They include Jim Parsons in Harvey, jazz pianist Chano Domínguez (if you don’t know him, you should!), the pentulimate episode of Close Quarters from Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and For the Record Live’s Brat Pack.

Here is the full list of our Best Bets: May 21st – May 24th:

*TOP PICK* – A Tribute to John Williams – Boston Pops – Now – June 19th

We showcased this concert in yesterday’s preview of our Best Bets. Here is the the top line. Composer John Williams and his music are celebrated in this concert by his one-time home, The Boston Pops. Keith Lockhart will be on the podium for this program of Williams’ film scores ranging from the well-known (Star Wars) to lesser-known tracks.

A special part of this program is the inclusion of interviews with Williams about many of these scores and his memories of creating them with filmmakers such as George Lucas and Steven Spielberg.

A 7-day pass is required to watch A Tribute to John Williams. Those passes are $9

PLAY: Harvey – Roundabout Theatre Company on Broadway on Demand – Now – June 13th

Mary Chase’s play about a man’s friendship with an invisible rabbit (who gives the play its name) first opened on Broadway in 1944 with Frank Fay in the role of Elwood P. Dowd. (Trivia note for theater buffs: Antoinette Perry, the woman for whom the Tony Award is named, was the director.)

A 1970 revival of the play starred James Stewart who starred as Elwood in the 1950 film classic.

It would be 42 years before Harvey would find its way back to Broadway. Jim Parsons (The Big Bang Theory) starred as Elwood with Jessica Hecht and Charles Kimbrough co-starring. This Roundabout Theatre Company production from 2012 is streaming for free on Broadway on Demand.

Charles Isherwood, in his New York Times review, hailed Parsons’ performance:

“The breakout star of the popular sitcom “The Big Bang Theory,” the soft-spoken Mr. Parsons makes an ideal Elwood, the drinker and dreamer who passes his days in the company of Harvey, doing little more than sitting around saloons making friendly conversation with whoever happens by. Mr. Parsons possesses in abundance the crucial ability to project an ageless innocence without any visible effort: no small achievement for an actor in these knowing times.

You will need to register to stream the play. After you do so you’ll receive streaming instructions.

BALLET: Swan Lake – San Francisco Ballet – Now – June 9th

When San Francisco Ballet debuted Helgi Tomasson’s new Swan Lake ballet, it was a runaway hit. Interest in this production was so intense that they sold out nearly every performance.

In the ballet, Odette is a princess turned into a swan by a sorcerer. Prince Siegfried falls in love with Odette. At night she turns back into her human form and it was upon seeing this transformation that the romance begins. Other spells and deception awaits the leads in Swan Lake. While love triumphs, it isn’t necessarily the happiest of endings, but it is certainly romantic.

Tchaikovsky’s music is still present, but it is Tomasson’s vision that was different after he updated the choreography by Lev Ivanov and Marius Petipa.

The cast for this streaming performance features Yuan Yuan Tan in the dual roles of Odette and Odile. Tiit Helimets dances the role of Prince Siegfried. Alexander Reneff-Olson dances the role of Von Rothbart and the Pas de Trois is performed by Dores André, Taras Domitro and Sasha De Sola. Martin West conducts.

Tickets are $29 which allows for 72 hours of access to Swan Lake.

PLAY READING: The Sisters Rosensweig – Spotlight on Plays on Broadway’s Best Shows – Now – May 24th

Jason Alexander, John Behlmann, Lisa Edelstein, Kathryn Hahn, Kathryn Newton, Tracee Chimo Pallero, Chris Perfetti and James Urbaniak star in a reading of Wendy Wasserstein’s play. The reading is directed by Anna D. Shapiro (Tony Award-winner for her direction of August: Osage County).

The Sisters Rosensweig opened at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre in 1993. This was her first Broadway play since wining the Tony Award and the Pulitzer Prize for The Heidi Chronicles.

The play depicts a reunion of three sisters who haven’t seen each other in years. Through the course of the play they come to understand that the bond of being sisters is more important than any of the reasons they’ve stayed apart.

Mel Gussow, in his review for the New York Times said of the play:

“Ms. Wasserstein’s generous group portrait is not only a comedy but also a play of character and shared reflection as the author confronts the question of why the sisters behave as they do. The immediate answer is that they are Rosensweigs and are only doing what is expected of them. The play offers sharp truths about what can divide relatives and what can draw them together.”

Wasserstein passed away in 2006 at the age of 55 due to complications of lymphoma.

Tickets are $18 which allows for repeated viewings through May 24th at 6:00 PM ET/3:00 PM PT. Proceeds benefit The Actors Funds, TDF Wendy Wasserstein Project and Steppenwolf Theatre Company.

JAZZ: Chano Domínguez – SFJAZZ – May 21st – 8:00 PM ET/5:00 PM PT

Spanish born pianist Chano Domínguez has long put postbop, flamenco and fusion influences together to create a wholly original approach to jazz music. In this concert from 2018, Domínguez celebrates the work of Miles Davis.

Joined by bassist Alexis Cuadrado, drummer Henry Cole, flamenco singer Blas Córdoba and dancer Daniel Navarro, Domínguez will offer his take on such classic Davis tracks such as So What, All Blues and Freddie the Freeloader from Davis’ 1959 classic album Kind of Blue.

The concert is streaming right around dinner time on the East Coast (8:00 PM) and happy hour on the West Coast (5:00 PM). As a wine pairing for this concert I suggest a crisp Albariño for those who prefer white wine and a dry Rioja for those who prefer red.

If you can’t make the Fridays at Five showing, there will be an encore presentation on Saturday, May 22nd at 1:00 PM ET/10:00 AM PT.

Tickets are $5 which includes a one month digital membership.

BROADWAY VOCALS: Elizabeth Stanley – Broadway Stories & Songs with Ted Sperling – May 21st – 8:00 PM ET/5:00 PM PT

I first saw Elizabeth Stanley in the 2006 revival of Stephen Sondheim and George Furth’s Company. Since then she’s appeared on Broadway in Cry-Baby, Million Dollar Quartet, the 2014 revival of On the Town and she was starring in Jagged Little Pill when the pandemic hit. That show, for which she was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical, will re-open on October 21st.

Stanley is an amazing singer and one who performs songs in the truest sense of the word. She doesn’t just sing, she imbues them with whatever the song calls for: comedy, drama, pathos, etc..

She joins Ted Sperling for this weekend’s Broadway Stories & Songs with Ted Sperling. The show will first air at 8:00 PM ET/5:00 PM PT on Friday. It will also be rerun on Saturday at 2:00 PM ET/11:00 AM PT. The $25 ticket price allows you to view both showings.

CLASSICAL MUSIC: Shin, Reid + Britten – Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra – Debuts May 21st – 9:30 PM ET/6:30 PM PT

In this penultimate episode of LA Chamber Orchestra’s Close Quarters series, the music of Benjamin Britten and Pulitzer Prize winner Ellen Reid is performed along with the world premiere of Hyo by Peter S. Shin.

Shin was the recipient of the 2020/2021 Sound Investment Honor which finds donors investing in the creation of a new work and following its progress leading up to its premiere.

Les Illuminations by Britten is a 16-minute song cycle that had its world premiere in 1940. Joining LACO for this performance is soprano Nicole Cabell. She’s performed in opera houses around the world in Porgy and Bess, La Traviata, Don Giovanni and more.

Lumee’s Dream from Reid’s opera p r i s m is the last work on the program.

Dance is included in this episode with choreography by Rebecca Steinberg performed by Layne Paradis Willis and Joe Davis.

Visuals are by Jian Lee and the LACO is lead by Grant Gershon.

There is no charge to watch this show. If you haven’t look at the other 12 episodes in this ambitious and very satisfying series, I urge you to do so.

MUSICAL: Brat Pack – The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts – May 21st – May 23rd

Don’t you forget about films like The Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink, Sixteen Candles, Weird Science, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and more. You won’t be able to if you stream Brat Pack this weekend.

For the Record Live created a cottage industry of shows dedicated to the soundtracks from various films centered around individual directors. Amongst the most popular was their show celebrating John Hughes. That show serves as the inspiration for Brat Pack which tells the story of the high school experiences of the archetypal Basket Case, Geek, Jock, Mister and Rebel. Does that sound like a club with whom you might like to have breakfast?

Brat Pack was filmed live on stage at The Wallis with James Byous, Emily Lopez, Parissa Koh, Patrick Ortiz, Doug Kreeger and Kenton Chen. As with any For the Record Live production, they are accompanied by a killer band.

Tickets are $20 which allows for viewing all weekend long. One note of caution: the show does contain adult subject matter and language.

OPERA: Janáček’s The Cunning Little Vixen – Glyndebourne – May 23rd – June 6th

Vladimir Jurowski conducts; starring Emma Bell; Lucy Crowe, Sergei Leiferkus and Mischa Shelomainaksi. This Melly Still production is from the 2011-2012 season.

Leoš Janáček’s opera had its world premiere in Prague in 1924. The Cunning Little Vixen has a libretto by the composer based on a serialized novel by Rudolf Těsnohlídek called Liška Bystrouška.

In The Cunning Little Vixen a foster, while taking a nap, is taken by a young vixen to be her pet. Once she gets older she pursues a more independent life. The vixen gets mistaken for a gypsy girl and her life becomes a whirlwind she never expected.

We’ve covered literally hundreds of opera productions here at Cultural Attaché. I can say with absolute certainty that this is the first time we’ve offered up a production of Cunning Little Viven. This is not a commonly performed opera.

Fiona Maddocks, in her review for The Guardian, said of this production:

“Melly Still’s staging, designed with folkloric charm by Tom Pye and atmospherically lit by Paule Constable, wins enough plus points to balance out the minuses. The action is often chaotic and unfocused. There is no allowance made for the speed at which the text moves. Lacking the requisite fluency in Czech – feeble, I know – one had to cling on to the surtitles at the risk of missing the action. The shooting of the Vixen passed almost without notice, though this may be the point: another ordinary day in the genocidal war of man and beast.”

There is no charge to watch Cunning Little Vixen which will be available for streaming through June 6th.

BROADWAY FUNDRAISER: Broadway Barks – May 23rd – 7:00 PM ET/4:00 PM PT

This annual event supports the adoption of shelter animals. Broadway Barks was started by good friends Mary Tyler Moore and Bernadette Peters in 1998. Every year they have had in-person events where Broadway stars and shelter pets combine to entertain and find homes for the four-legged friends.

This is the second virtual edition and they have an incredible line-up:

Sebastian Arcelus, Annaleigh Ashford, Alec Baldwin, Christine Baranski, Bill Berloni, Stephanie J. Block, Carol Burnett, David Burtka, Victoria Clark, Glenn Close, Lily Collins, Harry Connick Jr., Sheryl Crow, Jason Danieley, Ted Danson, Ariana DeBose, Daveed Diggs, Gloria Estefan, Harvey Fierstein, Calista Flockhart, Whoopi Goldberg, Josh Groban, Kathryn Grody, Emmylou Harris, Neil Patrick Harris, Megan Hilty, James Monroe Iglehart, Hugh Jackman, Christopher Jackson, Allison Janney, Nathan Lane, Bob Mackie, Audra McDonald, Charlie McDowell, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Bebe Neuwirth, Mandy Patinkin, David Hyde Pierce, Randy Rainbow, Kelly Ripa, Chita Rivera, Lea Salonga, Phillipa Soo, and Mary Steenburgen. 

Peters will serve as the host.

Broadway Barks will stream on Broadway.com and Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS’ Facebook and YouTube pages. 

Those are our Best Bets: May 21st – May 24th. As usual, a few reminders before we conclude:

Tales from the Wings: Celebrating Lincoln Center Theater with Patti LuPone, Audra McDonald and others remains available through Sunday, May 23rd only. Don’t miss it.

LA Opera’s Signature Series adds a recital by Julia Bullock on Friday to still available performances by Russell Thomas, Susan Graham and Christine Goerke.

Next week the fourth and final episode of Myths and Hymns from MasterVoices debuts. If you haven’t seen the first three episodes, take a look.

The Romero Quartet launches their 60th anniversary celebration with a streaming concert from Belly Up in Solano Beach on Sunday. For details and our interview with Pepe Romero, please go here.

The Metropolitan Opera productions streaming this weekend are the 2016-2017 season production of Verdi’s Nabucco on Friday; Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor from the 1982-1983 season (with Joan Sutherland) on Saturday and the 1995 production of Tchaikovsky’s The Queen of Spades on Sunday. This will conclude the Unhinged Mad Scenes week.

Monday the Met begins Rare Gems week with a 2008-2009 season production of Massenet’s Thaïs. We’ll have the full line-up on Monday for you.

Lastly if you’ve read our interview with Isabel Leonard (and please do, she has a lot to say), you’ll remember that Saturday the Met streams Three Divas at 1:00 PM ET/10:00 AM PT featuring Leonard with Ailyn Pérez and Nadine Sierra.

That’s truly the end of our Best Bets: May 21st – May 24th.

I hope you have a great weekend. Enjoy the culture!

