Waites first recorded Price’s music in 1987. When she takes to the stage of CAP UCLA’s The Nimoy on January 16th, she will perform work by both women and will be offering the first-ever performances of newly discovered and edited music by Price. The concert is called Momentum: Time and Space.

Momentum indeed. Last September Waites released her fourth album, Reflections in Time which found her performing music by Bonds, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor and Jeremy Siskind.

Last week I spoke with Waites about her passion for this music, the current embrace of music – particularly Price’s, and about whether or not she considers herself a trailblazer. What follows are excerpts from our conversation that have been edited for length and clarity. To see the full interview with Waites, please go to our YouTube channel.

Q: You were one of the earliest proponents of the music of Florence Price, recording her work, I believe, in 1987. Did you imagine all that time ago that Florence Price would become one of the most performed composers in this decade? 

I really did not. You start out on a project, but you don’t really know how it’s all going to end. I did a cassette recording. A friend of mine, who did the first biography on Price, sent me a copy of the manuscript from the Library of Congress. She said, Althea, this would be a wonderful piece for you to learn. I didn’t know anything about the Price sonata or any of the other music. So I got the manuscript and started working on it. I was in Switzerland at the time and when I got back to the States, I made that a primary project. Then in 1993 I did the first commercial recording of the sonata along with some other short pieces that Price had composed.

Why do you think now is the time that Price has suddenly been embraced by major orchestras around the world and also soloists?

We’ve been talking a lot and experiencing a lot about diversity and inclusion. I’m old enough to remember growing up in the segregated South where music was being performed and it was a part of the cultural landscape. But certainly Black composers, performers were relegated to very limited kinds of opportunities. With the civil rights movement, all of the LGBTQ actions that are taking place now, there is interest in Florence Price’s music. 

In 2021, Classic FM had a list of the ten most important Black composers who changed the course of classical music history. There were only two women on the list: Florence Price and Margaret Bonds. What do you think their greatest contribution to classical music is?

They paved the way for traditional folk music that had been part of the Black experience to be included and to be recognized as a major component of that particular type [of music]. They were not away from doing European classical music or art music or the music of Mozart, Bach, Beethoven, etc. because they were classically trained. They incorporated all of that into their music. Price used the dances that came out of slavery and out of the music of the plantations in the South. Bonds did the same thing. Because of their classical experience, they also merged that particular form with everything else that they were doing. I think that that was their major contribution.

They paved the way for other women. They opened doors really for women at that time – even in my generation – to get out and play and perform and teach a lot of this music. Both Price and Bonds were teachers and fierce advocates for inclusion at a time when it was hardly popular.

You’re also a teacher. Do you think the act of performance is a lesson in teaching for anybody who gets to hear it? 

I totally agree. You can learn a lot, as I did just from listening to great artists and, of course, listening to it on the radio or television. A lot of my education, besides going to an academic institution, I went to concerts. My mother was a fierce advocate for having me experience all of that music.

We went to concerts in New Orleans, despite the fact that the large halls were not open to us. We heard the Met Opera every Saturday afternoon at 1:00. When I was old enough to read I would get the scores and follow along with whatever was going on. So teaching can happen in many ways, not just in a classroom. A lot of my education happened that way. 

You can’t find a lot of quotes by Margaret Bonds. But I did find one where she is quoted as having said, “Music has to be human and people have to like it. It has to move them spiritually and intellectually.” Do you agree with her and how does her music move you? 

I do agree. The whole idea is that people want to be moved by whatever it is that you do, whether you’re a pianist or if you play anything or if you’re a singer or whatever. If you cannot bring the emotional content to the experience that you have with your instrument, then I’ll say that you’ve fallen short of what your mission is. I think the primary mission is to move people emotionally so that when they walk out of the space, they say, wow, I heard something that really was special. I was really touched by that.

Does the music need to move you in order for you to play it?

Yes, I think so. I’m having that experience now with a couple of the things that I’m doing. There was a piece by Frederic Rzewski who was one of the primary exponents of social justice. He used a lot of those themes in his work. He wrote a piece called Down by the Riverside starting with [she sings] “I’m going to lay down my burden” and so on. Then in the middle of the piece it goes south. He takes a radical departure from the the tune that you’ve heard, which is very peaceful. All of a sudden you’re thrown into another world. That was the way he thought about it. At the end he brings all of that material back to the traditional tune. So, yeah, there must something in it, in any piece, that has to resonate with me. Otherwise, what’s the point?

Do you consider yourself a trailblazer? Somebody who has made it possible for younger generations who come up behind you to explore and make discoveries on their own of music, whether known or unknown?

I don’t want to pin any bouquets on myself. I mean, a lot of people have called me that. I say thank you. I appreciate that. What I believe is that whatever I have done in some small way, I’ll keep doing that. Whatever time I have left on the planet, I’m going to continue to support the younger generation. I don’t know if I would call myself a trailblazer. It’s nice to be thought of in that context, but, for me, it’s basically just doing the work. Doing some good work.

Quite some time ago there was a major discovery in Chicago in an apartment building that was being remodeled or a house that was being remodeled where they found a lot of Florence Price’s music, which helped further people’s awareness of Florence Price. Do you have optimism that maybe another miracle can occur and that we can find a lot more of this lost work somehow, somewhere?

