

Now we’ve truly come to the end of the Best Bets at Home: December 4th – December 6th. Enjoy your weekend and enjoy the culture!

Photo: James McVinnie (Photo ©Magnús Andersen/Courtesy of McVinnie’s website)

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Thankfully a number of people have created new programming to keep us in the spirit – or to let the spirits move us. The programming ranges from fun for the entire family to idiosyncratic entertainment for adults seeking more adventurous offerings.

Tim Burton said, “Every day is Halloween isn’t it? For some of us.” At least every day this week will be for all of us. So which one of these shows do you want in your trick or treat bag? Whatever you do, don’t fall asleep.

Bob Baker’s HaLLoWe’eN SpoOkTaCuLar – PlayhouseLive – Now – November 18th

Pasadena Playhouse’s PlayhouseLive has added another Bob Baker Marionette Theater show to their line-up: the classic HaLLoWe’eN SpoOkTaCuLar. This annual Halloween tradition has been filmed and is perfect entertainment for the entire family.

There will be some classic characters including Dracula, The Invisible Man and the Purple People Eater. Think of this as a Monster Mash with strings.

Renting the show, which runs 48 minutes, costs $14.99

Attention Deficit Disorder *COBWEB* Cabaret – Club Cumming – October 27th – 8:00 PM EDT/5:00 PM PDT

This is not your typical cabaret. Nor should it be for Halloween. Angela Di Carlo, a comedic cabaret singer, is the hostess for this special Halloween edition of her recurring Attention Deficit Disorder Cabaret shows. This live show will emanate from Alan Cumming’s Club Cumming in New York City.

What to expect? Let me use their own description: Join us as we take a virtual stroll thru the Dead Baby Graveyard in a slutty nurse costume while eating Pumpkin Spice potato chips. In these troubled and uncertain times there’s nothing better than curing your raging ADD with all your favorite spooky songs and laffs galore with ADD *COBWEB* Cabaret. 

Joining Di Carlo for this show will be David Ilku of Unitard Comedy and Kyle “Special K” Forester on piano. Other guests might be added.

ADD Cabaret has been running for over five years and has attracted great reviews and celebrity fans like Parker Posey and Jake Shears of Scissor Sisters. This won’t be a traditional show at all. That’s why I like it!

Tickets are $20.

Lena Hall Virtually Halloween Edition – October 29th – 7:30 PM EDT/4:30 PM PDT

Not only will you get Lena Hall rocking out some great Halloween tunes, you are encouraged to dress in costume for this week’s Lena Hall Virtually concert. VIP tickets that include a song request are sold out, but there are still general admission tickets available as are charitable donation tickets. The Ali Forney Center receives all money raised with donation tickets.

What will she sing? Depends on the requests. But I wouldn’t be surprised to see at least one or two songs from The Rocky Horror Show, Monster Mash and I Put a Spell On You to be part of the repertoire. Whatever it is, it’s going to be (psycho) killer, Qu’est-ce que c’est, Fa-fa-fa-fa-fa-fa-fa-fa-fa-far better.

I Put a Spell On You: The Sanderson Sisters Break the Internet – October 29th – 8:00 PM EDT/5:00 PM PDT

The 1993 film Hocus Pocus is the focus of a couple shows this week. I Put a Spell On You is an annual concert and party. For obvious reasons, this year’s party is going online.

It is free, but donations to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS are encouraged.

Jay Armstrong Johnson, Allison Robinson and Amanda Williams Ware take on the roles of Winifired, Sarah and Mary Sanderson played by Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy in the film.

This online party, which takes the form of a filmed adventure, will find the Sanderson Sisters recruiting as many iconic villains as they can to carry out a fiendish plot.

Joining in the fun will be Broadway’s Nick Rashad Burroughs (Tina: The Tina Turner Musical), Drew Gehling (Waitress), J. Harrison Ghee (Mrs. Doubtfire), Todrick Hall (Kinky Boots), Robyn Hurder (Moulin Rouge! The Musical), Julia Mattison (Godspell), Eva Noblezada (Hadestown), Ahmad Simmons (West Side Story) and Will Swenson (Waitress). 

There will also be some popular drag queens including Bob The Drag Queen (TV’s RuPaul’s Drag Race), Kizha Carr, Marti Gould Cummings, Peachez and Alexis Michelle (TV’s RuPaul’s Drag Race).