Photo: Keith Lockhart conducting the Boston Pops (Photo by Stu Rosner/Courtesy Boston Pops)

The post Best Bets: May 21st – May 24th appeared first on Cultural Attaché.

For those who love great acting Ed Harris, Amy Madigan, Carole Kane and Bill Pullman headline one reading. The original and lesser-known cast of an award-winning 2010 show in Los Angeles headlines another. Jeff Daniels, Linda Lavin and Sierra Boggess will all tell stories about their careers and perform music. Then there are concerts from multiple genres of music and a popular jazz festival goes virtual.

If that isn’t enough, we have an opera recital from Norway and a production from Glyndebourne.

So let’s get to it. Here are your Best Bets at Home: August 28th – August 30th:

The Jacksonian – The New Group – Now – August 30th

In 2012 the world premiere of Beth Henley’s play The Jacksonian took place at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles. Over a year later it had its New York premiere in The New Group production at the Acorn Theatre.

The cast for both productions was nearly the same: Ed Harris, Glenne Headley, Amy Madigan and Bill Pullman. Bess Rous appeared in Los Angeles; Juliet Brett in New York.

The New York cast has reunited for an online reading of The Jacksonian. Carole Kane assumes the role originally played by the late Glenne Headley.

The play is set in a seedy motel in Jackson, Mississippi in 1964. Bill Perch (Harris) has moved here after becoming estranged from his wife (Madigan). While there his encounters with his daughter (Brett), a bartender with dubious motives (Pullman) and a less-than-reliable motel worker (Kane) hasten his descent. In a town where racism is far too prevalent and a murder has just happened, these characters face what may be simply a dead end for them all.

The reading was live on Thursday, August 27th, but remains available through August 30th at 11:59 PM EDT for viewing. The cost is $25. 10% of all proceeds will benefit Race Forward, an organization dedicated to racial equality.

Virtual Halston – August 28th – 5:00 PM EDT/2:00 PM PDT

Last week we introduced you to Julie Halston’s Virtual Halston. So you can go here to see what we said about this delightful woman and her thoroughly enjoyable show.

All we have to add this week is that her special guest is Tony Award, Obie Award, Drama Desk and Golden Globe winner Linda Lavin. You might know her best as Alice from the long-running sitcom of the same name.

The Ballad of Emmett Till 2020 – The Fountain Theatre – August 28th 7:00 PM EDT/4:00 PM PDT – $20 live or to stream later

The Fountain Theatre in Los Angeles had a commercial and critical success with Ifa Bayeza’s play The Ballad of Emmett Till. With director Shirley Jo Finney on board, the original cast will reunite for an online reading of the play.

The play combines multiple disciplines (music, poetry, drama) to tell the story of the 14-year-old boy who was tortured and killed for whistling at a white woman in 1955 in Mississippi.

The cast includes Bernard K. Addison, Rico E. Anderson, Lorenz Arnell, Adenrele Ojo and Karen Malina White.

F. Kathleen Foley, in her review for the Los Angeles Times, said of the play and this production:

“Those familiar with Till’s history may be shocked to find that Ballad is, initially at least, warm and vibrant, with a surprising quotient of laughter. That’s part of Bayeza’s careful design to make Till’s ultimate fate all the more harrowing. 

“In that she succeeds, brilliantly. Make no mistake: You will be devastated.”

Tickets are $20 and will allow for later streaming as well.

Jeff Daniels Concert and Stories – Wharton Center – August 28th- 8:00 PM EDT/5:00 PM PDT $15

Jeff Daniels has been nominated for three Tony Awards (God of Carnage, Blackbird and To Kill a Mockingbird). All three for his performance as an actor. Daniels is also a singer/songwriter. He’s also the founder of The Purple Rose Theatre Company in Michigan. (If you don’t know why the theatre has that name, I urge you to check out the movie The Purple Rose of Cairo which is truly one of the most wonderfully romantic movies ever made.)

Daniels is performing from Lansing’s Wharton Center on Friday. He’ll share stories from his many film, television and stage projects and also perform original songs. Tickets are $15.

After the concert he will do a Q&A with the audience for up to 30 minutes.

Godspell Online In Concert – Hope Mill Theatre – August 28th – August 29th

Stephen Schwartz, the composer of the musical Wicked, had an early hit with the musical Godspell that opened off-Broadway in 1971. It would take several years before the show made its way to Broadway. It has become one of the most popular shows Schwartz ever wrote.

Even though it seems as if they are a little early, Godspell Online in Concert celebrates the show’s 50th anniversary this weekend.

This concert is taking place in England. But don’t worry, you don’t have to get up to see it first thing in the morning. Once you purchase a ticket for £15 plus £1.50 in service charges (roughly $22), you can watch the performance for up to 24 hours from when it first became available (which is 10 AM London Time; 5:00 AM EDT/2:00 AM PDT each date).

Ruthie Henshall (Chicago) and Darren Day (Priscilla, Queen of the Desert) reprise their roles from a 1993 cast recording. Sam Tutty, Ria Jones and Jenna Russell also star in the concert.

Jodie Steele, Danyl Johnson, Jenny Fitzpatrick, Natalie Green, John Barr,  Sally Ann Triplett, Gerard McCarthy, Alison Jiear, Shekinah McFarlane and Lucy Williamson, all performers on the West End, join the concert.

Lise Davidsen in Oslo – Metropolitan Opera – August 29th – 1:00 PM EDT/10:00 AM PDT

Norwegian soprano Lise Davidsen made a stunning Metropolitan Opera debut in last season’s production of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s The Queen of Spades. As one of the fastest rising new stars in opera, it was no surprise that the Met invited her to be part of their Met Stars Live in Concert series.

With James Baillieu on piano, Davidsen will be performing live from Oslo. The program includes works by Richard Wagner (Tannhäuser), Edvard Grieg, Giuseppe Verdi (Un Ballo in Maschera), Jean Sibelius, Richard Strauss, Giacomo Puccini (Manon Lescaut), Benjamin Britten, Emmerich Kálmán (Die Csárdásfürstin), Landon Ronald, Ernest Charles and a song from the musical My Fair Lady.

Tickets are $20 and the concert will remain available to you for 12 days.

Leimert Park Jazz Festival – August 29th – 3:00 PM EDT/12:00 PM PDT

This year’s Leimert Park Jazz Festival, like many other summer festivals, is going virtual. It’s free and though you won’t get to also discover this historic neighborhood in Los Angeles, you will get some great music.

This year’s line-up is:

Guitarist Michael O’Neill and Friends: David Witham, piano; Andrew Ford, bass; Land Richards, drums

Munyungo Jackson Quartet: Jackson is a percussionist with Errol Clooney on guitar; Keith Jones, bass; Euro Zambrano drums

Sy Smith featuring The Myron McKinley Trio – Smith is a vocalist joined by McKinley on piano; Ian Martin, bass; Stacey Lamont Sydnor, drums/percussion

Dwight Trible – singer

MFUO featuring Jacques Lesure on guitar; Marvin “Smitty” Smith, drums; Pete Kuzma, keyboards; Christian Moraga, percussion. MFUO means “Groove” in Swahili

The festival will be available for viewing on Leimert Park Jazz Festival’s Facebook page.

Skirball Stages: Gavin Turek and Ak Dan Gwang Chil – Skirball YouTube Page – August 29th – 11:00 PM EDT/8:00 PM PDT

This concert doesn’t neatly fit into what I usually cover at Cultural Attaché, but it seems too interesting not to include it.

The premise of this concert is to pair two unique artists: Los Angeles-based singer Gavin Turek with South Korean band Ak Dan Gwang Chil.

Turek, who performed on the empty grounds of the Skirball, is a singer for whom R&B is her passion, particularly that from the last two decades of the twentieth century.

In Seoul, Ak Dan Gwang Chil performed their trademark fusion of folk songs, sacred and secular gut (ritual music) and other music traditions from the Hwanghae-do region into music that feels both new and traditional at the same time.

The musical conversation between these two very different artists, at a time when political tensions between the United States and the Korean Peninsula are increasingly unsteady, should prove to be both fascinating and entertaining.

The Skirball Cultural Center undertook this project in the absence of being able to present their annual Sunset Concerts. Ak Dan Gwang Chil had been booked to participate in those concerts this year.

You need to RSVP to see the program on August 29th. After that the concert will remain available on the Skirball’s YouTube page through late November.

Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg – Glyndebourne – August 30th – September 6th

Richard Wagner’s Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg had its world premiere in Munich is 1868. As with his other works, Wagner wrote the libretto. It is also a rare comedy from the composer. The opera is one of Wagner’s longest running nearly four-and-a-half hours.

At stake in the opera is the love of a young girl named Eva. She has been betrothed to whomever wins a singing contest. Walther von Stolzing is desperately in love with Eva and wants to compete, but the song he wants to sing doesn’t conform to the rules set out by the competition. With the help of a cobbler named Hans Sachs, he hopes to overcome the opposition to him, win the contest and ultimately marry Eva.

This 2011 production from Glyndebourne marked the first-ever performance of Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg at the venue. David McVicar directed the production with Vladimir Jurowski conducting the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

Gerald Finely sings the role of Hans Sachs, Marco Jentzsch sings the role of Walther and Anna Gabler sings the role of Eva.

McVicar discussed the troubled history of this opera with The Guardian prior to its opening at Glyndebourne. In his comments you can get a glimpse into how he handled Wagner’s work:

“When Wagner composed the opera in the 1860s, he thought he was telling a joyous human story,” he says. “He didn’t consider that he was telling a negative, disturbing story. But if you produce the end of Meistersinger according to Wagner’s own stage directions, it would be unbelievably alarming.”

Sierra Boggess with Seth Rudetsky – August 30th – 8:00 PM EDT/5:00 PM PDT

If you think Sierra Boggess is only known for originating the role of Ariel in the Broadway musical version of Disney’s The Little Mermaid, you might be surprised to learn she’s been in several other shows. She has appeared as Christine in The Phantom of the Opera and has appeared in a revival of Master Class and in the musicals It Shoulda Been You and School of Rock.

She will be discussing her career and singing songs on this week’s Seth Rudetsky Concert. Tickets for the concert at $25. If you can’t watch the live version on August 30th, there is an encore streaming of the show on Monday, August 31st at 3:00 PM EDT/12:00 PM PDT. That also costs $25.

That’s almost all there is for your Best Bets at Home: August 28th – August 30th. But, as always, we have a few reminders:

Los Angeles area audiences can watch Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic on In Concert at the Hollywood Bowl on PBS SoCal at 8:00 PM PDT

Jazz Stream reminders:

August 28th: SFJazz’s Fridays at Five is Wayne Shorter Celebration Part 4 at 8:00 PM EDT/5:00 PM PDT

August 28th and 29th: David Murray at the Village Vanguard in New York 9:00 PM EDT/6:00 PM PDT

August 29th: Multiple Charlie Parker events at the 92 Street Y in New York

August 29th: SummerStage presents Charlie Parker’s 100th Birthday Celebration from New York

August 29th: Ramsey Lewis at 2:00 PM EDT/11:00 AM PDT

August 29th: Jon-Erik Kellso at Smalls – 4:45 PM EDT/1:45 PDT

Metropolitan Opera reminders:

Verdi week continues with La Traviata on Friday; Don Carlo on Saturday; Falstaff on Sunday

By my calculation there is far more to watch, see and hear than you could possibly fit into one weekend. So what will you choose? Here ends your Best Bets at Home: August 28th – August 30th. Enjoy!

Main photo: Rico E. Anderson, Adenrele Ojo, Bernard K. Addison, Lorenz Arnell and Karen Malina White in The Ballad of Emmett Till 
(Photo by Ed Krieger/Courtesy of The Fountain Theatre)

The post Best Bets at Home: August 28th – August 30th appeared first on Cultural Attaché.

Amongst this weekend’s options are a pithy hostess talking to Broadway stars; the reading of a play with a star-studded cast; the world premiere of a new work from one of classical music’s fastest-rising composers; two opera performances and so much more.

So let’s get started. Here are your Culture Best Bets at Home: August 21st – August 23rd:

The Black Clown – Harlem Week – August 21st – 4:00 PM EDT/1:00 PM PDT

Every summer the city of New York celebrates everything Harlem. This year’s Harlem Week is taking place mostly online. A real highlight of this year’s festival is the audio streaming of excerpts from The Black Clown.

Davóne Tines, who originated the role of adult Charles in Terence Blanchard‘s opera Fire Shut Up In My Bones, created this work with Michael Schachter and Zack Winokur. It is based on Langston Hughes’ poem of the same name.

The Black Clown had its world premiere at the 2019 Mostly Mozart Festival. The poem, and this adaptation of it, depicts how one man handles oppression in America. It’s a work that utilizes multiple forms including jazz, opera vaudeville, gospel and spirituals.

The cast of The Black Clown includes Davóne Tines, Sumayya Ali, Darius Barnes, Dawn Bless, Jonathan Christopher, LaVon Fisher-Wilson, Lindsey Hailes, Evan Tyrone Martin, Jhardon DiShon Martin, Brandon Michael Nase, Amber Pickens, Jamar Williams and Hailee Kaleem Wright.