I would think so, because people are really interested in it now. I do have to bring up at this juncture some work that a friend of mine, Michael Cooper [Professor of Music at Southwestern University], is now completing the first biography on Margaret Bonds. It was through him that I got these pieces that I’m going to premiere for The Nimoy concert.

Now he is a real trailblazer because Bonds lived in Los Angeles during the last 6 or 7 years of her life after Langston Hughes passed away. Michael has been doing research on where some of this music was. And I have a feeling that it’s going to happen with Price. He is also editing a lot of the music of Florence Price and he sends me things all the time about what he is working on. I owe him a great debt of gratitude because had it not been for him, I would not have known that these pieces exist.

What do you think the most important thing we as an audience can get from opening ourselves up to music? 

I think what has to happen with audiences is let’s get rid of the fear, if you will. Or the apprehension that you may have in your mind about, well, I’m not going to like this. You don’t know until you try and until you actually have the experience. Audiences have to really, I think, do more. And I think we should do more as artists to make that case to say, here is something new. It’s not going to attack you. I feel that’s part of my mission – to get people in the space. That’s where I am. A lot of the people that I work with are trying to get people out to listen.

How does the music you’ve recorded and the music you are now playing reflect where you are in your life today and the journey you’ve taken to get here?

I’m not getting any younger. I was telling my daughter that I’m never going to be 25 again, and that’s okay. I have to do a lot of things now that reflect where I am. I’ll be 85 at the end of this month. I’m grateful to be able to still go on. My body is changing and I have to do more now to stay in good shape. So I walk and I have a lot of exercises that I do. I don’t sit at the piano for ten hours! I practice, but I do get up and take my breaks and with tea and things like that. The exercises really help because if you’re not doing anything like that, then you really can’t present your best self to an audience.

I would also argue that music is a really great way of staying alive.

Oh goodness, yes. We need it now more than ever. The whole world is in a very agitated state. There’s a lot of horrible stuff that’s going on. Music is, I think, probably one of the most important tools. You can bring people together with that. It’s not that you have to say anything, but you can speak through your music. I think that that’s what Price and Bonds attempted to do.

That’s what you are able to do by performing the music.

I feel very, very grateful now to still be able to do this at this point in my life. Anybody else would be sitting in a rocking chair watching soap operas. But not me. 

To see the full interview with Althea Waites, please go here.

The post Pianist Althea Waites Has Bonds with Black Female Composers appeared first on Cultural Attaché.

If you love Broadway, we’ve got several stars appearing in readings, live concerts and more.

If you love jazz, we have an advance screening of a documentary about one of jazz’s most legendary singers and a great concert from 2017 that introduced a new tentet to the world.

Classical music fans have everything from Baroque music to contemporary music to watch and hear.

If you love Verdi and opera, we’ve got that for you, too.

Theater fans have a new translation of a classic play and a documentary born out of a highly-acclaimed show from 2013. There’s also our featured selection: The Gaze, a 12-part series from playwright Larry Powell.

Here are your Best Bets at Home: November 20th – November 22nd.

Uncle Vanya – Spotlight on Plays – Now – November 23rd

Anton Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya gets a new translation by playwright Neil LaBute in this Spotlight on Plays reading from Broadway’s Best Shows.

Vanya and Sonya manage the property owned by an old professor and his second wife, Yelena. Vanya is the professor’s late first wife’s brother. Sonya is his daughter with his first wife.

Sonya has romantic feelings for Dr. Astrov, a local doctor, who is smitten with Yelena. Vanya, too, has become enamored with Yelena. With unrequited love ensnaring the characters, Vanya and Sonya are shocked when the professor announces he plans to sell the home they have been managing for him. They are appalled when the old man announces why he’s selling the house Vanya and Sonya have called home for so long.

Starring as the title character is Tony Award-winner Alan Cumming (Cabaret). Joining him for this reading are Constance Wu, Samira Wiley, K. Todd Freeman, Anson Mount, Mia Katigbak, Manik Choksi and Academy Award winner Ellen Burstyn (Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore). Narration is by Gabriel Ebert. Overseeing the production is director Danya Taymor.

For me, this reading had me at Ellen Burstyn. Add Alan Cummig to the mix and what’s not to love?

Tickets are only $5 to watch Uncle Vanya. Proceeds will benefit The Actors Fund.

Citizen Detective – Geffen Stayhouse – Now – February 7th

In their continuing series of newly-produced Zoom shows, Los Angeles’ Geffen Playhouse offers up a brand new virtual murder mystery called Citizen Detective.

Written and directed by Chelsea Marcantel, Citizen Detective finds best-selling crime author Mickie McKittrick (Mike Ostroski) enlisting the audience’s help in trying to solve a mysterious Hollywood murder from the 1920s.

Either as one large group or broken out into smaller rooms, audience members while have to find evidence and see where that might lead them. No two shows are going to be the same.

Also in the cast is Paloma Nozica as Andrea. The show runs 85 minutes without an intermission.

Citizen Detective‘s original announced run sold out. The show has been extended through February 7th with those tickets going on sale on November 27th. There are only 24 tickets available for each performance. Tickets are $65 per household.

Finales – LA Philharmonic Sound/Stage – November 20th – continuing

Earlier this week the Los Angeles Philharmonic announced that there will be a second season of Sound/Stage starting in February. For anyone who has seen the previous eight episodes of the inaugural season, you’ll know this is good news.

Like any season, it has to wrap up with a grand finale. This week the final episode of Sound/Stage will do just that.

