When Broadway star Rebecca Luker passed away last December of complications from A.L.S. (commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease), colleagues and journalists struggled to find enough superlatives to describe her incredible talent.

The New York Times hailed her “crystal clear operatic soprano.” Playbill recalled her “innate warmth, infectious joy, and gorgeous voice.” Broadway’s Laura Benanti called her “humble, loving and kind. So much so that you would sometimes forget her otherworldly talent, until she would sing, and her golden voice would wrap you in peace.” And Kristin Chenoweth, who called Luker an inspiration described her voice as “soprano heaven. I love you, Rebecca.”

On Tuesday, May 4th, Becca, a streaming show of music and stories from her three-decade career will take place at 7:30 PM ET/4:30 PM PT. The event is a fundraiser for Target ALS with all proceeds going to ALS research.

Participating in the concert will be Benanti, Sierra Boggess, Michael Cerveris, Chenoweth, Victoria Clark , Santino Fontana (they appeared in Cinderella together), Judy Kuhn, Howard McGillin, Norm Lewis, Kelli O’Hara, Tam Mutu and Sally Wilfert.

Wilfert and Luker recorded All the Girls, an album of songs about women and their friends, that was released late last year.

Luker originated the role of “Lily” in the musical The Secret Garden.

The show’s composer, Lucy Simon, is acting as honorary producer for this event. Frank DiLella, who hosts On Stage for Spectrum News in New York, will serve as the host. Mary-Mitchell Campbell and Joseph Thalken serve as co-music directors.

Luker was nominated for three Tony Awards: Best Actress in a Musical for her roles as “Magnolia” in the 1994 revival of Show Boat and as “Marian Paroo” in the 2000 revival of The Music Man and for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her role as Winifred Banks in Mary Poppins.

Her other Broadway credits included The Phantom of the Opera, The Sound of Music, Nine and Fun Home.

She was married to Danny Burstein who is a Tony nominee this year for his role as Harold Zidler in Moulin Rouge The Musical.

I was only lucky enough to see Luker in one show: The Music Man. She was glorious. She truly sang like an angel.

It’s tragic that she was taken from her family, friends and colleagues at such a young age (she was 59).

Becca will be filled with joy, beautiful music and certainly a few tears. But could anyone help you feel better are such a tragic loss than Rebecca Luker herself?

Tickets for Becca begin at $20 and go higher based on your ability to pay.

All photos courtesy Rebeccaluker.com

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For those who have lived in Los Angeles as long as I have, you probably know that before it was Rockwell the restaurant was called Vermont. And before that it was Sarno’s Caffe Dell’Opera.

From Sarno’s through to Rockwell, entertainment has been a key component of the business plan. Alberto Sarno created a space for fans of opera and singers hoping for a career in opera would come together for food, drink and performance.

Vermont was originally just a restaurant. Until they opened Barre at Vermont and For the Record shows began in what was a very tight shoebox space. When the For the Record series exploded, changes were made, walls came down and Rockwell Table and Stage was born.

What great shows they had on that stage! Rockwell became the cabaret venue this city has always deserved.

Broadway and cabaret stars such as Laura Benanti (She Loves Me), David Burnham (The Light in the Piazza), Charles Busch (Die! Mommie Die!), Sutton Foster (Anything Goes), Aaron Lazar (A Little Night Music), Frances Ruffelle (Les Misérables), The Skivvies and Terri White (Finian’s Rainbow) are just some of the artists I saw there.

I remember being at one event and Lin-Manuel Miranda got up on stage and performed a song from a little project he was working on called the Hamilton Mix-Tape. This was well before the musical ever opened at The Public Theater.

Jeff Goldblum held court there on a regular basis with the Mildred Snitzer Orchestra. Recording artist Spencer Day was often a resident artist.

Musicals with their eyes on Broadway had try-out runs at Rockwell. New composers and new musicals had a monthly opportunity to be heard.

For the Record celebrated the works of Paul Thomas Anderson, The Cohen Brothers, Baz Luhrmann, Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino (who saw the show several times) and more. The performances were regularly extended, often sold-out and audiences loved every second of them.

Many of the participants in the For the Record series have gone on to Broadway. Amongst them are Joanna A. Jones (Hamilton), Derek Klena (a Tony Award nominee this year for his performance in Jagged Little Pill), Ruby Lewis (Cirque du Soleil: Paramour), Kristolyn Lloyd (original cast of Dear Evan Hansen), Nicole Parker (The People in the Picture) and Jessica Kennan Wynn (Beautiful: The Carole King Musical).

Performers also branched out into other art forms: Jason Paige is best known to audiences as the voice of the English version of the theme song to Pokémon. Ty Taylor and his band Vintage Trouble have toured the world and have opened for The Rolling Stones. (By the way, Taylor made one hell of a Frank ‘n’ Furter in a concert performance of The Rocky Horror Show at Barre at Vermont.)

After For the Record moved on to greener pastures, the Unauthorized Musical Parody of series took over with comedic takes on films like The Devil Wears Prada (featuring Drew Droege as Miranda Priestly) and Clueless.

Since the stage was placed next to the big windows that looked out to Vermont, I always took particular pleasure in watching passersby check out what was going on on stage.

In the interest of full disclosure, I should say that I also produced a concert there in 2013 celebrating the work of lyricist E.Y. “Yip” Harburg. He’s best known for writing the lyrics for the songs in The Wizard of Oz.

I guess what I’m trying to say is for many of us – both performers and audiences – Rockwell Table and Stage was home. There was absolutely a family that was created there; a family of singers, actors, waiters, bartenders, owners, patrons, producers and directors.

During the pandemic I’ve missed all the many nights I’d spend seeing live performances. And I’ve missed the exceedingly talented people who became my friends through Rockwell Table and Stage.

It’s sad when a venue you loved is no more. I’m sure many residents of Los Angeles said the same thing when Sarno’s closed. That space was reborn and reborn again after that happened.

One can only hope that another enterprising entrepreneur will set his or her sights on the now empty space in Los Feliz with dreams of creating their own home for performers. I’m sure if they put their ears up to the facade the many musical memories that filled Rockwell will still be echoing.

In the meantime, thank you Rockwell Table and Stage for being my home for so many great evenings. You will be missed.

Photo: Rockwell Table and Stage (Courtesy their Facebook page)

The post My Requiem for Rockwell Table and Stage appeared first on Cultural Attaché.

The goal of Broadway Smashes Covid! is to raise money for an independent medical clinic in Boston to help women and families during the pandemic.