In an interview with Ryan Ebright of the New York Times, Tines said, “With The Black Clown, Hughes was tapping into and providing a blueprint for how social justice has happened in the past, how it needed to happen in his time, and how it needs to happen today.”

Virtual Halston – Cast Party Network YouTube Page – August 21st – 5:00 PM EDT/2:00 PM PDT

If you think of actress Julie Halston (and you should), you probably think of her as both playwright Charles Busch’s muse and one of his most frequent actors. What you may not know is that she’s also one of the pithiest people hosting a theatre-centric online talk show. It’s called Virtual Halston.

Halston’s show is part of Jim Caruso’s Cast Party Network and it involves the same level of of fun. Halston talks directly to the audience, with Caruso and also with special guests.

This week’s guest are actors Mercedes Ruehl and Michael Urie who played mother and son in the 2017 revival of Harvey Fierstein’s Torch Song Trilogy (which for this production was renamed Torch Song). The show transferred to Broadway in 2018 for a sadly much shorter run than this amazing production deserved.

Each week’s Virtual Halston is archived. So feel free to peruse the previous episodes with guests Andrew Rannells (The Book of Mormon); Colman Domingo (The Scottsboro Boys); Jessica Vosk (Fiddler on the Roof), Mary Testa (Oklahoma); Marilu Henner and so many more.

One word of warning: if you watch one episode you’ll find yourself hours later having watched several. Oh…and bring a cocktail. This is truly a happy hour.

Broadway for Racial Justice Amplified Concert – August 21st – 8:00 PM EDT/5:00 PM PDT

As Black Lives Matters protests became more prevalent across the country, it was inevitable that Broadway would get involved. It was also inevitable that racism in theatre was going to get addressed as well.

One new organization launching on September 1st is the Broadway for Racial Justice Emergency Assistance Fund. To raise money for the organization they are putting on an online concert with both Broadway veterans and new performers who are starting to make a name for themselves.

Tony Award winner Patina Miller (Pippin) and Brandon Michael Nase (Cats) serve as hosts. Scheduled to perform are Hailey Kilgore (Once on This Island), Solea Pfeiffer (Hamilton), Shoshana Bean (Wicked), Tony Award-winner Jessie Mueller (Beautiful: The Carole King Musical) and Skylar Astin (Spring Awakening and television’s Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist – which if you haven’t watched, you should).

Joining will be Kalen Allen, Brittany Campbell (Hamilton), Kayla Davion (Tina), Deon’te Goodman (Hamilton), singer/songwriter Sapphire Hart, Morgan James (Motown: The Musical), Andre Malcolm, Arianne Meneses, Joey Rosario, and the band Empty Royalty

Broadway for Racial Justice Amplified streams at 8 PM ET on YouTube. There is no charge to watch the concert, but donations are encouraged.

Andrew Owens Living Room Recital – LA Opera – August 21st – 7:00 PM EDT/4:00 PM PDT

Tenor Andrew Owens has performed numerous roles in opera all over the world. Amongst the operas in which he’s appeared are Lucia di Lammermoor, Il barbiere di Siviglia, L’incoronazione di Poppea, Fidelio, I due Foscari and Die Zauberflöte.

There was a time when every tenor wanted to have a career like Mario Lanza’s. He was a tenor who rose to fame both as a singer and as an actor. He was, at the time of his death in 1959, considered the world’s most famous tenor.

Owens will celebrate Lanza in this Living Room Recital on LA Opera’s website (and their Facebook page). Joining him for the recital will be pianist Chris Reynolds and flautist Jessica Warren.

LA Opera archives these recitals, so if you can’t watch Andrew Owens as it happens, or want to see other recitals, they are available for viewing.

Judgment Day – Barrington Stage Company – August 22nd – 7:30 PM EDT/4:30 PM PDT

Berkshire County’s Barrington Stage Company has sent multiple productions from their stage to Broadway. Most famously they held the world premiere of the musical The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. A 2013 revival of On the Town also made its way to Manhattan.

This weekend they will have a reading of Rob Ulin’s comedy Judgment Day. Ulin is the co-executive producer of Ramy and has written one episode of the show. He’s also produced and written for The Kids Are Alright, Young Sheldon and The Carmichael Show.

Judgment Day depicts the story of a sleazy lawyer who, after a near-death experience with an angel who threatens to condemn him to hell for all eternity, attempts to redeem himself and his soul.

The reading features an all-star cast: Jason Alexander plays Sammy Campo, the lawyer. Patti LuPone plays the Angel. Santino Fontana plays a priest struggling with his faith. Michael McKean plays the monsignor who oversees Fontana’s character.

Loretta Devine (Dreamgirls), Josh Johnston, Bianca Laverne Jones, Julian Emile Lerner, Justina Machado (One Day at a Time), Carol Mansell, Michael Mastro and Elizabeth Stanley (Jagged Little Pill) are also part of the cast. Matthew Penn directs.

You can watch the performance live on Saturday or you can watch it through August 25th. There is a donation of $35 required to view Judgment Day. Once you have made the donation you will receive a link to the reading.

The Fairy Queen – Glyndebourne – August 23rd – August 30th

Henry Purcell’s The Fairy Queen had its world premiere in London in 1692. Rather curiously it has an anonymous libretto which was inspired by William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer’s Night Dream.

Historians consider The Fairy Queen to have followed in the 16th century tradition of “masques.” A masque was a piece of entertainment meant to serve as both an allegory and to cater to the ego of their patrons. Music, dancing, acting, singing, costumes and stage design were of heightened importance.

This 2009 production at Glyndebourne features a new edition of the score by Bruce Wood and Andrew Pinnock and was directed by Jonathan Kent.

Starring are Lucy Crowe, Carolyn Sampson and Ed Lyon. William Christie leads the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment.

Kate Kellaway, writing for The Guardian, said of this production:

“The first thing to say about Jonathan Kent’s magnificently inventive, entertaining and saucy production is that it is, emphatically, not for purists or for nervous baroque enthusiasts. Anyone hoping for a Fairy Queen of gilded fountains and peaceful forests should steer clear. But for everyone else, this production is a gas, and although more London Palladium than East Sussex pastoral, it is hard to imagine a more brilliantly creative approach to the work.”

Spiva & Hollywood’s Golden Age – Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra – August 22nd – 8:00 PM EDT/5:00 PM PDT

LA Chamber Orchestra continues their Summerfest series of safely performed chamber music concerts from the stage of Zipper Hall at the Colburn School. There are two things that make this concert the most interesting one so far from LACO.

The first is the instrumentation. For this concert there are two bassoons (Kenneth Munday and Damian Montano) and two celli (Armen Kasjikian and Giovanna Moraga Clayton).

Most exciting is the concert will serve as the world premiere of Derrick Spiva Jr.‘s Hum. Spiva, who was recently named Artistic Advisor to LACO, is one of our most interesting young composers. He is a prolific composer with commissions from multiple orchestra and performance ensembles.

In addition to Hum, the programs scheduled to include Franz Christoph Neubauer’s Cello Duet No. 1 in B-flat Major, Op. 10, I. Allegro; Michel Corrette’s Le Phénix; Johann Sebastian’s Bach’s Komm, süsser Tod, BWV 478; Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Three Canons; George Gershwin’s Summertime from Porgy and Bess; David Raksin’s Theme from Laura; Charles Gounod’s Marche funèbre d’une marionnette and the Paul Williams and Kenneth Ascher song The Rainbow Connection.

The concert is scheduled to run 40 minutes. It will be archived on LACO’s website for later viewing.

Rachel Bay Jones and Seth Rudetsky – August 23rd – 8:00 PM EDT/5:00 PM PDT

Rachel Bay Jones may not be the best-known Broadway star, but for anyone who saw her originate the role of Heidi Hansen in Dear Evan Hansen, you know exactly why she received a Tony Award for her performance.

She is Seth Rudetsky’s guest this week in his series of conversations and performance with Broadway luminaries.

Amongst her other Broadway shows are Pippin, Hair, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown. Off-Broadway she appeared in First Daughter Suite at the Public Theatre and, of course, the sold-out pre-Broadway run of Dear Evan Hansen.

As with all Seth Rudetsky concerts, there will be an encore streaming on Monday, August 24th at 3:00 PM EDT/12:00 PM PDT. Tickets for either time are $25.

That’s this week’s Best Bets: August 21st – August 23rd. You know I have some reminders for you, too:

For those in the Los Angeles area, PBS SoCal will air In Concert at the Hollywood Bowl on Friday, August 21st at 8:00 PM PDT. This first episode is Hecho en Mexico.

Fridays at Five from SFJazz features a concert by Grammy Award-winning singer Dianne Reeves.

The operas available from the Metropolitan Opera this weekend are Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra on Friday, Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia on Saturday and Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel on Sunday.

Legendary drummer Andrew Cyrille performs from the stage at the Village Vanguard on Friday and Saturday.

That’s it for Best Bets: August 21st – August 23rd. Enjoy your weekend.

Photo: Jotham Annan in The Fairy Queen (©Glyndebourne Productions Ltd/Photo by Richard Hubert Smith)

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In all we have fifteen options for you this weekend. How could you possibly be bored?

So here are this week’s Best Bets at Home: August 13th – August 16th:

Max von Essen Filmed Live at Birdland! – August 13th – 7:00 PM EDT/4:00 PM PDT and On-Demand

New York’s Birdland launches a series of concerts filmed live in their venue. The series, called Radio Free Birdland!, begins with Tony Award-nominee Max von Essen. He’s joined by pianist/singer/music director Billy Stritch.

von Essen received his Tony Award nomination for his performance as Henri Baurel in the stage musical version of An American in Paris. He’s also appeared in Les Míserables, Evita and Anastasia. He recently starred in tour of the revival of the musical Falsettos.

Joining as a special guest in this concert will be Nick Adams who appeared with von Essen in Falsettos.

Tickets are $20 plus service charges to view the concert. Goldstar has discounted tickets available for $15 for this concert and the next two in the Radio Free Birdland! series: Monty Alexander (August 18th) and Natalie Douglas (August 20th.)

Adam Shulman Live from SFJAZZ – August 13th – 8:00 PM EDT/5:00 PM PDT

SFJazz, which offers Fridays at Five, is launching a new live series this week with jazz pianist Adam Shulman performing a solo piano concert. Like their Friday series, this requires either a monthly membership ($5) or an annual membership ($60) to view the concert.

Shulman is a fixture in the jazz scene in San Francisco and has been for two decades. In addition to his work as a soloist and bandleader, he’s worked with such artists as Stefon Harris, Miguel Zenón, Luciana Souza, Paula West, Marcus Shelby, Larry Coryell, Mark Murphy, and Bobby Hutcherson.

This event is the first live event at SFJazz since having to suspend operations due to the pandemic. The concert is expected to run one hour.

For fans of Fridays at Five, this week’s concert features Bokanté who is joined by members of Snarky Puppy in a 2018 concert. For details of this show, please go here.

Marin Mazzie & Jason Danieley: Broadway and Beyond – Broadway on Demand – August 14th – 8:00 PM EDT/5:00 PM PDT

One of the great love stories in Broadway history is that of performers Marin Mazzie and Jason Danieley. They were married nearly 21 years before Mazzie tragically died of ovarian cancer after a three-year battle with the disease.

The last concert they gave together was at Feinstein’s/54 Below and it was called Broadway and Beyond. The show celebrated their love and their careers on stage. Broadway on Demand is making that concert available this weekend.

Mazzie began her Broadway career as a replacement in the original production of Big River. She went on to originate roles in Stephen Sondheim’s Passion and the musical Ragtime. She received Tony nominations for both performances. She also starred in the very successful 1999 revival of Kiss Me, Kate! (another Tony nomination).

Danieley launched his Broadway career as a cast member in the revival of Kander & Ebb’s Chicago. He also appeared in the musicals The Full Monty, Curtains, The Visit and Pretty Woman.

He and Mazzie performed together in Next to Normal in 2010.

This concert is a fundraiser for the Cancer Support Community, Tina’s Wish and The Actors Fund through Broadway Cares Equity Fights Aids. The price to stream the concert is $7.99 and allows for viewing for 48 hours.

Prior to the concert, Mazzie’s co-star from both Ragtime and Kiss Me, Kate, Brian Stokes Mitchell, will introduce the performance.

Lena Hall Presents Obsessed: Alanis Morissette – August 14th – 9:00 PM EDT/6:00 PM PDT

In 2018 Lena Hall (Tony Award-winner for Hedwig and the Angry Inch and star of television’s Snowpiercer), launched a series of recordings called Obsessed. Every month for a year she released EPs with her stripped down and acoustic performances of songs made famous by Nirvana, Pink, The Cranberries, David Bowie, Peter Gabriel, Elton John and more. (You should hear them, they are readily available for purchase and streaming.)

Hall is still obsessed with certain artists and now she’s performing live in our living rooms. Well, almost. On Friday she will perform live selection by Alanis Morissette. The songs she’s scheduled to perform include Thank U, Uninvited, You Learn, Head Over Feet, Right Through You and many more. Lena Hall will be joined by Music Director/ guitarist Daniel Palese.

The concert is scheduled to run approximately 90 minutes. Tickets are priced at $15 for the concert and $40 for to join Hall in her Zoom room and to have a post-show meet and greet.