This new show finds Gustavo Dudamel back on the podium leading the LA Phil. On the program are the Finale of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7; Ritual Mind – Corporeous Pulse from Gabriela Ortiz’s Corpórea and Maurice Ravel’s The Fairy Garden from Mother Goose.

If you have missed some of the previous eight shows, they are still available and will remain so for one year. The only exception is the episode Solitude which will only be available through December 15th. They are all worth checking out.

All episodes of Sound/Stage are free. (Not that a donation to the LA Philharmonic would go amiss.)

TaReKiTa – Los Angeles Master Chorale – November 20th – 1:00 PM EST/10:00 AM PST

Composer Reena Esmail composed TaReKiTa in 2016 for Los Angeles-based Urban Voices Project. She has revised the work and it will have its premiere in this video performance from the Los Angeles Master Chorale. 24 singers will be joined by choreographer and dancer Shalini Haupt.

The piece does not use words, but rather sounds.

Esmail explains it on her website as “based on sounds the Indian drum, the tabla, makes, called ‘bols’ — they are onomatopoeic sounds that imitate the sound of the drum. The result is something like a scat would be in jazz – ecstatic, energetic, rhythmic music that feels good on the tongue.”

I’ve heard the original version and can’t wait to hear it expanded for so many more voices. Esmail’s composition is short and the entire performance runs two minutes.

Virtual Halston – Cast Party YouTube Channel – November 20th – 5:00 PM EST/2:00 PM PST

I’ve written several times about the delightful Julie Halston and her Friday happy hour virtual salons. The reason for writing again is that her guest this week is the phenomenally talented Gideon Glick.

Glick made his Broadway debut in the original production of Spring Awakening in 2006 after launching the show off-Broadway. He survived Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark when his role was cut during previews of the troubled musical. He played the lead role of Jordan Berman in Joshua Harmon’s Significant Others both off-Broadway and on. His most recent Broadway appearance was in the Aaron Sorkin adaptation of To Kill a Mockingbird. He received a Tony Award nomination for his performance. Last year he appeared in the off-Broadway revival of Little Shop of Horrors as Seymour.

At 32, Glick is an actor to watch. You should follow him on Twitter where his pithy comments make it abundantly clear he’ll make a great guest with Halston.

There is no charge to watch the show, but donations are encouraged with proceeds going to the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation

Angela Hewitt Performs Bach – 92 Street Y – November 20th – 7:30 PM EST/4:30 PM PST – December 4th

In 2018 pianist Angela Hewitt culminated a four-year journey through the works of Johann Sebastian Bach at New York’s 92 Street Y with performances of the Goldberg Variations, The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I and The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book II. All three performances will be available for streaming starting on Friday and continuing through Friday, December 4th.

Hewitt has recorded all three works twice. With the Goldberg Variations she recorded them first in 2002 (in a recording that started around 11 PM at night and was captured live with just a few retakes the next day) and she revisited the work in 2015.

BBC Music Magazine raved about the later recording by saying, “Sixteen years on, the fingers are as formidably on the ball as ever—capable of the most tender translucency, of staccato leaps that ‘ping’, and able to differentiate and characterise several voices simultaneously with jaw-dropping felicity.”

She recorded The Well-Tempered Clavier (both books) in 1998-1999 and again in 2008. The earlier recording was named by BBC Music Magazine as Best of the Year. The later recordings were named a Gramophone Magazine Editor’s Choice.

All three performances become available simultaneously. There is a $15 fee to watch each performance. You can also purchase all three performances for $35. Links to each performance can be found in the opening paragraph of this preview.

Laura Osnes & Tony Yazbeck – Caramoor – November 20th – 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST

The music of composer George Gershwin will be celebrated by Broadway stars Laura Osnes (Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella, Anything Goes) and Tony Yazbeck (On the Town, Finding Neverland) in this live-streamed benefit concert for the Caramoor Center for Music & the Arts in Katonah, New York. Fred Lassen serves as accompanist and music director.

In 2017, Osnes and Yazbeck worked together on a concert version (with dance) of the musical Crazy for You at Lincoln Center. That 1992 musical featured Gershwin’s songs and won the Tony Award for Best Musical.

They have also performed Gershwin together in cabaret settings since Crazy For You. In other words, they know their way around a Gershwin tune.

Two very talented Broadway stars, great Gershwin music, who could ask for anything more?

Tickets range from $50 – $125 and are tax-deductible. The two-hour show will remain available for 24 hours after its conclusion.

Anat Cohen Tentet – SFJAZZ – November 20th – 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST

This week’s Fridays at Five concert from SFJAZZ features clarinetest Anat Cohen in a concert from December 2017.

The concert was in support of the first release by the Anat Cohen Tentet called Happy Song. Amongst the members of the ensemble are guitarist Sheryl Bailey, pianist/accordionist Vitor Gonçalves, trumpeter Nadja Noordhuis and vibraphonist James Shipp.

The music director/arranger is Oded Lev-Ari.

Last year the Anat Cohen Tentet released a follow-up album called Triple Helix.

Watching this concert requires the purchase of either a one-month digital membership ($5) or an annual membership ($60). The show streams only once at 5:00 PM PST (thus the program’s name Fridays at Five).

The Gaze…No Homo – Fountain Theatre – November 20th – December 31st

Actor and playwright Larry Powell (The Christians, The Legend of Georgia McBride) has adapted his Eugene O’Neill National Playwrights Conference finalist play THE GAZE…(NO HOMO: PART ONE) into a twelve-episode series that begins streaming this week.