Here are some details about the show and its illustrious line-up:

Chris Mann (Phantom of the Opera) will serve as the host for the show. Benanti won a Tony Award for her performance in the 2008 revival of Gypsy. In addition to her famed opera career, Fleming was a Tony-nominee for her performance in the 2018 revival of Carousel. In addition to appearing in Avenue Q, Foa is best known for his role on NCIS: LA. Headley won a Tony Award for her performance in Aida. Jackson is a two-time Drama Desk nominee for his performances in Xanadu and the 2009 revival of Finian’s Rainbow. Orfeh was a Tony Award-nominee for Legally Blonde. Pascal, in addition to co-starring in Aida with Headley was a Tony Award nominee for originating the role of Roger in Rent. Porter appeared in the 2006 revival of A Chorus Line. Ushkowitz, though probably best known for her role on Glee, is a Tony Award-winning producer for the 2017 revival of Once on This Island and is a nominee this year for The Inheritance. Young won a Tony Award for originating the role of Frankie Valli in Jersey Boys.

Joining them as music director is Willy Beaman.

Tickets range from $25 (for students under the age of 25) all the way up to $20,000 for you big rollers. (General admission tickets are $50). Ticketholders will have the ability to watch the show for 30 days.

Photo: Heather Headley (Courtesy Lyric Opera of Chicago)

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Wouldn’t it be ironic if I had selected thirteen Best Bets? Relax…I didn’t. I fifteen options for you this weekend. Our top pick is Long Beach Opera’s 2020 Songbook. We have dance, classical, cabaret, jazz, ballet and two opera productions for your consideration.

Here are our Best Bets at Home: November 13th – November 15th:

Chicano Batman – Los Angeles Philharmonic – Starts November 13th

A performance by Los Angeles band Chicano Batman is featured on this penultimate episode of the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s Sound/Stage series. Along with (still-available) performances by Andra Day and Kamasi Washington, their performance does not feature the LA Phil.

Chicano Batman released their self-titled first album in 2010. They followed that up with 2014’s Cycle of Existential Rhyme, 2017’s Freedom Is Free and this year’s Invisible People. The members of the band are Eduardo Arenas, Carlos Arévalo, Bardo Martinez and Gabriel Villa.

There is no charge to watch the performance. Donations are, of course, encouraged.

Sierra Boggess Streamed from Birdland! – November 13th – 7:00 PM EST/4:00 PM PST

Broadway star Sierra Boggess made her Broadway debut as “Ariel” in the Broadway musical version of the Disney animated film The Little Mermaid. She appeared as “Christine” in the long-running musical, The Phantom of the Opera in 2013. She went on to originate the role of “Rosalie” in School of Rock – the Musical.

Boggess has filmed a concert at New York’s Birdland. She will be joined by her sister, Summer, on cello and by her music director Brian Hertz. This marks the first time Boggess has performed since the quarantine was put in place in New York.

Amongst the songs she’ll be singing are “Come to My Garden” from The Secret Garden, “Think of Me” from The Phantom of the Opera, “Beyond My Wildest Dreams” from The Little Mermaid and the title track from Andrew Lloyd Weber’s sequel to Phantom, Love Never Dies. Boggess received an Olivier nomination for her performance in the latter show where she originated the role of “Christine.”

Tickets (including the service charge) are $23.50 and can be purchased here.

Chris Thile and Madison Cunningham – New Jersey Performing Arts Center – November 13th – 7:30 PM EST/4:30 PM PST

The New Jersey Performing Arts Center’s fall virtual programming includes this conversation and performance with Chris Thile and Madison Cunningham.

Cunningham recently received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Americana Album for her 2019 record “Who Are You Now.”

While it might seem strange to have her listed on Cultural Attaché, Rolling Stone hailed her “jazz-school chord changes” when it included her in a July 2018 story about “The 10 New Country and American Artists You Need to Know This Month.” Frankly, her music speaks for itself.

Cunningham’s new EP, “Wednesday,” was released one week ago and features a cover of Tom Waits’ song “Hold On.”

Which makes the pairing of her with 3-time Grammy Award winner and MacArthur Genius Grant winner Chris Thile a natural fit. His collaborations range from Yo-Yo Ma to Brad Mehldau.

Mehldau told me two of Thile’s qualities as a musician he admires: “First, I knew from hearing and seeing him that he is a true improviser – and that is what I like to do a lot. Second, his singing really affects me, and I was excited about the idea of making music with that kind of vocal expression.”

You will find this show on NJPAC’s Facebook page. There is no charge to watch the show.

Sons of Kemet – SFJZZ – November 13th – 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST

You don’t immediately think of dancing when you think of jazz music. Saxophonist Shabaka Hutchings forces you to reconsider that combination with his band Sons of Kemet. They will be performing on this week’s Fridays at Five concert from SFJAZZ.

Formed in 2011 in London, they fuse jazz, afro-beat and world music influences into a mix that yielded a 2013 MOBO Award as the Best Jazz Act.

This concert is from the summer of 2019 and finds the band supporting their 2018 recording, “You’re Queen is a Reptile.” The album was nominated for the 2018 Mercury Prize.

As with all Fridays at Five concerts, you will need either a one-month membership ($5) or an annual membership ($60) to watch the concert.

Fiddler: A Miracle of Miracles – PBS Great Performances – November 13th – check local listings

You’ll be forgiven for not knowing all the nominees for Best Musical at the 1965 Tony Awards. After all, Golden Boy, Half a Sixpence and Oh, What A Lovely War! haven’t had remotely the same impact as the musical that won. Not only did Fiddler on the Roof win Best Musical, it won nine of the 10 awards for which it was nominated.

This musical about a milkman who finds his homeland of Russia changing just as his three daughters are leaving home to pursue their own lives ran for 3,242 performances. There have been five Broadway revivals. The lead role of Tevye has been played on stage by Zero Mostel, Herschel Bernardi, Alfred Molina, Harvey Fierstein, Danny Burstein and Topol, who played the part in the 1971 film.

Why has this musical resonated so profoundly for 55 years? That is has is celebrated in the documentary Fiddler: A Miracle of Miracles. Filmmaker Max Lewkowicz features interviews with composer and lyricist Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick, librettist Joseph Stein, original producer Harold Prince, filmmaker Norman Jewison, multiple cast members from the various productions, Stephen Sondheim, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Joel Grey and many more.

Grey directed the most recent production of Fiddler on the Roof. The musical was performed completely in Yiddish and ran for over a year-and-a-half off-Broadway. There had been discussions about a possible transfer to Broadway prior to the pandemic.

As with all PBS programming, check your local listings.

Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake – Center Theatre Group – November 13th – November 15th

Center Theatre Group’s Digital Stage program includes a selection of programming that falls under the category Digital Stage Plus. These are select events that are free for subscribers and $10 for non-subscribers.

The first program they are showing is a film of Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake. The show was performed most recently at the Ahmanson Theatre in 2019.

The film features the 2018 cast which appears to be some of the same performers including Will Bozier as The Swan/The Stranger. Liam Mower dances the role of The Prince.