If you want more Lena Hall, she also has a Virtually Live concert on Thursday, August 13th, where she will sing songs from movies. This is party of her weekly concerts benefitting the Ali Forney Center. Tickets range from Pay What You Can to $50 if you want to request a specific song be performed. For this week’s concert those song requests tickets are sold out.

Hidden Truths – Roundabout Youth Ensemble – August 14th – August 28th

New York’s Roundabout Theatre’s Youth Ensemble is presenting Hidden Truths, a play written and produced by New York youth.

Inspired by Shakespeare’s Othello, writers Jaden Tench, Nicaulis Mercedes and Xavier Chavez re-imagine a play about fidelity and deception for our 2020 world and apparently has a twist related to our current pandemic.

Shai Graham plays Omari who faces racial animus and discrimination. He’s in love with Destiny (Lia Spahn), but is forced to choose between her and his pursuit of education as a result of the harsh judgement he faces from her racist father.

The entire project, which is directed by Tyia  Boateng, has been created, designed and assembled following social distancing guidelines. The streaming of Hidden Truths will launch with a live event on Friday, August 14th at 5:00 PM EDT/2:00 PM PDT. The play will remain available through August 28th.

As of press time, the website we’ve linked to above says “ticket information will be available soon.”

92Y Jazz Concerts – 92Y – August 14th – August 17th

This weekend New York’s 92Y is making available five different concerts that will certainly appeal to jazz fans:

Dee Dee Bridgewater and the Dee Dee Bridgewater Trio from February 14, 2019.

This concert finds Bridgewater celebrating love. Of course. It’s from Valentine’s Day.

The songs include What a Little Moonlight Can Do, Sometimes I’m Happy and, of course, My Funny Valentine.

This concert will be available on the 92Y Facebook page August 14th at 7:00 PM EDT/4:00 PM PDT.

Eddie Palmieri – 80th Birthday Celebration from December 15, 2016

Latin Jazz pianist and composer Eddie Palmieri celebrated his 80th birthday with this concert at the 92Y. The concert begins with Palmieri playing solo piano and by the time it is over, a full band has joined him and the party is in full swing.

Paquito D’Rivera and Friends from April 8, 2017

In this concert you will travel the world of music with Cuban jazz musician Paquito D’Rivera. This 14-time Grammy Award winner plays clarinet and saxophone. With his friends they perform music that finds influences from Asia, South America, Africa and Cuba.

Dick Hyman and Bill Charlap: Duo Piano from October 14, 2017

The music of George Gershwin, Jerome Kern, Cole Porter and more gets the two-piano treatment in this concert featuring two of jazz music’s finest: Dick Hyman and Bill Charlap. You don’t often hear two piano jazz performances, so this concert should be quite special and feature a variety of musical styles within the jazz idiom.

Cécile McLorin Salvant, Renee Rosnes & Artemis from March 2, 2018

On September 11, 2020, Blue Note Records will release the debut album by all-female jazz ensemble Artemis. This supergroup has as its members pianist and musical director Renee Rosnes, clarinetist Anat Cohen, tenor saxophonist Melissa Aldana, trumpeter Ingrid Jensen, bassist Noriko Ueda, drummer Allison Miller and vocalist Cécile McLorin Salvant.

Those who attended this concert in 2018 already know how special this night was. Now we can all get a chance to see what happens when these women jam together.

Coffeehouse Chronicles: HAIR 50th Anniversary – La MaMa – August 15th – 11:00 AM EDT/8:00 AM PDT

In 2017 La MaMa in New York celebrated the 50th anniversary of the American Tribal Love-Rock Musical, Hair. They held a 50th anniversary reunion with members of the creative team and the cast. Not only were stories told, but performances were given of songs from the musical.

The creators who participated were co-author James Rado; composer Galt McDermot (who passed away in 2018) and producer Michael Butler. Chris Kapp and Michal Gamily moderated the event.

Performers who participated included Shelley Ackerman, Shaleah Adkisson (Member of the Tribe in the 2011 return engagement of the 2009 Broadway revival), Debbie Andrews, Andy Berger, singer Peppy Castro, Richard Cohen, bassist Dave D’Aranjo, Hair archivist Nina Machlin Dayton, Tony Award-winner Andre De Shields, poet Magie Dominic, drummer Aaron Drescher, Lauren Elder (Member of The Tribe in the 2009 revival), Ellen Foley (Sheila in the 1977 revival), Merle Frimark, Annie Golden (Jeannie in the film), Walter Michael Harris (youngest member of the original Broadway cast), Ula Hedwig (Member of The Tribe in the original Broadway production), Antwayn Hopper (Member of The Tribe in the 2009 revival), Rev. Marjorie Lipari (Member of The Tribe in the original Broadway production), Melba Moore (the original Dionne), Natalie Mosco (Member of The Tribe), guitarist Thayer Naples, Allan F. Nicholls (played Claude and Berger during the original run on Broadway), Jill O’Hara (Sheila in the original off-Broadway production), Robert I. Rubinsky (five roles in the original production), Dale Soules (played Jeannie during the original production), Charles Valentino, conductor Balint Varga and singer-songwriter Jared Weiss.

This program will be found on La Mama’s Facebook page.

Christopher Jackson: Live from The West Side – August 15th – 8:00 PM EDT/5:00 PM PDT

If you’ve watched Hamilton on Disney+, you know Christopher Jackson as the Tony-nominated actor who portrayed George Washington in the musical. He’s long collaborated with Lin-Manuel Miranda having appeared in In the Heights and as a member of Freestyle Love Supreme.

In conjunction with performing arts organizations around the country, Washington is performing a concert from New World Stages in Manhattan. Each organization will handle tickets sales and share in the proceeds. Tickets run $40 per household and will enable viewing of the concert for 72 hours.

Those organizations include: Paper Mill Playhouse – Millburn, NJ, Dallas Summer Musicals – Dallas, TX, Theatre Under the Stars – Houston, TX, Texas Performing Arts – Austin, TX, Segerstrom Center – Costa Mesa, CA, Broward Center – Fort Lauderdale, FL, Straz Center – Tampa, FL, The Kimmel Cultural Campus- Philadelphia PA, Shea’s Performing Arts Center – Buffalo, NY, Hennepin Theatre Trust – Minneapolis, MN, Popejoy Hall – Albuquerque, NM, Marcus Performing Arts Center – Milwaukee, WI, Northlight Theatre – Skokie, IL and The Oregon Shakespeare Festival – Ashland, OR.

Advance word has it that in addition to performing Broadway show tunes and telling stories from his collaborations with Miranda, he’ll also perform some original songs and pop hits.

Rather than put a link in the title, we have BroadwayWorld.com links to details for each individual venue.

Hamlet – Glyndebourne Opera – August 16th – August 23rd

Numerous composers have given serious thought to turning Shakespeare’s Hamlet into an opera. Some even tried writing an opera. Amongst them were Berlioz, Bizet, Brahms, Debussy, Glinka, Haydn, Mendelssohn, Prokofiev, Respighi, Schumann, Shostakovich, Tchaikovsky, and Verdi.

Enter Brett Dean. With this, his second opera, Dean appeared to accomplish what no other composer could – he made a real opera that is both its own work and is also faithful to the meaning and spirit of Shakespeare’s text.

In June of 2017, Glyndebourne gave the opera its world premiere. It was a work they commissioned and according to the critics, it was money well spent.

Erica Jeal, writing for The Guardian, said of Dean’s work, “Dean’s music is many-layered, full of long, clear vocal lines propelled by repeated rhythmic figures in the orchestra, and has moments of delicate beauty…”

Allan Clayton sings the role of Hamlet; Barbara Hannigan sings Ophelia; Sarah Connolly sings Gertrude and Rod Gilfry sings Claudius.

Neil Armfield directed the production and the London Philharmonic Orchestra is lead by Vladimir Jurowski

Roberto Alagna and Aleksandra Kurzak in Èze, France – Metropolitan Opera – August 16th – 1:30 PM EDT/10:30 AM PDT

As part of the Metropolitan Opera’s Met Stars Live In Concert series, husband and wife Roberto Alagna and Alessandra Kurzak will perform with the Vienna Morphing Quintet from Èze, France.

Alagna is one of the most popular tenors of our time. Soprano Kurzak made her Met Opera debut in 2004 and has since performed all over the world. They were married in 2015 and met during a 2012 production of L’Elisir d’Amore.

The program will feature selections from Madama Butterfly, Charles Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette, Il Barbiere di Siviglia, L’Elisir d’Amore, La Fanciulla del West, Cavalleria Rusticana, Otello, The Merry Widow and two very well known songs to which we can all sing along.

Tickets are $20 per household and allow for viewing of the concert live as it happens and repeated viewing for 12 days.

Stephanie J. Block with Seth Rudetsky – August 16th – 8:00 PM EDT/5:00 PM PDT

When Stephanie J. Block finally won a Tony Award for her portrayal of the star version of Cher in The Cher Show, the entire Broadway community was thrilled. She’s long been one of the hardest working women in Broadway. This was her third nomination having previously been nominated for the revival of The Mystery of Edwin Drood and Falsettos.

Watch her performance of I’m Breaking Down in Falsettos:

Block joins Rudetsky for his continuing series of conversations and performances with some of Broadway’s biggest names.

Her Broadway debut came in 2003 when she portrayed Liza Minnelli in The Boy From Oz. Wicked, The Pirate Queen, 9 to 5 and the revival of Anything Goes all lead up to Drood.

If you are unable to catch the performance live at 8:00 PM EDT on Sunday, there is an encore streaming scheduled for Monday, August 17th at 3:00 PM EDT/12:00 PM PDT. Some of these shows have remained available on demand for up to a week after they originally took place. You may have more than these two options to check out Stephanie J. Block.

If those aren’t enough Best Bets at Home: August 13th – August 16th, a few reminders for you:

This weekend’s operas from the Met Opera are Puccini’s Turandot on August 13th; Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde on August 14th; Puccini’s La Bohème on August 15th and Verdi’s Luisa Miller on August 16th. Our preview can be found here.

I hope these Best Bets at Home: August 13th – August 16th will keep you entertained through the weekend. Enjoy!

Photo of Artemis by Keith Major/Courtesy of Blue Note Records

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There’s also a terrific documentary about the 2008 Tony Award-winning Best Musical, In the Heights; 2017’s International Jazz Day Concert, a Baroque-era opera and some special live performances.

Here are your Best Bets at Home: August 7th – 9th:

Matthew Aucoin and Friends Living Room Recital – LA Opera – August 7th – 7:00 PM EDT/4:00 PM PDT

You might have seen the world premiere of Eurydice at LA Opera in February of this year. Or perhaps you attended Crossing at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in 2018. Both were composed by Matthew Aucoin.

On Friday Aucoin is assembling some of his friends for a living room recital of music he’s written and compositions by Christoph Willibald Gluck and Olivier Messiaen.

Joining him are soprano Erica Petrocelli (Musetta in LA Opera’s 2019 production La Bohème), countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo (star of Metropolitan Opera’s Akhnaten), tenors Paul Appleby (appearing in Metropolitan Opera 2016-2017 production of Don Giovanni that streams on Sunday) and Barry Banks (seen in Metropolitan Opera’s production of Rossini’s Armida), baritones Davóne Tines (star of Fire Shut Up in My Bones by Terence Blanchard) and Rod Gilfry (star of Crossing) and cellist Coleman Itzkoff

If you can’t watch it as it happens, this concert will be archived for viewing on LA Opera’s website.

Play Your Part – Los Angeles Philharmonic – August 7th – August 14th

If the Hollywood Bowl season had gone on as planned, Grammy Award-wining singer/songwriter Brandi Carlile was going to open this summer’s programming. The first official concert is always a fundraiser for the Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles (YOLA). Obviously that wasn’t possible, but that doesn’t mean the show won’t go on.

Play Your Part is both a concert and workshop that finds Carlile performing with members of the Los Angeles Philharmonic and members of YOLA in a concert that was filmed with social distance guidelines. Gustavo Dudamel and fellow conductor Thomas Wilkins both appear in the program.

This concert, which is free but still serves as a fundraiser for YOLA, will be available for one week.

My suggestion is you make a picnic outside, bring whatever you’d like to eat and drink and watch the concert under the stars and imagine being in the Cahuenga Pass. And don’t forget your credit card. YOLA is an important part of the cultural fabric of Los Angeles and deserves all the support it can get during these difficult times.

Great Performers in Recital at Tanglewood: Yo-Yo Ma and Emanuel Ax – Tanglewood Online Festival – Now – August 8th

Tanglewood in Massachusetts offers a full line-up of programming online. You have to sign up for their e-mails and then set-up a log-in with password to access the programming. There’s a wide array of primarily classical programming available. Much of it is free. Others, like the concert we’re suggesting here, has a fee.

In this particular concert cellist Ma and pianist Ax perform a program that includes Brahms’ Violin sonata in D minor, Opus 108: II. Adagio; Mendelssohn’s Song Without Words, Opus 109 and Beethoven’s Cello Sonata No. 3 in A, Opus 69. The price to view this performance is $12. You can sign up to get access to all performances for $100.