Powell has created stories that examine the lives and stories of queer people of color within what are traditionally white spaces.

The Gaze stars Eugene Byrd (Star Wars, 8 Mile), TC Carson (God of War, Star Wars:The Clone Wars), Yvette Cason (Dreamgirls, A Wrinkle in Time), Jason Green (The Gay and Wondrous Life of Caleb Gallo), Sharon Lawrence (NYPD Blue, Shameless), Devere Rogers (Will & Grace, My Spy) and Galen J. Williams (Pose, Motown The Musical).

Each week three of the episodes will be released on the Fountain Theatre’s website.

Powell directed three of the episodes. The other directors of The Gaze…No Homo are Satya Bhabha, Reginald L. Douglas, Amber A. Harris, Bianca Laverne Jones, Zhailon Levingston, Jonathan McCrory, Joanna Strapp and Leland Durond Thompson.

This digital series should be both thought-provoking and thoroughly entertaining.

If I Should Wake – Greenway Court Theatre – November 20th – December 10th

As long as we’re on the topic of playwright Larry Powell, let’s take a look at another project in which he’s involved.

If I Should Wake is a play in two-parts featuring eight different monologues that explore the impact of the upheaval we’re experiencing in the world today and how that might alter our existence in the afterlife.

It’s a continuation of a program that launched Greenway Arts Alliance back in 2000. That series of monologues was written by José Rivera and was centered around the millennium.

There are eight different playwrights involved with If I Should Wake. In addition to Powell, they include Alex Alpharaoh, Boni B. Alvarez, Arianna Basco, Diana Burbano, Inda Craig-Galván, Yehuda Hyman and Grace McLeod.

The first part begins streaming on November 20th at 10:00 PM EST/7:00 PM PST. Part one includes The Waiting Room by McLeod, Body Quakes by Basco, The Reclamation of my Black Ass Imagination: An Awakening by Powell and Francis by Alvarez.

Part one will be available from November 20th – November 27th. It will be available again December 4th – December 10th.

The second part will feature Quicksand: A Bardo Monologue by Burbano; They Say My Name by Craig-Galván; Cassandra by Alpharaoh and The Let Go by Hyman.

Part two will be available from November 27th at 10:00 PM EST/7:00 PM PST and will remain available through December 10th.

Both parts of If I Should Wake will be available on Greenway Theatre’s Twitch.TV page. There is no charge to watch the play.

Gershwin & Dvořák– Pasadena Symphony – November 20th

The final concert in the Pasadena Symphony’s Pasadena Presents series finds a performance of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue and Antonin Dvořák’s String Quartet No. 12 “American” on the program.

The soloist for Rhapsody in Blue is pianist Llewellyn Sanchez-Werner. The musicians performing the Dvořák are Carrie Kennedy and Joel Pargman on violin; Aaron Oltman on viola; Ryan Sweeney on cello and James Lent on piano.

Music Director David Lockington conducts.

Tickets are $25 to watch the concert.

Border Crossings Continued – Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra – November 20th – 9:30 PM EST/6:30 PM PST

The Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra continues their Border Crossings series with Close Quarters Episode 2. Once again, Patricia Mabee leads the performance from the harpsichord.

On the program are Joseph Pla’s Sonata III; Heitor Villa-Lobos’ Assobio a Jato, Gaspar Sanz’s Jácaras and Pastoreta Ychepe Flauta by an anonymous composer.

As these films combine performance and visuals (under the curation and supervision of James Darrah), the artists whose work appear in Close Quarters Episode 2 are Yuki Izumihara and Yee Eun Nam. Choreography is by Chris Emile and the dancer is Rosalynd LeBlanc.

The musicians are Josefina Vergara and Susan Rishik on violin; Armen Ksajikian on cello; Ben Smolen on flute; Jason Yoshida on theorbo/baroque guitar and Peter Corpela on percussion.

The performance lasts approximately 30 minutes. If you missed Episode 1, you can find it on LACO’s YouTube channel.

Rigoletto – San Francisco Opera – November 21st – November 22nd

Conducted by Nicola Luisotti; starring Željko Lučić, Aleksandra Kurzak and Francesco Demuro. This revival of the 1997 Mark Lamos production is from the 2012-2013 season and was directed by Harry Silverstein.

Victor Hugo, the author of Les Míserables, was also a playwright and it was his play, Le roi s’amuse, that served as the inspiration for Giuseppe Verdi’s opera. Francesco Maria Piave, who regularly collaborated with the composer, wrote the libretto. The opera had its world premiere in Venice, Italy in 1851.

The title character is a jester who serves the Duke of Mantua. The Duke is a seductive man who, upon learning that the woman with whom Rigoletto lives is his daughter and not his wife, makes the young woman, Gilda, his next target. Curses, assassination plots and more leave this clown without much to smile about.

For this production, San Francisco Opera had two casts in the three lead roles and Rigoletto was performed on back-to-back nights its opening weekend.

In Joshua Kosman‘s review for the San Francisco Chronicle he said there was one definitive revelation: “Polish soprano Aleksandra Kurzak, whose company debut Friday night as Gilda was nothing short of remarkable. In a role that is often sung with silvery, laser-like precision and naivete, Kurzak opted instead for a full-throated sound and an air of emotional assurance that made her plight all the more poignant.”