If you are wondering if you read that correctly, perhaps you didn’t know that all the swans in this production are male. For more information about the production, read my interviews with Will Bozier and Max Westwell who alternated the roles of The Swan/The Stranger when the show was in Los Angeles.

The performances are on November 13th at 11:00 PM EST/8:00 PM PST; November 14th at 5:00 PM EST/2:00 PM PST and 11:00 PM EST/8:00 PM PST and November 15th at 4:30 PM EST/1:30 PM PST and 9:30 PM EST/6:30 PM PST.

Boris Godunov – San Francisco Opera – November 14th – November 15th

Conducted by Vassily Sinaisky; starring Samuel Ramey, John Uhlenhopp, Vladimir Ognovenko and Vitalij Kowaljow. This Stein Winge production is from the 2008-2009 season. This is the original 1869 version of the opera.

This opera by Modest Mussorgsky had its world premiere in St. Petersburg in 1874. The libretto, written by the composer, was based on Aleksandr Pushkin’s Boris Godunov. Mussorgky completed an earlier version of the opera in 1869, but it was rejected. He revised the opera and included elements from History of the Russian State by Nikolay Karamzin to gain approval and ultimately a production in 1874.

In the opera, a retired and very reluctant Boris Godunov assumes the throne as Tsar. He is bedeviled by a constant foreboding and hopes his prayers will help him navigate what lies ahead. An old monk named Pimen discusses the murder of Tsarevich Dimitri with Gregory, a novice. Had he lived, Dimitri might have ascended to the throne. Godunov was implicated in his murder years ago. What follows is one man’s pursuit of forgiveness, his being haunted by the Dimitri’s ghost and the Russian people who demand justice.

Joshua Kosman, writing in the San Francisco Chronicle, explained the differences in his review of this production. “The lack of any romantic element – or even of women – seems to have been the reason that government bureaucrats denied the piece access to the stage. In revising “Boris” for its eventual 1874 premiere, Mussorgsky added a female love interest for Grigory, the ex-monk who claims to be the rightful heir to the throne, as well as two major sequences (the so-called “Polish” act and the final scene in Kromy Forest).

“But Mussorgsky went even further, making the new work more formally balanced, more conventional in tone, and more musically integrated. He sprinkled little songs and character pieces around, the better to contrast with the moments of greatest dramatic charge; he arranged his acts to move with assurance toward a surefire curtain.”

He later said in the review that, at least in this production, “the rewards are great.”

Blue 13 Dance – LA Soundscapes at The Ford – November 14th – 2:00 PM EST/11:00 AM PST

With this free program you can watch Blue 13 Dance perform Bollywood, Bhangra, and Classical Indian Dance and also receive some instruction on how you can bust out some of the same moves.

Founded in 1999, Blue 13 Dance celebrates and preserves the cultural and classic forms of India. They are lead by Artistic Director Achinta S. McDaniel.

The 8 person company brings to joyous life the rich tradition of the Indian culture from the past and guides it fully into the future.

The program is free to watch on LA Soundscapes at The Ford’s Facebook page. Thirty minutes before this program starts there is a crafts program with Nasimeh B.E. If you RSVP at theford.com/crafts you can get a free Craft Box.

Dee Dee Bridgewater – JazzAid Live at the Banyan Bowl – November 14th – 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST

South Florida’s Pinecrest Gardens launches a series of live streaming concerts on Saturday, November 14th with Tony Award and Grammy Award winner Dee Dee Bridgewater. The shows fall under the umbrella of their new program, JazzAid Live.

Regular readers of Cultural Attaché know how much I love Bridgewater and the music she performs.

Her most recent studio album was 2017’s Memphis…Yes, I’m Ready! Earlier this year Dee Dee’s Diamonds was released which is a compilation of songs from some of her earliest recordings. The Tony Award came for her performance as “Glinda” in the musical The Wiz.

Other concerts in this series are Kurt Elling (December 12th); The Glenn Miller Orchestra (January 16th); Wycliffe Gordon (February 13th); Grace Kelly (February 27th); Joey Alexander Trio (March 13th) and The Manhattan Transfer (April 10th).

Each concert will stream live and only once at the announced start time.

Tickets for each individual concert are $15. You can buy all seven concerts in a bundle for $87. Part of the proceeds from the JazzAID Live concerts will go to Chef José Andrés’ World Central Kitchen which, in addition to providing assistance to impoverished and hungry communities worldwide, is providing assistance to families impacted by the pandemic.

Save Tip’s: A Benefit for Tipitina’s – November 14th – 9:00 PM EST/6:00 PM PST

Like many a venue that has had to suspend operations due to the Pandemic, New Orleans institution Tipitina’s is struggling to stay alive. So they are holding an online fundraiser that will feature new and archived performances from many of the legends who have played on their stage since it opened in 1977.

Amongst the performers that will be shown are Professor Longhair, Fats Domino, Willie Nelson, Dr. John, Widespread Panic, Wilco, Billy Strings, Jon Batiste & Stay Human feat. Trombone Shorty, Dinosaur Jr, Manu Chao, The Radiators feat. Gregg Allman, Michael Franti and Spearhead, St. Paul and the Broken Bones, Funky Meters, Preservation Hall Jazz Band feat. Allen Toussaint, Galactic feat. Anjelika “Jelly” Joseph, Les Claypool’s Flying Frog Brigade, The Revivalists, Big FreediaTank & The Bangas, Rebirth Brass Band, Zigaboo Modeliste, Juvenile, Samantha Fish, Dumpstaphunk, George Porter and Runnin’ Pardners, Big Chief Monk Boudreaux + Donald Harrison Jr., Anders Osborne, Ivan Neville, Cha Wa, James Andrews, Papa John Gros, The Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Kermit Ruffins, Corey Henry, Roger Lewis, Leo Nocentelli, The Soul Rebels, Davel Crawford, John Cleary + Walter “Wolfman Washington”, The Naughty Professor Horns, Taj Mahal, North Mississippi Allstars + Big Sam and tributes to Art Neville, Dr John and Allen Toussaint.

The show is free to watch. But donations are encouraged by texting “SAVETIPS” to 24365.

Rachmaninoff and Chopin – Pasadena Symphony – November 14th

Pianist Inon Bartanan is featured in this Pasadena Symphony concert. He will start the program with his own transcriptions of Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances. He will then be joined by a string quartet of Pasadena Symphony members for a performance of Frederic Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in E Minor, Op. 11.

The musicians joining Bartanan are Amy Hershberger and Nancy Roth on violin; Suzanna Giordano Gignac on viola; Nadine Hall on cello and Peter Doubrovsky on bass. David Lockington conducts.

Tickets are $25.

2020 Songbook – Long Beach Opera – November 15th – 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST

Like many an organization, the Long Beach Opera had to be creative when it came to raising money for its work and finding a suitable replacement for an annual gala. The result, a fascinating idea, is 2020 Songbook.