The link above takes you to the main page for Tanglewood Online Festival with instructions how to sign up and details of the full program.

Other concerts available this weekend include:

BSO Musicians in Recital from Tanglewood – August 7th – 8:00 PM EDT/5:00 PM PDT

The program includes works by Nico Muhly, Bonnie Bewick, Mark O’Connor and more. Ticket price: $5

Daniil Trifonov performs Bach’s The Art of the Fugue, BWV 1080 – August 7th – 8:00 PM EDT/5:00 PM PDT Ticket price: $12

Boston Symphony Orchestra performs Mahler’s Symphony #3. – August 8th – 2:30 PM EDT/11:30 AM PDT – Free

Andris Nelsons conducts with Susan Graham, mezzo-soprano

Many of the concerts remain available for a week or longer after their original availability.

In the Heights: Chasing Broadway Dreams – PBS – August 7th (check local listings)

On March 9, 2008, a musical called In the Heights opened at the Richard Rodgers Theatre in New York. Nominated for 13 Tony Awards, it won four including Best Musical. The musical made its creator and star, Lin-Manuel Miranda, a household name.

This documentary follows the cast as they assemble the musical and get ready for their opening night.

Along the way are moving personal stories about many of the participants including Christopher Jackson and Seth Stewart.

I saw this documentary several years ago and loved it. It should be very entertaining and interesting to watch it now and see that Javier Muñoz, Krysta Rodriguez and Joshua Henry – all of whom have gone on to reach far greater personal heights – were part of the ensemble.

PBS has this scheduled for August 7th. Check your local listings for exact time and date.

International Jazz Day from Cuba – PBS – August 7th (check local listings)

International Jazz Day is an annual event that takes place in a different city every year and it features performances by many of the leading artists in jazz.

In 2017 the event took place at the Gran Teatro de La Habana in Havana, Cuba. Quincy Jones and Will Smith were the hosts.

The line-up included Herbie Hancock, Esperanza Spalding, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Chucho Valdes, Barbarito Torres, Oscar Valdés, Kenny Garrett and Ambrose Akinmusire.

A film of that concert will air on PBS on Friday. As with all PBS programming, best to check your local listings for exact date and time.

Bach, Haydn and Golijov – LA Chamber Orchestra – August 8th – 8:00 PM EDT/5:00 PM PDT

In Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra’s ongoing Summerfest Concerts, this weekend’s filmed performances finds a small ensemble performing a mix of music of Baroque, Classical and Contemporary music.

Franz Joseph Haydn’s String Quartet Op. 33 No. 3 “The Bird” opens the program. Osvaldo Golijov’s Mariel is next. The performance concludes with Johann Sebastian Bach’s Partita #3 in E Major for solo violin, “Gavotte en Rondeau.”

Worth noting is that Bach’s composition has been transcribed for marimba.

The performers for this concert are violinist Sarah Thornblade and Maia Jasper White; violist Erik Rynearson; cellists Giovanna Moraga Clayton and Armen Ksajikian with Wade Culbreath on marimba.

Giulio Cesare – Glyndebourne – August 9th – August 16th

Seems like this is George Frideric Handel’s weekend. With the Metropolitan Opera showing the composer’s Agrippina on Saturday, England’s Glyndebourne makes his opera Giulio Cesare available on Sunday.

The classic story of the love affair and political intrigue that centers around Egypt’s queen and Rome’s ruler comes to life in this opera written by the composer in 1724. The libretto was written by Nicola Francesco Haym. His inspiration was the libretto written by Giacomo Francesco Bussani for composer Antonio Sartorio. 

This production took place in 2005 and was directed by David McVicar. Sarah Connolly sings the role of Cesare and Danielle de Niese sings the role of Cleopatra. The Glyndebourne website indicates that this production is Bollywood meets Baroque. Doesn’t that sound intriguing?

Those are your Best Bets at Home: August 7th – August 9th, but we always have some reminders for you:

In addition to Saturday’s Agrippina from the Metropolitan Opera, they are offering Wagner’s Parsifal on Friday and Mozart’s Don Giovanni on Sunday.

Fans of Tennessee Williams can still catch The Kindness of Stranger event through August 14th.

SFJazz offers John Santos’ 60th Birthday Concert on their Fridays at Five program on August 7th.

The Bill Frisell Trio offers up concerts from the Village Vanguard on August 7th and August 8th.

Terri Lyne Carrington and Danilo Pérez perform on August 8th.

That’s the complete list of Best Bets at Home: August 7th – 9th. I hope you enjoy your weekend. Stay safe. Stay healthy. Enjoy the performances.

Photo: Gustavo Dudamel at YOLA (Photo by Danny Clinch/Courtesy of LA Philharmonic Association)

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This weekend’s Best Bets include traditional ballet and hip-hop dance; a celebration of one of America’s greatest playwrights; an opera legend in concert; a production of an opera by Stravinsky; a chamber music concert from Carnegie Hall; one of Broadway’s most provocative events and a live concert with a Broadway star who knows his way around roller skates.

Here are your Best Bets at Home: July 31st – August 2nd:

The Sleeping Beauty – Royal Ballet – Now – August 6th

Fourteen years ago, the Royal Ballet dusted off their 1946 original staging of Sleeping Beauty. While the costumes and designs by Oliver Messel remained in tact, they combined the choreography of Marius Petipa from the 19th century with new sections created by Frederick Ashton, Anthony Dowell and Christopher Wheeldon.

The music of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky remains front and center as does the story of a young girl, Aurora, who has a curse placed on her. On her 16th birthday she will prick her finger on a spindle and die. The Lilac Fairy can’t reverse the curse, but she does create an opposing spell that spares Aurora from death, but she will remain asleep until a handsome prince kisses her.

Fumi Kaneko dances the role of Aurora. Kristen McNally dances the role of Carabosse who puts the curse on the girl. The Lilac Fairy is danced by Gina Storm Jensen. The Prince is danced by Federico Bonelli.

The Kindness of Strangers – TennesseeWilliams.net – July 31st – August 14

When the 2020 Tennessee Williams & New Orleans Literary Festival had to be cancelled, actor Bryan Batt (Mad Men) suggested rounding up long-time participants in the festival and taking it online. The result is Friday’s The Kindness of Strangers. The event takes place live on Friday, July 31st at 8:00 PM EDT/5:00 PM PDT. It will remain available online for free through August 14th.

If you need me to tell you the source of the event’s title, perhaps The Kindness of Strangers isn’t for you. But for a quick refresher course on Williams, he is the playwright who gave us The Glass Menagerie, Summer and Smoke, The Rose Tattoo, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Orpheus Descending, Suddenly Last Summer, Sweet Bird of Youth, The Night of the Iguana and, of course, A Streetcar Named Desire.

The festival was launched in 1986, so they have a length list of participants and many of them are joining for The Kindness of Strangers.

Batt will serves as the host. The scheduled performers includes: Samantha Beaulieu, Troi Bechet, Curtis Billings, Betty Buckley (Camino Real), Leslie Castay, Michael Cerveris, Patricia Clarkson, Patrick Cragin, Brenda  Currin, Lisa  D’Amour, Arsène DeLay, Gwendolyne Foxworth, Alison Fraser, Lawrence Henry Gobble, John Goodman (who was a terrific “Big Daddy” in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof at the Geffen Playhouse), Rodney Hicks, Kenneth  Holditch, Corey Johnson, Idella Johnson, Peggy Scott Laborde, Donald Lewis, Ti Martin, Elizabeth McCoy, Jessica Mixon, Whitney Mixon, Wendell Pierce (who gives a great performance in the film Clemency), Francine Segal, Janet  Shea, Harry Shearer, Carol Sutton, Beverly Trask, Kathleen Turner (Cat on a Hot Tin Roof), Cassie Worley, and Jake Wynne-Wilson.

The Kindness of Strangers is free to watch, but donations are encouraged.

Janine Jansen and Jean-Yves Thibaudet play Grieg, Debussy, and Chausson – Medici.tv – Now – August 2nd

This week’s Carnegie Hall concert made available on Medici.tv finds violinist Janine Jansen and pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet performing a chamber musical recital from 2018. They are joined by the Dover Quartet for performances of music by Edvard Grieg, Claude Debussy and Ernest Chausson.

The program offers Debussy’s Sonata for Violin and Piano in G Minor; Grieg’s Violin Sonata No. 2 in G Major and Chausson’s Concert for Violin, Piano and String Quartet in D Major.

This concert was part of Carnegie Hall’s Perspectives series which allows an artist to program a series of concerts. This was the next-to-last of Jansen’s series.

Zoo Nation: The Mad Hatter’s Tea Party – Royal Ballet – July 31st

Hip-hop meets Lewis Carroll in this adaptation inspired by the author’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

Zoo Nation/The Kate Prince Company was commissioned to put this dance piece together by The Royal Ballet to accompany Christopher Wheeldon’s full-length ballet named after Carroll’s book.

The Mad Hatter’s Tea Party centers around a young psychotherapist in his first job at the Institute for Extremely Normal Behaviour. His patients are all familiar characters to fans of this book: the March Hare, the Mad Hatter, Tweedledum and Tweedledee and the Queen of Hearts. He hopes his PhD in normalization will help him understand his patients better. Perhaps there isn’t anything to understand beyond that normal may not be all it is cracked up to be.

Kate Prince directed and choreographed the show. Music is by Josh Cohen and DJ Walde with all three creators collaborating on the lyrics.

Zoë Anderson from the The Independent in London said of the show, “Prince blends big group numbers with explosive solos. The whole company is strong, with dazzling turns by some of its best regular performers.”

Renée Fleming in Concert – Metropolitan Opera – August 1st – 1:00 PM EDT/10:00 AM PDT

As part of the Metropolitan Opera’s ongoing series of Met Stars Live in Concert, Renée Fleming will be accompanied by pianist Robert Ainsley for a live recital from Washington, D.C.’s Dumbarton Oaks.

Lyric soprano Fleming is amongst the most popular opera singers in the world.

A graduate of Juilliard, she won the Metropolitan Opera Auditions in 1988. That same year she made her debut with the Houston Grand Opera Company in The Marriage of Figaro. She sang the role of The Countess. Three years later she made her Metropolitan Opera debut in the same opera and the rest is history.

She is a 17-time Grammy Award nominee with four wins. She’s a fierce advocate for the study of health and music and how they are intertwined. Fleming is also passionate about education. She can be found on Broadway (the most recent revival of Carousel) and has collaborated with a wide range of artists including Joe Jackson, Elvis Costello, Brad Mehldau and more.

The recital is scheduled to include works by Handel (Semele), Massenet (Manon), Richard Strauss (Der Rosenkavalier), Korngold (Die Tote Stadt), Cilea (Adriana Lecouvreur), Puccini (Giannia Schicchi) along with a folk song by Joseph Canteloube and a little nod to Hollywood with Over the Rainbow from The Wizard Oz by Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg.

Tickets to watch the concert are $20. With your ticket you will be able to watch the performance live and have access to it for 12 days.

Broadway Bares: Zoom In – Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS – August 1st – 9:30 PM EDT/6:30 PM PDT

One of the most popular annual events in the Broadway community is a burlesque show called Broadway Bares. Director/choreographer Jerry Mitchell created the event to raise money for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.

Broadway Bares finds Broadway dancers performing uniquely choreographed routines that all gradually peel away their clothes.

Nobody appears fully nude in show, as per the truest tradition of burlesque. Men and women perform the numbers which are choreographed by some of the Broadway community’s best.

This is always one of the toughest tickets to get in New York. But this year, we’re all invited. Broadway Bares: Zoom In takes place on Saturday and will feature newly created pieces filmed/performed adhering to social distancing guidelines, plus there will be films of classic routines from the nearly 30-year history of the event.

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

The Rake’s Progress – Glyndebourne – August 2nd – August 9th

Igor Stravinsky’s opera had its world premiere in Venice in 1951. Poet W. H. Auden and poet/librettist Chester Kallman wrote the libretto. All three were inspired by artist William Hogarth’s paintings from the 1730s – a series entitled A Rake’s Progress.

The opera traces the fall of Tom Rakewell. When he encounters Nick Shadow, he leaves behind Anne Truelove. Shadow and Rakewell soak up all that London has to offer.

But Rakewell is unaware that Shadow is actually the Devil. One series of events leads to another and our protagonist finds himself in a mental word.

In this 2010 production from Glyndebourne, Topi Lehtipuu sings the role of Rakewell. Matthew Rose sings Shadow and Miah Persson sings the role of Truelove.

This is a revival of John Cox’s 1975 production that was designed by artist David Hockney. Vladimir Jurowski lead the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

Tim Ashley, writing for The Guardian, said of this revival, “Designed by David Hockney and directed by John Cox, Glyndebourne’s production of The Rake’s Progress dates from 1975 and is still widely regarded as the benchmark staging of Stravinsky’s great, if difficult, opera.

“Hockney’s designs mediate between the 18th century and the 20th, just as the score self-consciously shuttles between Mozartian models and modernism. Cox’s understanding, meanwhile, of when to keep us detached and when to let emotions through remains wonderfully acute.”