There is no charge to watch Rigoletto. The opera becomes available at 1:00 PM EST/10:00 AM PST and remains available until just before midnight PST on Sunday, November 22nd.

Circus Kid – Center Theatre Group Digital Stage – November 21st – 10:00 PM EST/7:00 PM PST

Seven years ago Lorenzo Pisoni brought his show, Humor Abuse, to the Mark Taper Forum. The play explored his life growing up in the circus. Filled with humor, pathos and some daring maneuvers, it was a thoroughly entertaining evening of theatre.

Pisoni has now taken that story further with a film called Circus Kid. This 2016 documentary finds him in search of the man behind the clown make-up who was his father. Pisoni grew up in and around the Pickle Family Circus. From a young age, he was made a regular performer as part of the circus.

Center Theatre Group will stream the documentary just this one time.

Following the documentary there will be a conversation between Pisoni and one of our finest actors and clowns: Bill Irwin (more about him later.)

The film runs 1 hour and 47 minutes. There is no charge to watch Circus Kid.

Jeremy Denk Recital – Philharmonic Society of Orange County- November 22nd – 10:00 PM EST/7:00 PM PST

If you’ve been reading Cultural Attaché for some time, you know how strongly I feel about pianist Jeremy Denk. I’m not alone in that assessment. He’s the recipient of MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship, he’s had his recordings top the classical music charts and critics regularly try to find new superlatives to describe his playing.

On Saturday, he’ll be performing a recital live from the stage of the Irvine Barclay Theatre. The program includes Mozart’s Piano Sonata No. 14 in C minor, K. 457; Clara Schumann’s Three Romances, Op. 22; Rzewski’s Winnsboro Cotton Mill Blues and Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 32 in C minor, Op. 111.

Tickets are $20 and allow for viewing through November 28th.

Billie – 92 Street Y – November 22nd – 1:00 PM EST/10:00 AM PST

In advance of its release theatrical and online release, the 92 Street Y is hosting a free screening of James Erskine’s documentary Billie. His subject is, of course, the legendary Billie Holiday.

If what you know about Holiday can be summed up in one or two sentences, or is based on the film Lady Sings the Blues, this documentary sheds new light on all the factors that lead to Holiday’s trouble with drugs and the law. This includes battles with racism, the exploitation of her as an artist, how politics factored into her daily life and, of course, her addiction.

The film makes use of interviews with Count Basie, Tony Bennett, Charles Mingus and others that were conducted in the 1970s.

You need to register in advance to watch the screening.

Jarrod Spector & Kelli Barrett: Funny How It Happens – Adelphi Theatre – November 22nd – 5:00 PM EST/2:00 PM PST

Tony Award-nominated actor Jarrod Spector made his Broadway debut at the age of 9 in the long-running original production of Les Misérables as Gavroche. He joined another long-running musical, Jersey Boys, as Frankie Valli. He originated the role of Barry Mann in Beautiful: The Carole King Musical and received his Tony nomination. He also originated the role of Sonny Bono in The Cher Show.

As an adult he’s taken on some pretty iconic men in music. He’s also taken on a more important role as husband to another Broadway star, Kelli Barrett.

Barrett first appeared on Broadway in the 2009 production of The Royal Family. She followed that by playing two different roles in the musical Baby It’s You. Next up was a turn as Nessarose in Wicked in 2014. The short-lived musical adaptation of Dr. Zhivago followed. Her most recent Broadway role was as Dani Franco in Gettin’ the Band Back Together.

With their show Funny How It Happens, Spector and Barrett will explore, through stories and song, how two people can fall in love, get married, keep busy performing and filming schedules and still remain the best of friends.

Tickets are $20.

Adam Pascal with Seth Rudetsky – November 22nd – 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST – POSTPONED DUE TO TECHNICAL ISSUES. RESCHEDULED FOR DECEMBER 20th.

Broadway fans, and particularly Rent-heads, know Adam Pascal from his role as Roger in the original production of Jonathan Larson’s Rent. His other Broadway credits include the Elton John and Tim Rice musical, Aida, Cabaret, Chicago, Memphis, Something Rotten! and most recently, Pretty Woman.

He’s Seth Rudetsky’s guest for this week’s concert and conversation.

Pascal knows Rudetsky well. He appeared in his musical, Disaster!

If Sunday’s live stream doesn’t work for you, they will re-stream the concert on Monday, November 23rd at 3:00 PM EST/12:00 PM PST.

Tickets are $25.

Those are my Best Bets at Home: November 20th – November 22nd. But it wouldn’t be one of my weekly columns if I didn’t offer up a reminder or two.

Earlier I mentioned Bill Irwin. Don’t forget that there are four more opportunities to stream his show, On Beckett/In Screen from the Irish Repertory Theatre.

Metropolitan Opera‘s celebration of Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin continues with Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmélites on Friday (very strongly recommended); Puccini’s Turandot on Saturday and Berg’s Wozzeck on Sunday.

Long Beach Opera’s 2020 Songbook remains available through Sunday for viewing. (See last week’s Best Best at Home for details.)

I suppose if you add these four reminders, you actually have almost as many options from which to choose as you have hours in a day. Luckily you have three days to watch them all.

That’s the complete list of Best Bets at Home: November 20th – November 22nd.

Enjoy your weekend!