Hosting the show is one of opera’s most exciting performers, countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo.

He can be seen on November 14th in the Metropolitan Opera’s 2019-2020 production of Philip Glass’ Akhnaten.

Here’s what makes this show exciting: Donors this year commissioned new art songs instead of purchasing gala tables. All the commissioned works had to follow a few rules:

They had to be 3-5 minutes long, feature voice plus accompaniment and thematically had to address or reflect events or experiences from the year we all know and love, 2020.

Composers Anthony Davis (2020 Pulitzer Prize for Music winner for The Central Park Five which premiered at Long Beach Opera); Annie Gosfield (The War of the Worlds with Yuval Sharon and the Los Angeles Philharmonic); David Lang (2008 Pulitzer Prize for Music winner for The Little Match Girl Passion); George Lewis (his opera based on the W.E.B. Du Bois short story “The Comet,” will be paired with Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea in a world-premiere production in collaboration with Anthony Roth Costanzo and Yuval Sharon in the 2021 Long Beach Opera season) and Du Yun (2017 Pulitzer Prize for Music Winner for Angel’s Bone).

Tickets are $25 and $75 and includes the ability to watch the show for 72 hours.

Modern Beauty Part 3 – Pittance Chamber Orchestra – November 15th – 6:00 PM EST/3:00 PM PST

Part 3 of Modern Beauty from Pittance Chamber Orchestra features the world premiere of Austrian composer Gernot Wolfgang’s Decisions.

This eleven-minute work was composed in 2016 and was written for piano and oboe. There are three movements in the piece. Joining Gloria Cheng, who curated all three concerts that make up Modern Beauty, is Jennifer Cullinan.

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

The Anonymous Lover – Los Angeles Opera – November 15th – November 29th

Born nearly 11 years before Mozart was composer Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges. Not only was he a composer, he was a violinist and quite the fencer. More importantly he was, particularly for the time, one of just a few Black composers. (George Bridgetower and Francis Johnson were two other important Black composers from around this era.)

LA Opera is presenting a newly-filmed performance of his third opera, L’amant Anonyme (The Anonymous Lover). The work dates back to 1780, written when the composer was in his mid-30s and has a libretto inspired by a play by Caroline-Stéphanie-Félicité, Madame de Genlis. The opera had its premiere in Paris.

The Anonymous Lover tells the story of Léontine, a woman who has eschewed love. She is young and is a widow. Her good friend, Valcour, also has sworn off love – or so he claims. Secretly he’s been in love with Léontine. Unable to express his feelings, he chooses to anonymously send her letters and gifts. Can two friends become lovers when Valcour finds the nerve to reveal himself to Léontine?

James Conlon conducts the LA Opera Orchestra. The production stars Tiffany Townsend, Robert Stahley, Alaysha Fox, Michael J. Hawk, Gabriela Flores and Jacob Ingbar.

The film was directed by Bruce Lemon, Jr. and incorporated social-distance guidelines during production. Press notes indicate that the staged setting blends both modern film and traditional opera staging.

The Anonymous Lover is free to watch beginning at 8:00 PM EDT/5:00 PM PDT on November 15th.

Lillias White with Seth Rudetsky – November 15th – 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST $25

I personally find it hard to believe that Tony Award winner Lillias White made her Broadway debut in 1981 (replacing Terri White in the musical Barnum.) Roles in Dreamgirls, Cats, Once on This Island, the 1995 revival of How to Succeed In Business Without Really Trying and the never-ending revival of Chicago all lead to her role as Sonja in The Life.

Following her Tony Award win for The Life, she spent time doing concerts (both her own and fundraisers including an incredible turn singing “Don’t Rain on My Parade” from Funny Girl) before returning to Broadway for 2009’s Fela! She received a Tony nomination for her role as Fela’s mother.

White will join Seth Rudetsky for his concert series this weekend. If you can’t watch the live performance on Sunday, there is an encore performance on Monday, November 16th at 3:00 PM EST/12:00 PM PST. Tickets for either showing are $25.

That’s our list of your Best Bets at Home: November 13th – November 15th. But you know we won’t leave you without a few reminders:

Metropolitan Opera‘s streaming productions this weekend are the 2007-2008 production of Benjamin Britten’s Peter Grimes on Friday, Philip Glass’ Akhnaten on Saturday and Thomas Adés’ The Exterminating Angel on Sunday.

Don’t forget Laura Benanti’s Live from the West Side: Women of Broadway concert on Saturday.

Table Top Shakespeare: At Home wraps up this week with The Comedy of Errors rather appropriately on Friday the 13th; Timon of Athens on Saturday and The Tempest on Sunday.

That does it. With so many wonderful opportunities to get lost inside these wonderful programs, who has time to be superstitious?

I hope you enjoy our Best Bets at Home: November 13th – November 15th.

Photo: Countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo (Courtesy Opus 3 Artists)

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Benanti, who headlines this Saturday, appeared in the 2002 revival of Into the Woods with Vanessa Williams. Both received Tony Award nominations for their performances. Williams will close out the series on December 5th.

Benanti has, of course, starred in more than just these two shows on Broadway. She made her Broadway debut in the 1998 revival of The Sound of Music. She received her first Tony Award nomination for her performance in 1999’s Swing. After Into the Woods she appeared in the 2003 revival of Nine with Chita Rivera and Antonio Banderas. The Wedding Singer followed in 2006.

After Gypsy she appeared in the play In the Next Room. Tony nominated performances in Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown* and the absolutely delightful 2016 revival of She Loves Me followed. She next appeared in Steve Martin’s Meteor Shower in 2017 before living out her dream of appearing as Eliza Doolittle in the 2018 revival of My Fair Lady.

Ever the under-achiever, Benanti has appeared regularly as Melania Trump on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. She has released In Constant Search of the Right Kind of Attention in 2013. Her most recent album is the eponymous Laura Benanti which was just released on October 23rd.

I could go on and discuss her book, the #SunshineSongs project and her many film and television projects. All of this is just one way to make perfectly clear that with a new album and such a vast career, her only challenge in performing on Saturday will be narrowing down what to perform.

Whatever she chooses, I can assure you this will be an amazing concert.

I’ve had the privilege of seeing her in many of her Broadway roles (and cannot describe how wonderful she was in My Fair Lady). I’ve also seen her perform in concert. Fans of Broadway musicals and great singing will want to see this show.

This whole series, Live from the West Side, was created to raise money for both the performers and for a number of regional theaters around the country. In Southern California that venue is Segerstrom Center in Costa Mesa.