Cheyenne Jackson with Seth Rudetsky – BroadwayWorld.com – August 2nd – 8:00 PM EDT/5:00 PM PDT

If you only know Cheyenne Jackson from his roles on Glee or American Horror Story, there’s much more than that to him. For it is Broadway where he truly rose to fame.

Jackson made his Broadway debut as a replacement in the musical Aida. He was also a replacement in Thoroughly Modern Millie.

Audiences started taking serious notice when he starred in the musical All Shook Up in 2005. The stage musical Xanadu was next in 2007 (which showcased his roller skating abilities). He starred alongside Kate Baldwin in the wonderful 2009 revival of Finian’s Rainbow. His most recent show was The Performers in 2012.

Jackson joins music director/composer/pianist and Broadway expert Seth Rudetsky for his weekly Online Seth Concert Series. The show will be a combination of conversation and song. Sunday’s performance will be live. If you can’t watch the show live, there is an encore showing on Monday, August 3rd at 3:00 PM EDT/12:00 PM PDT.

Tickets are $20 for either performance.

As you can see, this week’s Best Bets at Home: July 31st – August 2nd is a short but sweet list. But I have a few reminders before we go:

This weekend’s opera productions from the Metropolitan Opera are Dvořák’s Rusalka on Friday; Verdi’s Ernani on Saturday and Wagner’s Die Walküre on Sunday.

SF Jazz continues their multi-part Wayne Shorter Celebration on Fridays at Five with Branford Marsalis and Terence Blanchard on Friday at 8:00 PM EDT/5:00 PM PDT.

The Fred Hirsch Trio will perform live sets from the Village Vanguard on Friday and Saturday at 9:00 PM EDT/6:00 PM PDT.

The Julius Rodriguez Trio performs live from Smalls on Sunday at 7:45 PM EDT/4:45 PM PDT.

I hope you enjoy this weekend’s Best Bets at Home: July 31st – August 2nd. Stay safe and healthy!

Photo: Artwork from the Tennessee Williams & New Orleans Literary Festival 2020 Cover/Courtesy of the Festival

The post Culture Best Bets at Home: July 31st – August 2nd appeared first on Cultural Attaché.

Our list this weekend also includes something for everyone: a deeply moving play, a Rodgers & Hammerstein musical in concert, a virtual reading of a bittersweet comedy from the 1970s, the longest-running one-woman show in Broadway history and concerts by two of Broadway’s finest leading ladies.

So here are your Best Bets at Home: July 10th – July 12th:

The Deep Blue Sea – National Theatre Live – Now – July 16th

Terence Rattigan’s 1952 play, The Deep Blue Sea, has proven itself time and time again as great drama and also a great opportunity for an actress.

Peggy Ashcroft originated the part of Hester Collyer, a woman whose failed marriage and crumbling relationship with an RAF pilot leads to a suicide attempt. When Hester is discovered in her apartment after failing to take her own life, the residents of the tenement house in which she lives try to encourage her to choose life over death. One neighbor, Dr. Miller, (Nick Fletcher) proves to be particularly influential.

In this 2016 National Theatre production Helen McCrory took on the role of Hester. (Other actresses who have tackled the part include Vivien Leigh, Blythe Danner, Gretta Schacchi and Rachel Weisz.) Carrie Cracknell directed.

Michael Billington, writing for The Guardian, said of McCrory’s performance, “I’ve seen many fine Hesters but few who have conveyed so clearly what Shakespeare called ‘the very wrath of love.'” 

National Youth Orchestras of the United States Highlights (2014-2019) – Medici.tv – July 10th – July 12th

This week’s offering from Carnegie Hall and Medici.tv features highlights from six years of performances by National Youth Orchestras from America. Joining the various orchestras are violinist Gil Shaham, singer Dianne Reeves and conductors Marin Alsop, Sir Antonio Pappano, David Robertson and more.

The program is split into three sections.

The first features John Adams’ Short Ride in a Fast Machine and Aaron Copland’s Billy the Kid Suite.

Part two features works by Sergei Prokofiev. Shaham joins for the composer’s Violin Concerto No. 1 in D Major and then the orchestra plays the second movement from Symphony No. 5 in B-flat Major.

The final segment features a jazz orchestra. Their program begins with the Symphonic Dances from West Side Story written by Leonard Bernstein. That is followed by works by John Coltrane and Miguel Zenon before Reeves comes out to sing a couple songs. The program ends with music by Dizzy Gillespie and Thad Jones.

Golda’s Balcony – The Wallis – Now – July 13th

William Gibson is a playwright best known for The Miracle Worker. He also wrote Two for the Seesaw and Golden Boy. One of his later works was a one-woman show about Golda Meir, the fourth Prime Minister of Israel (1969-1974). That show is called Golda’s Balcony.

Tovah Feldshuh, who recently appeared at The Wallis in Sisters in Law, has made Golda’s Balcony her own.

The play opened at New York’s Helen Hayes Theatre in 2003 and ran for nearly 500 performances making it the longest running one-woman show in Broadway history. Feldshuh received a Tony Award nomination for her performance.

This was not, by the way, Gibson’s first play about Meir. Anne Bancroft played her in a less-successful play called Golda in 1977. It only ran for 93 performances.

The Wallis has teamed up with the Los Angeles Jewish Film Festival to make Scott Schwartz’s film of Golda’s Balcony available for free viewing through July 13th. On the final day there will also be a Q&A with Feldshuh at 3:00 PM EDT/12:00 PM PDT.

Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Carousel: Live from Lincoln Center – Lincoln Center – July 10th -September 8th

In 2013, the New York Philharmonic staged a concert version of the classic Rodgers & Hammerstein musical Carousel. Starring in the production were Kelli O’Hara (Kiss Me, Kate) and baritone Nathan Gunn.

That concert will be available from Lincoln Center through September 8th.

The cast of Carousel also included Jessie Mueller (Beautiful: The Carole King Musical), Jason Danieley (Pretty Woman: The Musical), opera singer Stephanie Blythe, Shuler Hensley (The Ferryman), Kate Burton (Present Laughter) and John Cullum (Waitress).

Amongst the songs you will know from Carousel are “You’ll Never Walk Alone,” “If I Loved You,” “Soliloquy” and “June Is Busting Out All Over.”

Bernadette Peters: A Special Concert – Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS – July 10th – 8:00 PM EDT/5:00 PM PDT

I published a separate preview of this concert earlier this week. So for details you can go here. This will be amazing and I just wanted to make sure it was on your radar.

Eric Reed Quartet Live at the Village Vanguard – July 10th and July 11th – 9:00 PM EDT/6:00 PM PDT

If you’ve ever been to New York’s Village Vanguard you know how the venue is steeped in music history that permeates your experience of being in the room.

Live concerts won’t be happening anytime soon for you to experience in person, but that doesn’t mean the music has stopped playing.

Pianist Eric Reed leads his quartet in two live performances this weekend. There won’t be an audience in person, but you can join online for one of both of the sets.

Reed’s quartet includes Stacy Dillard on saxophone, Dezron Douglas on bass and McClenty Hunter on drums.

J.D. Considine, writing for DownBeat Magazine said of Reed, “(he) is one of those tremendously gifted players who has chops galore, but seldom uses them to show off, instead letting his obvious command of dynamics add color to the melodies he plays.”

You need to purchase tickets to watch either of these sets. Tickets are $10.

Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra Summerfest – July 11th – 8:00 PM EDT/5:00 PM PDT

Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra launches the first of five Summerfest concerts from Zipper Concert Hall at the Colburn School of Music this weekend.

Ensembles are small and practice social distancing during performance. Each performance is filmed in advance for streaming.

The series launches with principal cellist Andrew Shulman, concertmaster and violinist Margaret Batjer and pianist Andrew von Oeyen performing.

The program begins with Florence Price’s The Deserted Garden. Price was the first black female composer to be recognized as a symphonic composer. Her Symphony No. 1 had its world premiere in 1933 by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

The centerpiece of the program is a performance of Mendelssohn’s Piano Trio in D Minor. The composer wrote this four-movement trio in 1839. It is considered amongst his best compositions.

This is a free concert. If you cannot watch it live as it happens, the concert will be archived here for later viewing.

Additional concerts are scheduled to take place every other Saturday this summer. We will keep you notified of those performances.

Same Time, Next Year – Guild Hall – July 12th – 7:30 PM EDT/4:30 PDT

Eastern Long Island’s Guild Hall is holding a virtual stage reading of Bernard Slade’s 1975 play Same Time, Next Year.

The play revolves around Doris and George who are married to other people, yet meet once a year in Northern California to continue their annual affair. Same Time, Next Year depicts the couple’s getaways from 1951 to 1975.

Starring in this virtual reading will be Julianne Moore (Still Alice) and Alec Baldwin (30 Rock).

When the play opened on Broadway the leads were Ellen Burstyn and Charles Grodin. Burstyn won the Tony Award for her performance. A film version was released in 1978 with Alan Alda joining Burstyn.

This is a fundraiser and tickets are priced at $100 per household. You can purchase tickets here. Once you have purchased tickets you will get details how and where to see the reading.

Audra McDonald with Seth Rudetsky – July 12th – 8:00 PM EDT/5:00 PM PDT

Six-time Tony Award winner Audra McDonald is Seth Rudetsky’s guest for his weekly concert series. Each concert features a live performance with a second opportunity to see the concert later.

McDonald has won Tony Awards in all four possible categories for an actor or actress: Best Actress in a Musical (The Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess); Best Featured Actress in a Musical (Carousel, Ragtime); Best Actress in a Play (Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill) and Best Featured Actress in a Play (Master Class, A Raisin in the Sun).

She and Rudetsky have known each other for years. They have regularly appeared together including this performance of “I Could Have Danced All Night” from My Fair Lady.

Tickets for either the live stream or the second viewing are $25 each. The rerun of Sunday’s concert will be streamed at 3:00 PM EDT/12:00 PM PDT on Monday, July 13th.

Billy Budd – Glyndebourne – July 12th – July 19th

Herman Melville’s short novel, Billy Budd, left unfinished by the author and published in 1924 (33 years after Melville’s death), serves as the inspiration for Benjamin Britten’s opera.

Billy Budd, the opera, had its world premiere in London in 1951. Novelist E.M. Forster (A Passage to India) and Eric Crozier wrote the libretto. Billy Budd is a rare opera in that it features no female roles. Even the chorus is all-male.

The opera tells the story of a young sailor (Jacques Imbrailo) who is newly recruited to join the HMS Indomitable. He possess great beauty and charm. The Master-at-Arms, Claggart (Phillip Ens), finds himself inexplicably drawn to the young man. Uneasy with the feelings Budd instills him, Claggart seeks to do everything he can to destroy the young man.

This 2010 production from Glyndebourne was directed by Michael Grandage. This was the first opera Grandage directed. He is best known for his work in theatre including the plays Red and Frost/Nixon. Mark Elder conducts the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

Andrew Clements, writing for The Guardian said of this production, “Jacques Imbrailo’s Billy is a total joy – slight, lithe and wonderfully guileless, singing his farewell to life with immense dignity and pathos. …The remorseless inhumanity of the story is certainly vivid, both on stage and in Mark Elder’s account of the score, by turns luminous and scaldingly intense. Elder does not neglect a single detail of what is perhaps Britten’s greatest orchestral accomplishment, and both the playing of the London Philharmonic and the singing of the Glyndebourne chorus have marvellous presence.”

That’s it for your Best Bets at Home: July 10th – July 12th. As always, a few reminders:

The Metropolitan Opera productions available this weekend are Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin on Friday; Puccini’s Madama Butterfly on Saturday and my personal favorite opera, Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde on Sunday.

Fridays at Five from SFJazz this weekend features John Scofield and Lettuce in a concert from 2019.

Stratford Festival continues its Shakespeare films with their 2017 production of Romeo and Juliet. Also available are The Adventures of Perciles and Antony and Cleopatra.

Now we’re officially done with the Best Bets at Home: July 10th – July 12th. Enjoy your weekend and stay safe and healthy.

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We have ten options for you and each and every one is a winner. They include Lorraine Hansberry’s last play, a highly-acclaimed new ballet based on the writings of Virginia Woolf, two one-act operas by Ravel and one of a jazz legend’s final concerts. Oh…and a little show called Hamilton.

Here are your Best Bets at Home: July 3rd – July 5th:

Hamilton – Disney Plus – Begins July 3rd

You pretty much have to be living under a rock not to know that the smash musical Hamilton becomes available for viewing on Disney Plus this weekend.

Before the original Broadway cast left the show, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Thomas Kail filmed the show. They shot a couple performances and then shot on-stage and close-ups with the cast without an audience.

This film was originally going to be released theatrically, but Disney has added it to their Disney Plus service realizing that no one was going to see Hamilton on stage for quite some time. Let’s also be honest, the pandemic has slowed down new content for the service. Both factored into the decision to release Hamilton this weekend.

Hamilton won 11 Tony Awards including Best Musical and also the Pulitzer Prize.