Photo: Galen J. Williams in The Gaze (Photo courtesy Tell Me a Story Productions)

Update: This post has been updated to include the Sunday morning announcement that the Adam Pascal concert with Seth Rudetsky is postponed until December 20th due to technical issues.

The post Best Bets at Home: November 20th – November 22nd – UPDATED appeared first on Cultural Attaché.

You will notice that as the inability to hold in-person performances continues to be the reality for performing arts organizations that more original programming is becoming available. With that comes fees to view many of those new offerings. It’s just a fact that performing arts organizations are struggling like any other business during these troubled times. Not only does this new material keep the conversation going between venue and audience, it helps keep the theatres in business.

This weekend there are truly options for everyone in your family: from kid-friendly programming to cutting-edge explorations of topical events; from a new vision for two popular one-act operas to a Latinx Broadway extravaganza; from an exploration of parallels between present-day America and the Rome Republic to gender-bending farce. And more. Much more.

Without further ado, here are your Best Bets at Home: October 1st – October 4th.

Still. – PlayhouseLive – Now – November 1st

PlayhouseLive is a new digital platform introduced yesterday by the Pasadena Playhouse. The site will offer a combination of free material and paid material – all of which is completely new and/or newly discovered. To help launch the site they enlisted three-time national poetry slam champion Jovan Johnson. Still. is his show.

Still. finds Johnson performing his poetry.

Fans will recognize some of the material (Cuz He’s Black, Black and Happy) and there will also be new work that has never been filmed or recorded.

Johnson directly tackles several of the major issues of our time. But he does so in a way that both forces the viewer to confront his/her own thoughts while at the same time generating tremendous empathy. By the time Still. is over, you have gone through an incredible journey that will ultimately leave you somewhat hopeful.

I interviewed Johnson recently. You can read that interview here.

Update: This post has been updated to include a period – “.” at the end of the title of the show. Still. is the show’s complete title.

Kiki & Herb: Seeking Asylum! – Joe’s Pub/The Public Theater – Now – November 5th

Justin Vivian Bond and Kenny Mellman are well known, when performing together, as Kiki & Herb, a lounge-singing duo in their 70s who have failed in their pursuit of fame. In 2016 their show Seeking Asylum was both a critical and commercial hit. The show sold out at Joe’s Pub. In fact, the entire one-month run sold out within minutes.

Promo materials for the show describe their misadventures leading up to this show like this:

“After major successes at Carnegie Hall, on Broadway, and on the International Concert Circuit, cabaret legends Kiki and Herb took a break from the live performance grind to explore other opportunities. Kiki’s sabbatical included a stint as a Middle East correspondent for Al Jazeera, while Herb found himself in hot water—both literal and proverbial—in Southeast Asia.”

Joe’s Pub and The Public are making the show available on both Joe’s Pub’s YouTube page and The Public’s website for viewing through November 5th. There is no charge to watch this thoroughly entertaining show.

Bob Baker Marionette Theater’s The Circus – PlayhouseLive – Now – November 18th

Pasadena Playhouse’s new series, PlayhouseLive, launched on Wednesday. Amongst the shows available is a new film of a classic show by the Bob Baker Marionette Theater: the 1950 classic The Circus.

With over 100 hand-made marionettes, the lives and performances of a circus troupe come to vivid life. Everything you expect from the circus is performed with these amazing creations: animals acts, clowns, trapeze artists, acrobats and more.

For those who went to Bob Baker’s theater downtown before they moved to Highland Park, you know how magical their performances have always been. Puppeteers are not separated from the audience. That brings an immediacy to what they are doing and also makes the marionettes approachable for younger audiences.

This filmed version of The Circus is available for $14.99 and allows repeated viewings over the course of 48 hours. Trust me when I say that these shows appeal to the kid in all of us, regardless of age.

The Tribute Artist – Primary Stages/59E59 Theaters – October 1st – October 4th

Playwright/actor Charles Busch debuted The Tribute Artist in 2014. The play tells the story of a female impersonator who assumes the identity of his newly-deceased elderly landlady. Since he doesn’t have work, why not pretend to be her and live in her townhouse? Because this is the work of Charles Busch, you don’t really think things are going to go as planned do you?

The Tribute Artist was the last show presented by Primary Stages at 59E59 Theaters.

The original company of that production has reunited for virtual readings of the show. Joining Busch are Mary Bacon, Julie Halston, Keira Keeley, Carole Monferdini and Jonathan Walker. Carl Andress, who directed the original production, returns to direct this reading.

Tickets are $36.50 which includes a $1.50 service charge.

The Boys in the Band – Netflix – Now Available

Does history repeat itself? Mart Crowley’s play The Boys in the Band opened in 1968 at Off-Broadway’s Theater Four where it ran for 1,001 performances. Before the show closed in September of 1970 it was already a feature film. William Friedkin (The French Connection; The Exorcist) directed the film adaptation. Friedkin’s film featured many of the play’s original cast members.

In 2018, the first Broadway production of the play opened at the Booth Theatre. The limited run of the play was directed by Joe Mantello.

The cast included Matt Bomer, Robin De Jesús, Jim Parsons, Andrew Rannells and Zachary Quinto. The show went on to win the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play.

Mantello and the cast reunited and the film of The Boys in the Band just started running on Netflix.

What is The Boys in the Band? It depicts a group of gay friends who have assembled for one of their birthdays. During that party each man is challenged by the party’s host to place a phone call to someone he has loved and tell them about it.