The complete list is: Boise State University, Broward Center, Cleveland Playhouse Square, Dallas Summer Musicals, Denver Center, Fox Theatre, Hennepin Theater Trust, Marcus Center, Northlight Theatre, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Overture Center, Paper Mill Playhouse, Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, RiverCenter, Segerstrom Center, Shea’s Performing Arts Center, Straz Center, Tennessee Performing Arts Center, The 5th Avenue Theater, Theatre Under the Stars, University of North Carolina School of the Arts, and Texas Performing Arts.

Tickets are $30 for the performance.

*Before trivia purists get after me, LuPone also appeared in Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown giving them another shared credit.

Photo of Laura Benanti by Rod Spicer/Courtesy Segerstrom Center

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Where else would you find these people all in the same show?

Jelani Alladin, Jacqueline Antaramian, Antonio Banderas, Laura Benanti, Kim Blanck, Ally Bonino, Danielle Brooks, Jenn Colella, Elvis Costello, Daniel Craig, Alysha Deslorieux, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Holly Gould, Danai Gurira, Stephanie Hsu, David Henry Hwang, Oscar Isaac, Nikki M. James, Alicia Keys, John Leguizamo, John Lithgow, Audra McDonald, Grace McLean, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Mia Pak, Kelli O’Hara, Suzan-Lori Parks, David Hyde Pierce, Phylicia Rashad, Liev Schreiber, Martin Sheen, Phillipa Soo, Meryl Streep, Will Swenson, Shaina Taub, Kuhoo Verma, Ada Westfall and Kate Wetherhead.

Tony Award-winning director Kenny Leon (A Raising in the Sun) is putting this all together. The music director is another Tony Award winner, Ted Sperling (The Light in the Piazza).

Why did all these people come together for Forward. Together.? Simply put, The Public Theater has supported playwrights and artists for decades. Amongst the show that began their life at The Public are A Chorus Line, Girl from the North Country, Take Me Out, Elaine Stritch: At Liberty, Caroline, Or Change and Hamilton.

There is also an online auction where there are 20 items you can bid on ranging from posters from Shakespeare in the Park seasons, to a ten-year premium seat pass for those annual summer gatherings at Delacorte Theater in Central Park to virtual drinks and meals and more. To view the items and bid, you can go here.

The fundraiser premieres at 8:00 PM EDT/5:00 PM PDT and will remain available for viewing until October 24th at 11:59 PM EDT/8:59 PM PDT. The show can be watched on The Public Theater’s website, their YouTube channel and Facebook page.

Having watched the show I can tell you there are some very real highlights. Amongst them, Antonio Banderas and Laura Benanti singing “What I Did For Love” from A Chorus Line; Danielle Brooks singing a Burt Bacharach song as a lullaby to her young child and to us all; a song from Shaina Taub’s musical, Suffragette and Oscar Isaac singing a song from Two Gentlemen of Verona.

Photo: The Public Theatre (Photo by Joseph Augstein/Courtesy The Public Theater)

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What can you watch this weekend? Musicals old and new; an innovative approach to live performance of a play; three classical music concerts; two operas and one opera recital; a dance film festival where every film was shot with mobile devices plus a revival of a classic work of dance from the 1970s.

If that isn’t enough, we’ll remind you of two jazz concerts, three more operas and a marathon audio stream of Richard Wagner’s Ring Cycle.

To access any of the on-line events, click on the title of the individual event you want to see.

So what will you watch? Here are this weekend’s Best Bets at Home: July 24th – July 26th:

She Loves Me – PBS Great Performances – July 24th (check local listings)

Roundabout Theatre Company’s 2016 revival of She Loves Me was one of the most enjoyable musical productions of that season. This weekend PBS is airing a film of that production which starred Laura Benanti, Gavin Creel, Byron Jennings, Jane Krakowski and Zachary Levi.

The musical was written by composer Jerry Bock with lyricist Sheldon Harnick (Fiddler on the Roof) and book writer Joe Masteroff (Cabaret). It is based on the book Parfumerie by Miklós László and tells the story of two people who have a truly antagonistic relationship at work, but don’t know they are the anonymous pen pals who are falling in love through the letters they write each other. Sound familiar? Perhaps you’ve seen The Shop Around the Corner or You’ve Got Mail.

This production (the second revival of the show) was directed by Scott Ellis with choreography by Warren Carlyle. I cannot recommend it enough. This was truly a wonderful production. See it!

The Weir – Irish Repertory Theatre – July 24th – July 25th

New York’s Irish Rep has had great success with Conor McPherson’s The Weir. Their 2013 production was nominated for Best Outstanding Revival at the Lucille Lortel Awards. The run of the show was so successful that they revived it again two years later. Now comes a version specifically designed for our pandemic age.

The play is set in a pub in Ireland. The bartender is sharing ghost stories with two regulars. They also discuss an imminent new arrival, a woman named Valerie who is renting a nearby house with the help of another former local, Finbar. Over the course of the play, with the men vying for her attention, the stories get more intense and some, deeply personal.

Dan Butler, Sean Gormley, John Keating, Tim Ruddy, and Amanda Quaid star in this new version directed by Ciarán O’Reilly – completed with all social distancing required to keep everyone safe. Critics have raved about how innovative this particular production is.

You must make a reservation to see one of the performances at least two hours in advance in order to get a link to watch The Weir. Performances are Friday, July 24th at 8:00 PM EDT/5:00 PM PDT and Saturday, July 25th at 3:00 PM EDT/12:00 PM PDT. Tickets have a suggested donation price of $25.

Broadbend, Arkansas – Transport Group Theatre – Now – August 16th

Broadbend, Arkansas is a timely musical from 2019 that tells the story of a woman whose father was killed during a routine traffic stop by a police officer when she was a child. Three decades later she is now coming to grips with another attack by a police officer, this time on her teenage son.

Justin Cunningham and Danyel Fulton star in this musical which features a libretto by Ellen Fitzhugh and Harrison David Rivers. The music was written by Ted Shen, who also wrote additional lyrics. This is a film from the 2019 production.

The show was described as “jazz-infused” and paying “homage to Stephen Sondheim” by Laura Collins-Hughes in her New York Times review.

There is no fee to stream the musical. However, Transport Theatre Group is encouraging donations to the Black Theatre Network.

Orchestre National de France at Carnegie Hall – Medici.tv – July 24th – July 26th

This week’s Carnegie Hall Fridays concert on Medici.tv comes from a January 2016 performance by the Orchestra National de France. Under the direction of conductor Daniele Gatti, this concert features works by composers from the 19th and 20th century. Joining the orchestra for this performance was violinist Julian Rachlin.

The program opens with the Prelude to Act III of Richard Wagner’s The Mastersingers of Nuremberg. This was performed in tribute to conductor Kurt Masur who had passed away one month prior to this concert. One aspect of Masur’s legacy was serving as Music Director of the New York Philharmonic from 1991-2002. He was named Music Director Emeritus after stepping down in 2002.