Rounding out the show are cast members from The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, West Side Story, The Cher Show, The Real Housewives of New York City, On Your Feet! and several other shows.

Sharon Needles: Mask It Or Casket! – Club Cumming – October 29th – 9:00 PM EDT/6:00 PM PDT

If you are familiar with the drag queens from RuPaul’s Drag Race, you know there is one queen who screams Halloween: Sharon Needles. She won Season 4 and has put together a show that will undoubtedly be like no other. Mask It or Casket! will run four times: 3 performances on October 29th and one late show on Halloween.

It is said in press materials that this show will be a contemporary spin on camp classics like the Paul Lynde Halloween Special. And here’s a reminder of what that show was like:

Joining Sharon Needles will be Amanda Lepore, RuPaul’s Drag Race stars Alaska 5000 (Season 5) and Aja (Season 9), Michael Musto, Jada Valenciaga, illusionist Michael Carbonaro and special appearances by Countess Luann from Real Housewives of New York and Tony Award-winner (and club owner) Alan Cumming.

Tickets are $25 with showtimes on October 29th at 5:00 PM EDT/2:00 PM PDT, 9:00 PM EDT/6:00 PM PDT and a midnight show that will air at 9:00 PM PDT on the West Coast. The Halloween showtime is midnight on the East Coast and 9:00 PM PDT on the West Coast.

The Brett Loudermilk Halloween Special – October 29th – October 30th

America’s Got Talent 2020 semi-finalist Brett Loudermilk is putting on his own Halloween special and he’s enlisted Elvira, Gilbert Gottfried and Puddles Pity Party to join him.

Loudermilk earned his spot on AGT by not just swallowing swords – his specialty along with a quick wit – but in making the judges wholly uncomfortable, particularly Sofia Vergara.

Elvira we all know and certainly Halloween is the perfect occasion to revisit the Mistress of the Dark. Puddles Pity Party, who was a quarter-finalist on the 2012 season of America’s Got Talent, is also joining the show. He is one of the most unique and talented performers I’ve ever seen. The less you know, the better the surprise is of what Puddles Pity Party does.

There will be two performances of The Brett Loudermilk Halloween Special. One on October 29th at 8:00 PM EDT/5:00 PM PDT and one on October 30th at 10 PM EDT/7:00 PM PDT. Tickets are $25.

In Search of the Sanderson Sisters: A Hocus Pocus Hulaween Takeover – October 30th – 8:00 PM EDT/5:00 PM PDT

This is our second Hocus Pocus-related event for Halloween. In Search of the Sanderson Sisters: A Hocus Pocus Hualween Takeover finds Bette Midler reunited with co-stars Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy. This is a fundraiser for The New York Restoration Project.

NYRP started as a grass roots project by Midler to clean up parks in New York City.

One of their biggest events each year is Hulaween – a masquerade ball with a Hawaiian twist (Midler was born in Honolulu). Circumstances being what they are, this year’s event is online.

In Search of the Sanderson Sisters takes the form of a “documentary” program in which Elvira (she’s back) explores with all three Sisters their background. Mysterious secrets will be revealed about their ancestry, education and loves found and lost.

Joining Midler, Parker and Najimy will be co-stars Thora Birch, Omri Katz and Doug Jones. But they also have a few special guests lined-up: Glenn Close, Billy Crystal, Jamie Lee Curtis, John Debney, Samantha Diaz, Todrick Hall, Jennifer Hudson, Anjelah Johnson-Reyes, Michael Kors, Adam Lambert, George Lopez, Alex Moffat, Vinessa Shaw, Martin Short, Sarah Silverman, John Stamos, Meryl Streep, Kenan Thompson, Sophie von Haselberg and other surprise guests.

Tickets to watch the show are $10 plus a $3 service charge. Proceeds benefit the New York Restoration Project. It is important to be aware that there will be only this one showing of In Search of the Sanderson Sisters.

The Nightmare Before Christmas Concert – October 31 – 7:00 PM EDT/4:00 PM PDT

“Just because I cannot see it, doesn’t mean I can’t believe it.” Well Jack Skellington, believe it.