The cast includes Tony Award winner Daveed Diggs as “Marquis de Lafayette/Thomas Jefferson”; Tony Award winner Renée Elise Goldsberry as “Angelica Schuyler”; Tony Award nominee Jonathan Groff as “King George”; Tony Award nominee Christopher Jackson as “George Washington”; Jasmine Cephas Jones as “Peggy Schuyler/Maria Reynolds”; Lin-Manuel Miranda as “Alexander Hamilton”; Tony Award-winner Leslie Odom, Jr. as “Aaron Burr”; Okieriete Onaodowan as “Hercules Mulligan/James Madison”; Anthony Ramos as “John Laurens/Philip Hamilton”; and Tony Award nominee Phillipa Soo as “Eliza Hamilton.”

If you want to have the room where it happened come alive in your room, you will need to subscribe to Disney Plus. One month is $6.99 or you can get an annual subscription for $69.99. They are not currently offering one week free-trial memberships.

Les Blancs – National Theatre Live – Now – July 9th

The National Theatre staged Lorraine Hansberry’s last play, Les Blancs, in 2016. This is the film of that production.

Hansberry is best known for her play A Raisin in the Sun.

After 30 previews Les Blancs opened at the Longacre Theatre on Broadway in November of 1970. It closed in mid-December of that year after 40 regular performances. This production came five years after Hansberry’s death. The text was adapted by her husband Robert Nemiroff and it is that text that is used for the National Theatre production directed by Yaël Farber.

Les Blancs, which Hansberry considered to be amongst her most important works, addresses colonialism bridging the time from the late 19th century into the 20th century. Tshembe (Danny Sapani) has returned home to his African country as its struggles with an impeding civil war over the issue of independence from colonial rule. There for his father’s funeral, he finds himself in the middle of the two warring factions.

Michael Billington, writing for The Guardian, said of Les Blancs, “…an epic production by Yaël Farber of a text that explores both the divided individual soul and the bitterness of the colonial legacy…An imperfect play…has been given a near-perfect production.”

Woolf Works – The Royal Ballet – Now – July 9th

If I offer you the combination of Virginia Woolf, choreographer Wayne McGregor and composer Max Richter, would you really need to know more? That alone is a compelling trio.

In this 2015 work created specifically for The Royal Ballet, McGregor used Woolf’s Mrs Dalloway, Orlando and The Waves as inspiration.

He then combined them with excerpts from her diaries, letters and essays. The end result won the Critics’ Circle Award for Best Classical Choreography and the Olivier Award for Best New Dance Production.

The company performing Woolf Works is Alessandra Ferri, Federico Bonelli, Edward Watson, Francesca Hayward, Sarah Lamb and Akane Takada. They are joined by soprano Anush Hovhannisyan. Koen Kessels leads the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House.

Antony and Cleopatra – Stratford Festival – Now – July 23rd

This 2014 Stratford Festival production of Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra was directed by Gary Griffin. Starring as the titular couple are Geraint Wyn Davies and Yanna McIntosh.

One of Shakespeare’s historical dramas, Antony and Cleopatra tells of the love affair between Mark Antony (one of three men ruling the Roman republic) and the passionate and seductive queen of Egypt, Cleopatra.

Their affair leaves them vulnerable to political intrigue that will change their lives and their relationship dramatically.

This begins the final trilogy of Shakespeare productions from Canada’s Stratford Festival. Called Relationships, this trilogy will continue in the next couple weeks with Romeo and Juliet and The Taming of the Shrew.

Still available for streaming are Shakespeare’s King John and The Adventures of Pericles.

Ravel’s L’heure espagnole and L’enfant et les sortilèges – -Glyndebourne – Now – July 5th

Two one-act operas by Maurice Ravel are paired together in this 2012 production by Laurent Pelly at Glyndebourne.

L’heure espagnole had its world premiere in Paris in 1911. Franc-Nohain wrote the libretto based on his own play of the same name from 1904.

The opera tells the story of an unfaithful Spanish woman who tries to make love to multiple different men while her husband is away. When he shows up, the men try hiding in the many clocks her husband owns and sometimes find themselves getting stuck inside them.

The cast of L’heure espagnole features Elliot Madore, François Piolino, Stéphanie d’Oustrac, Alek Shrader and Paul Gay.

The second opera, L’enfant et les sortilèges, had its world premiere in Monte Carlo in 1925. The libretto is by Colette who apparently wrote the libretto in eight days. (Did you see Wash Westmoreland’s 2018 film about her? You should. And classical music fans will enjoy Thomas Adés’ score for this wonderful film.)

In the opera a petulant young child, prone to throwing tantrums and destroying the toys and animals around him, is surprised when they come to life to give him a lesson about kindness.

The cast of L’enfant et les sortilèges features Khatouna Gadelia, Elodie Méchain, Madore, Gay, Julie Pasturaud, Piolino, Kathleen Kim, Natalia Brzezińska, Hila Fahim, d’Oustrac and Kirsty Stokes.

Kazushi Ono conducts the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

Declassified Memory Fragment – Joyce Theater – July 2nd – July 31

Burkina Faso is a small, landlocked country in Africa. From it comes musician and choreographer Olivier Tarpaga who created Declassified Memory Fragment. This 70-minute piece had its world premiere in 2015. It is a work that features dancers and live musicians sharing the stage.

New York’s Joyce Theater will stream Declassified Memory Fragment for the first time during the month of July.

Tarpaga was inspired by the various political issues his own country faces as well as other countries like Kenya, Ivory Coast and Zimbabwe. Information from The Joyce Theater states that “Declassified refers to living in a society where aspects of everyday life are subjected to restrictions and cultural expectations of secrecy and privacy, even within the family. The act of declassifying is a process of revealing, exposing what is hidden from view and obscured, not spoken.”

Marina Hars, writing in the New York Times said Tarpaga’s piece, “is an extraordinary, distilled piece of music and dance. As the title suggests, it conjures fragmented memories, images and stories, often from childhood, gathered and transformed through movement and music by Mr. Tarpaga, three fellow dancers, and four musicians.”

Allen Toussaint with Preservation Hall Jazz Band – SF Jazz – July 3rd – 8:00 PM EDT/5:00 PM PDT

This 2014 performance was one of the last concerts performed by jazz singer and pianist Allen Toussaint. He died one year after this performance at SF Jazz. He appears with Preservation Hall Jazz Band.

Toussaint’s concert is part of SF Jazz’s Fridays at Five. That means the concert will stream only once at 5:00 PM PDT/8:00 PM EDT.

If you like jazz you won’t want to miss this one. New footage from the concert has been added for this presentation. To watch Fridays at Five requires either signing up for one month of concerts for $5 or signing up for a year at $60. With upcoming concerts by John Scofield, Cécile McLorin Salvant and their ongoing Wayne Shorter Celebrations plus this rare performance by Toussaint, it seems like an easy decision.

New York Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall – Medici.tv – July 3rd- July 5th

This 2015 Carnegie Hall concert finds Alan Gilbert leading the New York Philharmonic. The highlight of this performance was the world premiere of Vivo by Magnus Lindberg. Carnegie Hall co-commissioned the work from Lindberg.

Pianist Evgeny Kissin joins for a performance of Tchaikovsky’s crowd-pleasing Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat Minor, Op. 23.

As an encore, Kissin performs Méditation from Tchaikovsky’s 18 Pieces.

Kissin made his Carnegie Hall debut in 1990. That performance also marked his US recital debut.

The concert concludes with Maurice Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloé, Suite No. 2.

Susannah -San Francisco Opera – July 4th – July 5th

American composer Carlisle Floyd wrote this opera during his tenure as a member of the faculty at Florida State University. Floyd wrote both music and the libretto. Susannah had its world premiere in 1955 at the University.

His inspiration was a story in the Book of Daniel in certain bibles. Floyd updates the story of Susannah and the Elders to a more contemporary story of a teenage girl whom many in her isolated religious community accuse of being a sinner. Her journey into womanhood is challenged by the residents in a small mountain town in Tennessee.

This San Francisco Opera production was staged in 2014. Michael Cavanagh directed the production and the performance is conducted by Karen Kamensek.

Patricia Racette sings the role of “Susannah.” Brandon Jovanovich sings the role of “Sam Polk”; Raymond Aceto sings the role of “Reverend Olin Blitch”; the role of “Elder Ott” is sung by Timothy Mix; Catherine Cook sings the role of “Mrs. McLean” and the role of Little Bat McLean is sung by James Kryshak.

This was the first time one of Floyd’s operas had been performed by San Francisco Opera. Critics hailed the production and Racette’s performance in the title role.

Melissa Errico with Seth Rudetsky – July 5th – 8:00 PM/5:00 PM (rerun July 6th 3:00 PM EDT/12:00 PM PDT)

Melissa Errico hasn’t had the Broadway career her many fans and admirers feel she deserves. A 1993 revival of My Fair Lady was followed by roles in High Society, Amour, Dracula the Musical and Irving Berlin’s White Christmas. Those subsequent shows had short runs.

Off-Broadway has been far kinder offering Errico a chance to shine in productions of Finian’s Rainbow, On a Clear Day You Can See Forever and Stephen Sondheim’s Passion.

You can experience how talented she is when she appears as Seth Rudetsky’s Concert guest in his online Concert Series. The live performance takes place on July 5th. There is a second streaming of the concert on July 6th. Tickets for each performance are $25.

Those are your Best Bets at Home: July 3rd – July 5th. But before we go, a couple reminders:

Metropolitan Opera offerings Friday – Sunday are Mozart’s Don Giovanni, Donizetti’s Don Pasquale and Rossini’s La Donna del Lago.

All Live with Carnegie Hall events-to-date are archived and available for viewing at any time. They include pianist Daniil Trifonov, opera singer Isabel Leonard, Yannick Nézet-Séguin discussing opera, Michael Feinstein celebrating composer Irving Berlin, opera singer Renée Fleming, violinist Joshua Bell and many more.

Stay safe. Stay sane. Be healthy. And enjoy your Bets Bets at Home: July 3rd – July 5th and your holiday weekend.

Photo: Lin-Manuel Miranda in a scene from the film of Hamilton (Photo courtesy of Disney Plus)

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Most of the events listed are free. When they are not, they are noted. Links to each event can be found in the individual names of the events.

Creole Giselle – Dance Theatre of Harlem – Now – June 19th

The classic ballet Giselle was reconceived by Arthur Mitchell in the early 1980s. In 1984, Dance Theatre of Harlem premiered Creole Giselle at the London Coliseum in England.

The original Giselle choreography was by Jean Coralli and Jules Perrot. The production was staged by Frederic Franklin.

Creole Giselle garnered rave reviews in both London and New York. For some background on the creation of this work, I suggest reading this 1984 column from Burton Taylor writing for the New York Times.

Dance Theatre of Harlem is making the full ballet available for free viewing through June 19th. The film they are showing of Creole Giselle aired on television in Denmark in 1987.

Hamlet – Stratford Festival – Now – June 25th

Stratford Festival’s ongoing series of Shakespeare’s plays continues with this 2015 production of Hamlet.

Jonathan Goad stars as “Hamlet” with Seana McKenna as “”Gertrude; Geraint Wyn Davies as “Claudius/The Ghost”; Tim Campbell as “Horatio”; Adrienne Gould as “Ophelia;” Tom Rooney as “Polonius;” and Mike Shara as “Laertes.” The production is directed by Stratford Festival Artistic Director Antoni Cimolino.

Stratford’s streaming productions of Shakespeare’s Timon of Athens and Love’s Labour’s Lost are also still available this weekend.

The Madness of King George – National Theatre Live – Now – June 18th

Many of us first became aware of this Alan Bennett play by seeing the 1994 Nicholas Hytner film starring Nigel Hawthorne and Helen Mirren.

This 2018 Nottingham Playhouse production stars Mark Gatiss as King George and Debra Gillett as Queen Charlotte. It was directed by Adam Penford.

Bennett’s play depicts a king whose relationship with what is real seems to change on a dime. He’s both a very powerful man and a wildly erratic leader whose delusions call into question his ability to lead. This prompts others to do whatever they can to undermine the King and take control of the Crown.

This production sold out and earned rave reviews. Bennett wrote staggeringly complicated roles for the two leads. It should be pure theater joy watching Gatiss and Gillett in this production.

Michael Tilson Thomas and Yuja Wang at Carnegie Hall – MediciTv – June 12th – June 14th

The collaboration between Carnegie Hall and Medici.Tv continues this weekend with a concert from May of 2019. Michael Tilson Thomas leads the New World Symphony and America’s Orchestral Academy. They are joined by pianist Yuja Wang.

The program features Julia Wolfe’s Fountain of Youth (in its New York premiere); Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 5 and Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique. The encores find the conductor taking to the piano for a solo performance of his composition You Come Here Often? The concert concludes with Wagner’s Prelude to Act III of Lohengrin.

There is no charge to watch this program.

Björk Ballet – San Francisco Ballet – June 12th – June 19th

San Francisco Ballet’s Unbound Festival in 2019 featured this ballet by Arthur Pita centered on the songs by best-selling singer/songwriter Björk.

Pita used a wide range of her music: from her first album in 1993, Debut, through 2017’s Utopia.