Edward Albee had the “game about the baby” and Crowley (who passed away earlier this year) has “the game about love.”

New York’s 92 Street Y is streaming a conversation with Jim Parsons, Zachary Quinto, Matt Bomer and Joe Mantello discussing The Boys in the Band on Friday, October 2nd at 4:00 PM EDT/1:00 PM PDT.

WHAT THE HELL IS A REPUBLIC ANYWAY? – New York Theatre Workshop – Now – November 8th

If you had the opportunity to experience An Iliad by Denis O’Hare and Lisa Peterson, you know how powerful their approach to history and theatre can be. What might first appear as merely an intellectual pursuit, in their hands, becomes palpably exciting.

New York Theatre Workshop was the home for An Iliad. So it is only appropriate that their latest project, WHAT THE HELL IS A REPUBLIC, ANYWAY?, finds itself streaming through the company’s website.

O’Hare and Peterson look at what is going on in American democracy through the prism of the Roman Republic. This is a four-part series. Part one launched live on September 22nd, but there are two remaining “re-runs” of that episode.

Here is the full line-up:

Episode 1: Rome & America: Joined at Birth (Special Guest: Roberta Stewart)

Encore showings: October 4th at 2:00 PM EDT/11:00 AM PDT; October 5th at 7:00 PM EDT/4:00 PM PDT

Episode 2: Citizenship (Special Guest: Sonia Sabnis)

Live presentation: October 6th at 7:00 PM EDT/4:00 PM PDT

Encore showing: October 11th at 7:00 PM EDT/4:00 PM PDT

Episode 3: How Republics Fall Apart

Live presentation: October 20th at 7:00 PM EDT/4:00 PM PDT

Encore showing: October 25th at 7:00 PM EDT/4:00 PM PDT

Episode 4: The Election

Live presentation: November 2nd at 7:00 PM EST/4:00 PM PST

Encore showing: November 8th at 7:00 PM EST/4:00 PM PST

Not only will audience members be watching what’s going on, they will be asked to participate in the democratic process (at least during the live presentations).

Tickets for each episode are $10.

Coming Together – 5 Boroughs Music Festival – October 1st – 5:00 PM EDT/2:00 PM PDT

This is the world premiere of a film featuring the Quodlibet Ensemble and countertenor Reginald Mobley performing Frederic Rzewski’s Coming Together.

The text was written by Samuel Melville, a leader of the revolt at New York’s Attica Prison in 1971. Melville was killed during those riots. The text is from a letter he had written that was published after his death.

Rzewski composed Coming Together shortly after the riots took place.

The film, created with Pastor Isaac Scott, presents the journey we’re all probably on right now – navigating our way through difficult times and still finding a way to have hope. Footage of the musicians performing remotely and safely is included.

Bach’s Cantata No. 54 and songs and spirituals by Florence Price are also performed. Part of these performances were filmed this month at the Baryshnikov Arts Center.

There is no charge to watch the film. However, donations are encouraged. The date listed is when the film becomes available. It will remain available for viewing after its premiere.

The Skivvies: Classic Undie Rock – Radio Free Birdland – October 1st – 7:30 PM EDT/4:30 PM PDT

Lauren Molina made her Broadway debut in the 2005 revival of Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd as Johanna. She also appeared on Broadway in Rock of Ages. Around the same time she was in Sweeney Todd, Nick Cearley was making his Broadway debut in All Shook Up.

No Broadway shows together, but they do appear together as The Skivvies.

They are the duo that performs unique arrangements of songs uniquely. Make that stripped down arrangements while stripped down. Yes, they perform in their underwear.

Perhaps you’ve seen their videos on YouTube?

They have filmed a concert at Birdland in New York. Their show is part of the programming of Radio Free Birdland. The performance was filmed without an audience, but they do have two special guests.

Matt Doyle, who appeared on Broadway in The Book of Mormon and was in previews for this season’s revival of Company, and Tamika Lawrence, who appeared in Come From Away and is in the revival of Caroline, Or Change that was forced to postpone its opening, will both be joining. They’ll be stripping down to their underwear, too.

The only fully-dressed people at a Skivvies show are usually in the audience. But you’ll be at home. Who will know if you’re wearing clothes or not?

Tickets are $23.50.

¡Viva Broadway! Hear Our Voices – October 1st – 8:00 PM EDT/5:00 PM PDT

In spite of the success of In the Heights and On Your Feet, Latinx talent isn’t frequently seen or heard on Broadway. Since October is Latinx Heritage Month, Playbill and The Broadway League have teamed up to present ¡Viva Broadway! Hear Our Voices. The show will be available on Playbill’s website, their YouTube Channel and on The Broadway League’s website.

Andréa Burns, who originated the role of “Daniela” in In the Heights, serves as the host. The show is directed and choreographed by Tony Award winner Sergio Trujillo (Ain’t Too Proud).

The show will feature a reunion of In the Heights cast members (including Christopher Jackson and Karen Olivo) who will be joined by Anthony Ramos who stars as “Usnavi” in the upcoming film of the musical.

There will also be a presentation from the Spanish language production of A Chorus Line that starred Antonio Banderas and was co-directed by Banderas with original cast member Baayork Lee.

Lest this all be a trip down memory lane, three new shows will be given an opportunity to shine during ¡Viva Broadway! including John Leguizamo’s Kiss My Aztec!, Arrabal and Passing Through.