The rest of this concert features Claude Debussy’s Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune and Dmitri Shostakovich’s Violin Concerto No. 1 in A Minor featuring Rachlin. He continues with an encore of Eugène Ysaÿe’s Sonata for Solo Violin in D Minor.

After Rachlin’s encore the orchestra performs Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5 in E Minor and performs the Prélude to Gabriel Fauré’s Pelléas et Mélisande, Suite for Orchestra.

If you regularly read this column you know that Medici.tv and Carnegie Hall make these concerts available for free viewing over the weekend. However, you do need to sign up with an e-mail to access the film.

Faust – Royal Opera House – Now – July 29th

Charles Gounod’s Faust had its world premiere in Paris in 1859. The libretto was written by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré who used both Carré’s play Faust et Marguerite and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s Faust, Part One as inspiration.

This oft-told story is about a man who sacrifices his soul to the devil, Méphistophélès, in order to maintain his youth and the love of Marguerite.

But you know what happens when you make a deal with the devil…it’s not going to end well.

This 2019 revival of David McVicar’s 2004 production stars Michael Fabiano as Faust, Erwin Schrott as Méphistophélès and Irina Lungu as Marguerite. Dan Ettinger conducts the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House and the Royal Opera Chorus.

This opera has five acts and runs nearly three-and-a-half hours, but reviews for this revival were very positive. 

50 Years of Mostly Mozart – Lincoln Center at Home – July 24th

In 1966 Lincoln Center launched their Mostly Mozart Festival. The original mandate was to exclusively celebrate the work of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Over the years they have expanded that mandate to include composers who influenced Mozart, who were his contemporaries and later composers who were influenced by him.

This concert from 2016 features Mozart’s first and last symphonies.

Symphony No. 1 in E-Flat Major was written when Mozart was just eight years old. His final symphony is nicknamed Jupiter Symphony and is formally known as the Symphony No. 41 in C Major.

Music Director Louis Langré leads the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra in this performance. Pianist Richard Goode joins the orchestra for a performance of Mozart’s Piano Concert No. 12 in A Major.

Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra Summerfest Concert #2 – Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra – July 25th – 8:00 PM EDT/5:00 PM PDT

This second of Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra’s newly filmed concerts features Joshua Ranz, the orchestra’s principal clarinetist. Each concert in their Summerfest series was filmed practicing social distancing behavior on the stage of Zipper Hall at the Colburn School.

The centerpiece of this second concert will be Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet.

Written in 1789, this is the composer’s only finished clarinet quintet. The work calls for two violins, a viola and cello in addition to the clarinet.

Joining Ranz in this performance are Tereza Stanislav and Cheryl Norman-Brick on violin; Robert Brophy on viola and Andrew Shulman on cello.

The concert will open with a performance of Florence Price’s Adoration. Ranz arranged her composition for Clarinet and String Quartet. You can read about Price in our preview of LACO’s first concert in this series here.

If you are unable to watch the performance as it debuts, it will be archived at LACO’s website.

The Makropulos Case – SF Opera – July 25th – July 26th

Czech composer Leoš Janáček wrote this opera between 1923-1925. It was his penultimate opera. He also wrote the libretto which was based on Karel Čapek’s play Věc Makropulos. The opera had its world premiere in Brno in late 1926.

The story is rather convoluted in The Makropulos Case.

It involves a nearly century-long lawsuit, a missing will, an opera singer admired by many men, a bastard son, allegations of forgery, suicide and a life-extending potion.

San Francisco Opera gave the American premiere of this opera in 1966. This production, directed by Olivier Tambosi, is from 2010 with Jiří Bělohlávek conducting. The cast includes Thomas Glenn, Miro Dvorsky, Susannah Biller and Karita Matilla.

Reviews were overwhelmingly positive for this production and all singled out Matilla who made her role debut in this production.

Mobile Dance Film Festival – 92Y Harkness Dance Center – July 25th – August 31

This is the third year of the 92Y Harkness Dance Center’s Mobile Dance Film Festival. All of the films showcased in the festival were shot on mobile devices.

Films from Europe (Germany, Hungary, Italy); South America (Brazil, Uruguay); Asia (Indonesia, Japan) plus Russia, Australia and Papau New Guinea are included with American entries.

Some of the films in the festival are part of a Quarantine Screen section which features films made during the Covid-19 pandemic. There is also the first-ever documentary film. Bent But Not Broken is a film that looks at dancers with scoliosis.

You need to register to access the Mobile Dance Film Festival and there is a $5 fee for doing so. That will give you full access to four hours of programming from July 25th through August 31st.

Lawrence Brownlee and Friends – Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Facebook Page – July 26th 7:00 PM EDT/4:00 PM PDT

Opera singer Lawrence Brownlee has assembled a talented group of friends for this live concert on Sunday. The tenor, who made his Metropolitan Opera debut in a 2007 production of Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia, will be joined by alumni from Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Ryan Opera Center.

They include soprano Whitney Morrison, mezzo-soprano J’Nai Bridges and baritone Will Liverman. Three current students at the Center will also participate. Craig Terry, Chris Reynolds and members of the Lyric Opera Orchestra will also perform from their homes.

The purpose of this concert is to celebrate Black artistry. Not only is Brownlee performing, he is also the artistic advisor of this concert.

Lawrence Brownlee and Friends will stream live on Lyric’s YouTube and Facebook channels.

Dougla – Dance Theatre of Harlem YouTube Page – July 26th

For those of a certain age, Geoffrey Holder is known for directing the original Broadway production (and its 1984 revival) of The Wiz and for directing the 1978 musical Timbuktu! Or you might know him from his 7-Up commercials from the 1970s advertising the soft drink as the “uncola.”

Holder was also a prolific choreographer and Dougla, which the Dance Theatre of Harlem revived in 2018, is one of his best-known works. It was first performed in 1974 and this revival was carefully overseen by Holder’s song, Leo and his widow, Carmen de Lavallade.

Trinidad was were Holder was born and the word Dougla refers to people of both African and South Asian descent. Specifically in his ballet, Dougla depicts a wedding between a couple where one partner is of Indian descent and the other is African.

The music was written by Holder and Tania León and primarily utilizes flutes and percussion. For this 2018 production, León directed the live performance of the music.

That’s this week’s Best Bets at Home: July 24th – July 26th.

Want more? How about a few reminders before we go:

Cécile McLorin Salvant and Sullivan Fortner are the featured concert on this week’s Fridays at Five from SFJazz. You can read our preview published earlier this week here.

The Ron Carter Trio performs live on July 24th and 25th from the Village Vanguard in New York. You can read our preview from earlier this week here.

LA Opera audio-streams their 2010 complete Ring Cycle by Richard Wagner on Saturday beginning at 11:00 AM EDT/8:00 AM PDT. For our complete preview please go here.