A playlist on SF Ballet’s website for Björk Ballet indicates that the songs used are “Overture” from Selmasongs; “All Is Full of Love” and “Bachelorette – Family Tree Version” from Homogenic; “Vokuro” from Medulla; “Frosti” from Vespertine; “The Gate” from Utopia; “Hyperballad” from Post and “The Anchor Song” from Debut.

Pita says that the duality he finds in Björk as an artist inspired the story he created for this ballet. “She’s this very playful, naughty fairy, dancing nymph, otherworldly creature, full of light and love. And then you’ve got this very deep, mournful, sorrowful, almost tragedy in some of her songs. So it’s like the theater masks.” 

La Fille mal gardée – Royal Ballet – June 12th – June 26th

A love story between Lise and a young farmer, Colas, is the centerpiece of this ballet choreographed by Frederick Ashton. This ballet had its world premiere in 1960.

The translation of the title is The Wayward Daughter. Clearly her parents aren’t too keen on her taste in men. Or in this case, her widowed mother.

Ashton based this work on a 1789 ballet by Jean Dauberval. The music was adapted by John Lanchberry from an 1828 score by Ferdinand Hérold.

Marianela Nuñez dances the role of Lise. Carlos Acosta dances the role of Colas. The role of Lise’s mother is danced by William Tuckett.

Il Trittico – San Francisco Opera – June 13th – June 14th

Puccini’s trilogy of operas seems popular this month. Last week the Royal Opera in London made their 2012 production available. This weekend San Francisco Opera makes their 2009 production available for viewing.

The three operas are Il Tabarro, Suor Angelica and Gianni Schicchi. For details on these three operas, check out our Royal Opera House preview here.

Cast in this trilogy are soprano Patricia Racette (who performs in all three pieces), contralto Ewa Podles, tenor Brandon Jovanovich and baritone Paolo Gavanelli. Patrick Summers conducts this James Robinson production.

San Francisco Opera’s production received glowing reviews.

Live from Covent Garden – June 13th – 2:30 PM EDT/11:30 AM PDT

This is the first of three live performances from Covent Garden since it had to temporarily close. It takes place on Saturday evening in London.

The event is being streamed live and has an impressive line-up.

Benjamin Britten: On this Island op.11 (1937, to five poems by W.H. Auden), performed by soprano Louise Alder

George Butterworth: Six Songs from A Shropshire Lad (1911, to poems by A.E. Housman), performed by tenor Toby Spence

Ballet Interlude: New pas de deux, choreographed by Wayne McGregor to Richard Strauss Morgen! op.27 no.4 (1894, to the poem by John Henry Mackay). Louise Alder (soprano) and violinist (tbc). Performed by Francesca Hayward and Cesar Corrales

Mark-Anthony Turnage: Three Songs (2000, to texts by Stevie Smith, Thomas Hardy and Walt Whitman), performed by baritone Gerald Finley

arr. Benjamin Britten: The Crocodile (1941, to a traditional text and melody), performed by Gerald Finley

Gerald Finzi: Fear No More the Heat o’ the Sun op.18 no.3 (1929, to a text by William Shakespeare), performed by Gerald Finley

George Frideric Handel: ‘Tornami a vagheggiar’ (from the opera Alcina, 1735, after a story from Orlando furioso), performed by Louise Alder

Georges Bizet: ‘Au fond du temple saint’ (from the opera Les Pêcheurs de perles, 1863, to a libretto by Eugène Cormon and Michel Carré), performed by Toby Spence and Gerald Finley

Vanessa – Glyndebourne – June 14th – June 21st

Composer Samuel Barber won the Pulitzer Prize for his 1958 opera that features a libretto by Gian Carlo Menotti. The world premiere was at the Metropolitan Opera in New York.

This Glyndebourne production took place in 2018. Keith Warner directed and the orchestra is conducted by Jakub Hrůša.

Barber’s opera is a psychological drama about family relationships. The title character (sung by Emma Bell) finds herself alone after her boyfriend, Anatol, has left her. She pulls away from the world leaving her with only her mother (Rosalind Plowright) and her niece (Virginie Verrez) for company. Their world gets upended when Anatol’s son (Edgaras Montvidas) shows up twenty years later.

Jeremy Jordan – Seth Rudetsky Concert Series – June 14th – 8 PM EDT/5 PM PDT

Seth Rudetsky travels across the country with Broadway stars for evenings of conversation and songs. Unable to take his shows on the road, he’s bringing them to our homes.

This week’s performance features Jeremy Jordan who starred in the musicals Bonnie and Clyde and Newsies (for which he received both Drama Desk and Tony Award nominations). He was also featured in the television series Smash.

The live performance takes place as listed above. If you cannot watch that performance, there is an encore presentation on June 15th at 3 PM EDT/12 PM PDT. These are not free events. Tickets are $25 not including service fees.

Upcoming concerts will feature Seth with Jessie Mueller (Beautiful), Lea Salonga (Miss Saigon), Melissa Errico (Passion) and Audra McDonald (Porgy and Bess).

Life in a Pandemic: “One Day At a Time:” Norman Lear and Rita Moreno in Conversation with RuPaul – 92Y – June 14th – 7:00 PM EDT/4:00 PM PDT

Legendary television producer Norman Lear and living legend Rita Moreno will discuss the many lives of the reboot of One Day at a Time with RuPaul. This is a live-streaming event presented by the 92Y in New York.

I find it unlikely that any of these three need introduction, but here goes. Norman Lear is the five-time Emmy Award winning creator of such shows as All in the Family and Maude. He has also won a Peabody Award and has been awarded a Kennedy Center Honor.

Rita Moreno is an EGOT. She won two Emmy Awards, one Grammy Award, an Oscar for West Side Story and a Tony Award for The Ritz. She also happens to have a Presidential Medal of Freedom, a National Medal of Arts, a SAG Lifetime Achievement Award and is also the recipient of a Kennedy Center Honor.

RuPaul is the six-time Emmy Award winning host and producer of RuPaul’s Drag Race.

Tickets are required for this event which is not free. The price of each ticket is $20. You must be registered in advance in order to get access to the event.

Before we close out our Best Bets at Home: June 12th – June 14th, here are a few reminders:

Friday’s at Five from SF Jazz features Rhiannon Giddens & Francesco Turrisi. This takes place at 8 PM EDT/5 PM PDT on June 12th.

The Metropolitan Opera programming this weekend features their April 2020 At-Home Gala on Friday and Saturday. Sunday is the 2011-2012 production of Handel’s Rodelinda with Renée Fleming.

The musical Allegiance streaming on Broadway on Demand has been extended through June 23rd. You can get details at our preview here.

Here ends our list of your Best Bets at Home: June 12th – June 14th. Enjoy your weekend. Stay safe and healthy!

Main Photo: Elizabeth Powell and Ulrik Birkkjaer in Björk Ballet at San Francisco Ballet (Photo ©Erik Tomasson/Courtesy of SF Ballet)

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For those of you who will be missing the annual Tony Awards, we have a clip of James Corden celebrating the pleasure to be found in live performance.

First amongst your Best Bets at Home: June 5th – June 7th stars a man who stood a very good chance of walking away with the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play.

Coriolanus – National Theatre Live – Now – June 11th

Tom Hiddleston (most recently seen on Broadway in Betrayal/”Loki” in Marvel’s Avengers movies) stars in this 2013 Donmar Warehouse production of Shakespeare’s play.

The title character is one of Rome’s greatest heroes and fiercest defenders. He answers the call as the city faces an old enemy. But Rome is not the only one with enemies, Coriolanus has them, too. As circumstances get worse for the citizens of Rome, Coriolanus must find a way to keep the people on his side and address their issues.

In Paul Taylor’s review for The Independent he wrote, “Hiddleston’s magnificent performance compels you to feel what an awful fate it is to be Coriolanus. There’s an extraordinary sequence here in which, blood-soaked after battle, he stands under a shower of water gasping with pain. We are suddenly privy to the lonely willpower of the man behind the myth.Hiddleston’s magnificent performance compels you to feel what an awful fate it is to be Coriolanus. There’s an extraordinary sequence here in which, blood-soaked after battle, he stands under a shower of water gasping with pain. We are suddenly privy to the lonely willpower of the man behind the myth.”

Joining Hiddleston in the cast are Mark Gatiss, Hadley Fraser, Alfred Enoch and Deborah Findlay. Coriolanus is directed by Josie Rourke.

Gustavo Dudamel and the Simón Bolivar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela – Medici.tv – June 5th – June 7th

Carnegie Hall opened their 2016-2017 season with this concert celebrating dance. Dudamel, best known to audiences as the Music & Artistic Director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, is also Music Director and Conductor of the Simón Bolivar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela.

The program for this concert included Ravel’s La valse, Brahms’ Hungarian Dance No. 5 in G Minor; Copland’s Hoe-Down from Rodeo; Strauss Jr.’s Tritsch-Tratsch Polka, Op. 214; Ginastera’s Malambo from Estancia and Leonard Bernstein’s Mambo from West Side Story. The event closed with Gutierrez’s Alma Llanera from Aires de Venezuela as arranged by José Terencio.

Director’s Choice – San Francisco Ballet – June 5th – June 12th

San Francisco Ballet’s Artistic Director and Principal Choreographer Helgi Tomasson selected the three ballets to be included in this performance from February of 2020. Excerpts from the following ballets are included: Tomasson’s own Soirées Musicales and Concerto Grosso and the pas de deux from Christopher Wheeldon’s After the Rain.

Tomasson, a former dancer, became the Artistic Director of San Francisco Ballet in 1985. Wheeldon is also a former dancer having been a member of the Royal Ballet in London and New York City Ballet. He won a Tony Award for his choreography for An American in Paris.

Il trittico – Royal Opera – June 5th – June 19th

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

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

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

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

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

Agrippina – Great Performances at the Met (PBS) – June 7th (check local listings)

If you aren’t getting enough opera from the daily streaming operas made available by the Metropolitan Opera, PBS is adding another production for your viewing pleasure: Handel’s Agrippina. Joyce DiDonato stars in this David McVicar production from 2020. Henry Bicket conducts.

Agrippina (DiDonato) is the Roman empress who is fixated on the idea of having her highly unqualified son, Nerone (Kate Lindsey), take over the throne. To do that, she will stop at nothing to get her husband, Claudio (Matthew Rose), to cede it to him.

Zachary Woolfe, in his review for the New York Times said, “Three centuries on, Agrippina remains bracing in its bitterness, with few glimmers of hope or virtue in the cynical darkness. But it’s irresistible in its intelligence — and in the shamelessness it depicts with such clear yet understanding eyes.”

As with all PBS broadcasts, it is best to check your local listings. In Los Angeles this production will not air until June 9th at 11:00 PM with additional broadcasts on June 19th at 9:30 PM and June 20th at 4:00 AM. In New York it will air on June 14th at 12 PM.

Cosi fan tutte – Glyndebourne – June 7th – June 14th

Mozart’s opera (written with librettist Lorenzo da Ponte) debuted in Vienna in 1790. It was not warmly embraced and only became popular long after the composer’s death.

The opera hinges on a bet that Ferrando (Topi Lehtipuu) and Guglielmo (Luca Pisaroni) make with Don Alfonso (Nicolas Rivenq) about the fidelity of their fiancées, Dorabella (Anke Vondung) and Fiordiligi (Miah Persson).

This is a film of the 2006 production directed by Nicholas Hytner (The Madness of King George, The History Boys). The orchestra was lead by Iván Fischer.

Uncabaret – June 7th – 10:30 PM EDT/7:30 PM PDT

With everything going on in our world right now, the need for laughter is probably greater than ever. As she has done for more than a quarter century, Beth Lapides is assembling some of the brightest and funniest comedians she knows. They are coming together for an online version of Uncabaret.

For the uninitiated, Lapides describes the “un” part of her cabaret as “Unhomophobic, unxenophobic, unmysogynistic. Unhacky.”

Joining her for this week’s show are Sandra Bernhard, Julia Sweeney, Alec Mapa, Jen Kirkman, Alex Edelman, Tim Bagley and Jamie Bridgers. Music is provided by Mitch Kaplan and his band.

Registration on Eventbrite is required, but there is no fee to watch the performance. Donations, of course, are accepted.

Those are our selections for the Best Bets at Home June 5th – June 7th.

A couple reminders:

SFJazz has Fridays at Five with Marcus Shelby Quartet w/ Angela Davis in a program entitled Blues Legacies and Black Feminism. The concert features Terri Lyne Carrington, Tia Fuller, Tammy Hall, Paula West, Kim Nalley, & Tiffany Austin. This concert takes place June 5th at 8 PM EDT/5 PM PDT.

The Met Opera productions available this weekend are Thomas Adés’ The Exterminating Angel on Friday; Verdi’s Otello on Saturday and Massenet’s Thaïs on Sunday.

As I mentioned, Sunday would have been the Tony Awards. You can always find plenty of Tony Awards clips of performances to entertain yourself in the absence of the annual broadcast. One example: James Corden’s opening from the 2019 show which celebrates the joy of live performance.

There you have it. Enough Culture Best Bets at Home June 5th – June 7th to keep you entertained all weekend long.

Main photo: Tom Hiddleston in Coriolanus (Photo by Johan Persson/Courtesy of National Theatre Live)

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