The Actors Fund and the Lymphoma Research Foundation are teaming up for a one-night-only benefit concert of the music and songs from Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas. The event takes place on Halloween and will be a one-time-only presentation.

The concert was the idea of Tony Award-winner James Monroe Iglehart (Aladdin). He has invited many of his friends from Broadway to perform the classic Danny Elfman songs from their homes. The stars joining him are Danny Burstein (Moulin Rouge!), Rafael Casal (Blindspotting), Lesli Margherita (Matilda), Rob McClure (Mrs. Doubtfire), Nik Walker (Ain’t Too Proud) and Adrienne Warren (Tina: The Tina Turner Musical).

Each of the cast members was tasked with coming up with costumes and props using things they already had in their homes.

This show is not only family-friendly, but also has a family-friendly price of $4.99.

In Hocus Pocus, Winifred Sanderson says, “Oh look, another glorious morning. Makes me sick.” I believe with all this Halloween programming available to you this week, you’ll start November in a much brighter place than Winifred ever did.

Photo: Sharon Needles (Courtesy Club Cumming)

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This annual event is a fundraiser for the Ali Forney Center which serves LGBT homeless youth. You don’t need to make a donation to watch the concert, but donations are obviously encouraged.

The line-up of talent for this year’s Night of a Thousand Judys is stellar: Tony winners Lena Hall (Hedwig and the Angry Inch) and Alice Ripley (Next to Normal) are joined by Tony nominees Beth Malone (Fun Home); Eva Noblezada (Hadestown), Adam Pascal (Rent). They are joined by Ann Hampton Callaway, Spencer Day, Natalie Douglas, Nathan Lee Graham, Ann Harada (Avenue Q), L Morgan Lee (A Strange Loop), George Salazar (Be More Chill), Billy Stritch, T. Oliver Reid (Hadestown), Jessica Vosk (Wicked) and Bright Light Bright Light.

Justin Sayre is the host for Night of a Thousand Judys. He’s the executive story editor and writer for the television series The Cool Kids and 2 Broke Girls.

What can you expect from this show? Each artist will put their own stamp on a song recorded by Judy Garland. Think The Wizard of Oz, The Harvey Girls, A Star Is Born, Summer Stock and perhaps a song or two from her Carnegie Hall concert.

Whether you are a friend of Judy’s, a fan of Judy’s or just want to enjoy some good music, Night of a Thousand Judys is an annual tradition that we will all get to see this year! Or as Judy sang in her most popular song, “The dreams that you dare to dream really do come true.”

Photo of Judy Garland is a publicity still for The Harvey Girls.

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Miss Saigon sets the story of a young girl who falls in love with a soldier in Vietnam. Kim (Emily Bautista at most performances; Myra Molloy at others) works for an insidious man at a club named The Engineer (Red Concepcíon). He puts on a “contest” called Miss Saigon with the winner to be the prize for a Marine. One of those Marines, Chris (Anthony Festa) becomes smitten with Kim and after a night of sex (her first time), he offers to bring her to America. When he leaves Vietnam, due to the imminent fall of Saigon, he goes without taking her. She holds out hope that he will one day return for her and honor his promise.

Three years go by and lot has changed for both Chris and Kim. When they are reunited those changes lead to a tragic ending that won’t be revealed here. (Not everyone knows Madama Butterfly – no reason to give it all away.)

The original production opened in London in 1989. It was soon followed by a Broadway production in 1991. In both productions, Lea Salonga played Kim and Jonathan Pryce played The Engineer. They both were awarded the Olivier Award and the Tony Award for their performances. In the 2017 revival, Eva Nobelzada (who is currently in Hadestown) played Kim and Jon Jon Briones played The Engineer.

Musical staging and choreography for this production is by Bob Avian, who collaborated with Michael Bennett on A Chorus Line, Dreamgirls and more. He was the original choreographer of Miss Saigon.

Laurence Connor is the director of this production, as he was of the revival. He was also the director for new productions of Les Misérables and The Phantom of the Opera.

It should be noted that Michael Mahler is also credited with additional lyrics.

For tickets at the Pantages go here.

Tickets at Segerstrom Hall had not gone at sale at press time.

Main Photo: Anthony Festa & Emily Bautista in “Miss Saigon” (Photo by Matthew Murphy)

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