Metropolitan Opera’s streaming productions this weekend are Verdi’s Falstaff on Friday; Strauss’ Der Rosenkavalier on Saturday and Puccini’s La Fannciula del West on Sunday. For details you can go here.

That’s officially it for our Best Bets at Home: July 24th – July 26th. Enjoy your weekend! Enjoy culture! And if you like what you read here at Cultural Attaché, be sure to tell your friends!

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New York’s Public Theater has given birth to some of theater’s finest accomplishments. From the Pulitzer Prize-winning That Championship Season to Caryl Churchill’s Top Girls to Caroline, Or Change and a couple musicals you might have heard of: A Chorus Line and Hamilton. They will be celebrating their history and looking passionately towards the future on Monday, June 1st with their online gala event We Are One Public.

No pun intended, but the public is invited to join The Public for this event. We Are One Public begins at 8 PM EDT/5 PM PDT on their website. Hosting is Jesse Tyler Ferguson. Tony Award-winning director Kenny Leon directs and the music director is another Tony Award-winner, Ted Sperling.

If you want to see a list that defines an embarrassment of riches, the participants for Monday’s fundraiser will serve as just that:

Todd Almond, Antonio Banderas, Laura Benanti, Kim Blanck, Ally Bonino, Danielle Brooks, Troy Anthony Burton, Michael Cerveris,  Glenn Close, Jenn Colella, Elvis Costello, Daniel Craig, Claire Danes, Carla Duren, Danaya Esperanza, Jane Fonda, Nanya-Akuki Goodrich, Holly Gould, Danai Gurira, Anne Hathaway, Stephanie Hsu, David Henry Hwang, Oscar Isaac, Brian d’Arcy James, Nikki M. James, Alicia Keys, John Leguizamo, John Lithgow, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Audra McDonald, Grace McLean, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Margaret Odette, Kelli O’Hara, Sandra Oh, Mia Pak, Suzan-Lori Parks, David Hyde Pierce, Phylicia Rashad, Jay O. Sanders, Liev Schreiber, Deandre Sevon, Martin Sheen, Phillipa Soo, Meryl Streep, Trudie Styler & Sting, Will Swenson, Shaina Taub, Kuhoo Verma, Ada Westfall, Kate Wetherhead and more.

During We Are One Public, there will be two special honors awarded. The first is to benefactors Audrey & Zygi Wilf whose philanthropy has greatly benefited The Public Theatre. The second is to actor Sam Waterston.

The actor, who will be the artistic honoree, has appeared in over a dozen productions at The Public Theater. His work there began in 1963 and usually finds him performing the works of William Shakespeare – most often during The Public Theater’s Shakespeare in the Park season. His most recent appearance was as Prospero in the 2015 production of The Tempest.

Obviously donations are encouraged before, during and after this event. There is also an on-line auction that is already open for bidding. Amongst the items available are a virtual conversation with Queen Latifah and director Lee Daniels; a decade of premium Shakespeare in the Park seats; a signed sketch of the set of Hamilton by David Korins and a Zoom chat with ballet dancers Ethan Stiefel and Gillian Murphy. There are many more items available.

We Are One Public is scheduled to run 90 minutes. There is a virtual dance party immediately following the event.

Photo from Cymbeline courtesy of the New York Public Library.

Photo of The Public Theatre Courtesy of The Public Theater

Update: This post has been updated to include the postponement of the event.

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Macbeth – Stratford Festival – Now – May 28th

In their continuing series of providing films of 12 Shakespeare plays, Canada’s Stratford Festival is adding Macbeth to the list of available films this week.

This drama tells the story of a Scottish general who is told by three witches that he will ascend to the throne and be King of Scotland. The combination of his singled-minded pursuit of power and the assistance of his wife, Lady Macbeth, allows him to stop at nothing to become King.

Ian Lake plays the title character, Michael Blake is Macduff, Krystin Pellerin is Lady Macbeth, Scott Wentworth is Banquo and Sarah Afful is Lady Macduff. Antonio Cimolino directed the production.

Remember that King Lear with Colm Feore will be available for one more week. Coriolanus also continues for two weeks.

Antony and Cleopatra – National Theatre Live at Home – Now – May 14th

If you love Shakespeare, but don’t want to spend time with Macbeth, you have another option. National Theatre Live begins live-streaming today their sold-out 2018 production of Antony and Cleopatra which starred Ralph Fiennes and Sophie Okonedo as the ill-fated couple.

In this historical love story, written by Shakespeare around 1606, Antony is smitten with Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt. Mark Antony, Octavius Caesar and Lepidus share the power to rule Rome, but hints of scandal and libelous stories lead to death and destruction.

Daniel Barenboim Conducts the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra – Carnegie Hall – Now – May 11th

In this Carnegie Hall concert from November 2018, Daniel Barenboim takes to the podium to conduct a program that includes Richard Strauss’ Don Quixote and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5. He and the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra are joined by soloists soloists Miriam Manasherov (violin) and Kian Soltani (cello).

The concert includes three encores: Saint-Saëns’ The Swan from The Carnival of the Animals, Elgar’s Nimrod from Enigma Variations, Op. 36 and finally Wagner’s Prelude to Act I of Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg.

These concerts become available at 3 AM EDT/12 AM PDT on May 8th for 72 hours.

Neil LaBute’s The Shape of Things – YouTube – May 8th

On Friday at 7:00 PM EDT/4:00 PM PDT, Lena Hall, Tim Realbuto, Katie Rose Clarke and Jonah Platt will do a live reading of Neil LaBute’s The Shape of Things. After the reading, LaBute will join for a Q&A.

In the play, Evelyn (Hall) attempts to change Adam (Realbuto) which leaves his friends Jenny (Clarke) and Phillip (Platt) concerned about how influential Evelyn is being and how beneficial that ultimately is for Adam.

This reading is a benefit for The Actors Fund. There is no charge to view this event, but they are suggesting a $5 donation.

The King and I – Broadway HD – May 8th

Beginning at noon 8 PM EDT/5 PM PDT, Broadway HD is making available a film of the 2015 Broadway Revival of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, The King and I. This production starred Kelli O’Hara as Anna Leonowens, Ken Watanabe as The King of Siam and Ruthie Ann Miles as Lady Thiang. Not only did O’Hara and Miles win Tony Awards for their performances, the production was awarded the Tony for Best Revival of a Musical.

Bartlett Sher directed this production which features such beloved songs as “Hello Young Lovers,” “Getting to Know You,” “Shall We Dance” and “Whistle a Happy Tune.”

Gruesome Playground Injuries – Red Line Productions YouTube Channel – May 8th

Saturday morning in Sydney, Australia, Red Line Productions will live-stream a reading of Rajiv Joseph’s Gruesome Playground Injuries with Rose Byrne and Ewen Leslie. With the time difference, this reading will be available at 8:30 PM EDT/5:30 PM PDT.