The list of artists making appearances and performing includes Lucie Arnaz, Gloria Estefan, Yvette Gonzalez-Nacer, Quiara Alegría Hudes, Moisés Kaufman, Leguizamo, Matthew López, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Chita Rivera and Daphne Rubin-Vega.

This show will remain available for viewing through October 5th at 8:00 PM EDT/5:00 PM PDT.

Chicago Symphony Orchestra: Sessions Episode One – Chicago Symphony – October 1st – October 30th

The Chicago Symphony Orchestra is launching a new series of small ensemble performances filmed with social distancing guidelines as a way of keeping the music playing.

For their first episode of Sessions, the program features Three Preludes by George Gershwin; Fuga y misterio by Astor Piazzolla; Bachianas brasileiras No. 6 by Heitor Villa-Lobos; Rapide et brilliant from Sonatine for Flute and Bassoon by Pierre Gabaye and Carl Nielsen’s Wind Quintet.

The small ensemble includes Stefán Ragnar Höskuldsson on flute, William Welter on oboe, Stephen Williamson on clarinet, Keith Buncke on bassoon, David Cooper on horn, Jennifer Gunn on flute and William Buchman on bassoon.

Tickets are $15 to watch the performance.

Salón Los Ángeles – Los Angeles Philharmonic Sound/Stage – Begins October 2nd

The second newly-filmed concert in Los Angeles Philharmonic’s Sound/Stage series is called Salón Los Ángeles. The concert features performances of Arturo Márquez’s Danzón No. 1 and George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue.

Gustavo Dudamel is conducting and Jean-Yves Thibaudet is the soloist for Rhapsody in Blue. Given these performances were filmed with social distancing and minimal musicians, it is probably safe to assume the original jazz band version of Rhapsody in Blue will be performed.

Márquez appears in an interview during the show and there will be performances of Mexican danzón and boleros.

There is no charge to watch this program. However, donations are encouraged.

Sound/Stage is a multi-episode series. For a full preview of the entire series, please go here.

Cavalleria rusticana/Pagliacci – Royal Opera House – October 2nd – November 1st

Perhaps no pairing of one-act operas is more popular than the combination of Cavalleria rusticana by Pietro Mascagni and Pagliacci by Ruggero Leoncavallo.

Cavalleria rusticana had its world premiere in Rome in 1890. The opera is based on a short story which later became a play by Giovanni Verga. Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti and Guido Menasci adapted them both for their libretto.

Mascagni’s opera centers on a love triangle. Turridu, who has returned from military service, goes to see his ex-lover, Lola, before seeing his current lover, Santuzza. Lola is married to Alfio. Santuzza decides to tell Alfio about the infidelity and the two men decide to duel. At the end of the opera, multiple hearts are left broken.

Pagliacci had its world premiere in Milan in 1892. Leoncavallo also wrote the libretto.

The opera tells the story of a married couple, Canio and Nedda, who are performers in a small theatre company on the road. Canio is insanely jealous and that jealousy drives Nedda to seek affection from another man, Silvio. Nedda and Silvio make plans to elope, but their plans are overheard by Tonio, another member of the company. He tells Canio about Nedda’s plans. Looking for revenge, Canio, during a performance of their touring play, makes his personal life mirror the drama in the play.

In 2015 Damiano Michieletto staged the two works for the Royal Opera in London. One of the conceits of his production is that both operas take place in the same village. So you might find characters from one opera appear in the other.

The end result was an Olivier Award for Best New Opera in 2016. Michieletto shared the award with the production’s conductor, Sir Antonio Pappano.

This production will remain available for one month. The cost is £3 which equates to just under $4.

Orfeh and Andy Karl with Seth Rudetsky – October 4th – 8:00 PM EDT/5:00 PM PDT

I’ve previously written about Broadway performers Orfeh and Andy Karl. They are married and met during the Broadway production of Saturday Night Fever. By the time they appeared together again in Legally Blonde sparks were flying. More recently they appeared together in Pretty Woman.

The two join Seth Rudetsky for conversation and performance this weekend. (Rudetsky took last week off.)

To get a sense of their chemistry (and their history), take a look at this clip from an appearance at Feinstein’s/54 Below:

The live performance takes place on Sunday, October 4th. There is an Encore showing on October 5th at 3:00 PM EDT/12:00 PM PDT for those unable to watch the live stream on Sunday.

Tickets for either date are $25

While that might seem like a lot, there’s more to your Best Bets at Home: October 1st – October 4th by way of a few reminders:

This week’s Table Top Shakespeare: At Home features Hamlet on October 1st; Love’s Labour’s Lost on October 2nd; The Winter’s Tale on October 3rd and All’s Well That Ends Well on October 4th.

Most of our choices in this week’s Jazz Stream take place in the next four days. Artists like Catherine Russell, James Carter, Joey Alexander are performing. I won’t recap them all in this space. Go here to see our listings.

Metropolitan Opera’s Mozart Week continues with Julie Taymor’s production of The Magic Flute on October 1st; Don Giovanni on October 2nd; The Marriage of Figaro on October 3rd and Idomeneo on October 4th.

I hope you have a lot of devices in your home to watch all this great programming. If not, you’ll have to choose. And who wants to do that?

Enjoy the Best Bets at Home: October 1st – October 4th and Happy October!

Photo: The company of The Tribute Artist (Photo by James Leynse)

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