The play, which appeared in New York in 2011, tells the story of Kayleen and Doug, two friends who meet in school and are reunited over the course of three decades. That they turn out to be masochists is just one of the intriguing aspects of their personalities.

Joseph was a Pulitzer Prize finalist for his play, Bengal Tiger at the Bagdad Zoo. Amongst his other plays are Guards at the Taj and Describe the Night.

Mefistofele – San Francisco Opera – May 9th

San Francisco Opera starts making filmed productions available this weekend with this 2013 production of Arrigo Boito’s Mefistofele, based on Goethe’s Faust. Boito is best known and the librettist for Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra, Otello and Falstaff.

SF Opera’s production starred Russian bass-baritone Ildar Abdrazakov in his staged role debut as the devil Mephistopheles, Mexican tenor Ramón Vargas as Faust and American soprano Patricia Racette in the dual roles of Margherita and Elena. The production was directed by Robert Carsen and conducted by Nicola Luisotti.

The opera had its world premiere in Milan in 1868 were it was not well-received. Seven years later a new production with significant changes by Boito, was more warmly received.

Mefistofele becomes available on May 9th at 1 PM EDT/10 AM PDT and will remain available for streaming until midnight the following day. San Francisco Opera is making additional productions available for streaming over the next few weeks. We will be including them in our weekend Best Bets at Home.

Broadway Does Mother’s Day – May 10th

The Broadway community continues to rally for its own with this Sunday afternoon concert that celebrates Mother’s Day and serves as a fundraiser for Broadway Cares. Broadway Does Mother’s Day begins at 3 PM EDT/12 PM PDT.

A partial list of those participating in the concert includes Annaleigh Ashford, Kate Baldwin, Laura Benanti, Betty Buckley, Liz Callaway, Carolee Carmello, Victoria Clark, Lea DeLaria, Beanie Feldstein, Harvey Fierstein, Victor Garber, Mandy Gonzalez, Jennifer Holliday, James Monroe Iglehart, Judy Kaye, Celia Kennan-Bolger, LaChanze, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Bernadette Peters and Vanessa Williams.

Cast members from the shows Ain’t Too Proud, Beetlejuice, Chicago, Come From Away, Company, Dear Evan Hansen, Diana, Girl from the North Country, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Jagged Little Pill, Mean Girls, Moulin Rouge!, Mrs. Doubtfire, Sing Street, Six and Tina: The Tina Turner Musical will appear in sketches and make special appearances.

Hershey Felder as Irving Berlin – May 10th – 8 PM EDT/5 PM EDT

Unlike the other events listed on this page, Hershey Felder as Irving Berlin is not a free event. Felder has teamed up with theatres around the world to perform the show as a fundraiser for those theatres. Tickets are $50 per household and will allow access to the live performance for 72 hours. There is also a live talk-back after the performance.

Felder, who will be giving the performance in Florence, Italy, is known for his one-man shows celebrating various composers including George Gershwin, Leonard Bernstein, Beethoven, Chopin, Tchaikovsky and Debussy.

Berlin is the songwriter who gave us “Always,” “Blue Skies,” “Puttin’ on the Ritz,” “White Christmas” and “God Bless America.” He also wrote the musical Annie Get Your Gun.

The link above is to raise money for The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts.

Those are our choices for your Best Bets at Home: May 8th – 10th. But we also want to remind you of a couple additional selections that we wrote about earlier this week.

Reminder:

Great Performances on PBS is airing on Friday the Los Angeles Philharmonic Centennial Concert from October 2019. It features conductors Zubin Mehta, Esa-Pekka Salonen and Gustavo Dudamel. Check your local listings.

The operas available this weekend from the Met Opera in New York are La Boheme from 1977 with Luciano Pavarotti and Renata Scotto on Friday; the documentary The Opera House on Saturday and Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliaci on Sunday. Each program becomes available at 7:00 PM EDT/4:00 PM PDT.

Main Photo: Kelli O’Hara and Ken Watanabe in The King and I (Photo by Paul Kolnik/Courtesy of Lincoln Center Theatre)

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Over the weekend, Benanti hosted the first Sunshine Songs concert online. Recognizing that school productions all around the country were being postponed due to the pandemic, she encouraged young performers to send her videos of the performances they would have given had the shows not been canceled. She received over 6,000 videos and the video that started it all has been viewed over 4 million times.

Saturday’s event was the first of many events according to what Benanti said during Sunshine Songs. Let’s hope so. There’s so much joy to embrace here.

During her livestream event, we got to see many of those videos and hear directly from a couple of the kids whose performances were shown. Getting to see 17-year-old Khadija talk passionately about wanting to perform Once on This Island, and then get to see her completely nail a song from the show, was a much-needed reminder that the passion and enthusiasm for the arts starts young. And I agree with Benanti, this young lady will be on a Broadway stage in the future.

Watching the passion of the youngest performers (particularly 9-year-old Parker singing “This Is Me” from The Greatest Showman) reminded me of my own participation in school shows so many years ago. It also awakened in me that desire to do more, be more and celebrate life more.

Awakened desires is also a part of Encore!, a series on Disney+ that is hosted by Kristen Bell. The premise is simple: the high school cast of a musical is reunited – after as many as 40 years – and has less than one week to remount the production under the guidance of professional directors, choreographers and music directors.

Encore! first started airing in November of last year. I only recently became aware of the show after a friend told me how moved she was by it. Simply put, I can’t get enough and hope there will be many more seasons of the show.

On a fundamental level each episode functions as a reunion. Like all reunions, these are filled with joy, tears, old issues rearing their ugly heads and expectations there are as high as the pressure to get it right. Each cast must sort all those things out while coming together to perform musicals like Grease, Beauty and the Beast, Godspell, Anything Goes. It is pure joy.

I found myself rooting for each and every one of them to succeed, often times in spite of their insecurities, challenges or limitations. But there are two more extremely powerful components to each episode of Encore!

First and foremost is the concept of second chances. This show absolutely gives every adult not just a chance to relive their youth, but to rediscover the excitement found in performing live theatre. Will they be as good as they were in high school? Might they be better? Can they all sing or dance? Of course not. Do you remember your high school shows? Nonetheless, each adult gets another opening of another show.

The second and more powerful component in this time of crisis (and perhaps why the show resonates on such an emotional level) is the idea that no matter our circumstances, the choices we have made or where our lives have taken us, we are all so much stronger and more powerful when we work together. That sense of camaraderie is the very heartbeat that pulses through each and every episode.

When viewed on the same weekend, as I did, Sunshine Songs and Encore! demonstrate that no matter what your age, coming together to create something bigger than ourselves is amongst the most noble of pursuits. Passion prevails. And with a song in your heart, it’s all so much more fun.

Photo of Kristen Bell courtesy of Disney+

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