This interview originally ran in March when the Philadelphia Orchestra was giving a concert performance of The Hours. We have updated this story with more details about the Met Opera production, clips from the production and additional comments from composer Puts. We have also posted the complete interview up on our YouTube channel.

The Met Opera production stars Joyce DiDonato as Virginia Woolf, Renée Fleming as Clarissa Vaughan and Kelli O’Hara as Laura Brown. These were the characters played by Nicole Kidman, Meryl Streep and Julianne Moore in the 2002 film. Both the movie and the opera are based on Michael Cunningham’s 1999 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel.

If you read the book or saw the film you’ll remember The Hours is about three women from different time periods who all have a connection to Virginia Woolf’s novel Mrs. Dalloway.

Also appearing in the opera are Kathleen Kim, Denyce Graves, John Holiday, Sean Panikkar and more. Yannick Nézet-Séguin will conduct all but the last Met Opera performance on December 15th. Kensho Watanabe will conduct that performance. The production is by Phelim McDermott (Akhnaten).

“The idea came to me from Renée Fleming,” says composer Puts. “She was thinking about it and she thought how interesting to have an opera that takes place in three different time periods all at the same time. It was on her mind because she had just had lunch with Julianne Moore..” That’s how The Hours began its life as an opera written by Puts.

Earlier this year I spoke via Zoom with Puts who won the Pulitzer Prize for his first opera, Silent Night. What follows are excerpts from that conversation that have been edited for length and clarity.

Virginia Woolf once asked, “Why are women so much more interesting to men than men are to women?” Your opera of The Hours is based on a novel written by a man who was inspired by Woolf and is being created and directed by three men. What would you say to Woolf if given the opportunity to address her question?

I can’t answer why, but I would say for me women are more interesting as characters. I don’t know why. I love operas like Billy Budd, but these characters are fascinating and I like writing for the female voice very much.

Just before speaking with you I had the television on and I was flipping channels around and the movie Aliens was on. It’s the same thing, [director] James Cameron is fascinated with female heroines in his story. I don’t know exactly why.

My first opera was basically almost all men and now I’m starting to get my musical mind around having melodies that are essentially around middle “c” on the piano. That is a different kind of thing because then the harmony has to be in a different place, et cetera. I don’t like to get too technical, but it’s very natural for me to write for women’s voices. But that is a very Virginia Woolf thing to say and probably true as well.

You mentioned that, like the novel, your opera takes place in three different time periods. Musically how are those time periods reflected and is that necessary for an audience to stay on course with the story you are telling?

The piece has a very kind of otherworldly and kind of mystical feel to it. But definitely we want the audience to know what’s going on.

I didn’t have a real premeditated idea that there would be three different types of music, which would be extremely different and would signify the different characters. But I think it just happened naturally.

Virginia Woolf feels trapped in Richmond and she wants the wildness of the city. So there’ s a musical language and certain elements of that language which describe that for me. Then there’s her sort of manic desire for London. So there’s that kind of dichotomy in her music.

Laura Brown, the middle period character, was living outside of Los Angeles after World War II. WIth her husband and her three-year-old son, she feels trapped in sort of an alien domestic world that is not natural for her. So there’s a way of describing the world that she can’t fit into, which has its own language.

Clarissa, Renée Fleming’s character, has a kind of musical language that is characterized by Clarissa’s eternal optimism and radiance. She thinks everything will be fine if we just have the perfect party and we get the flowers exactly right.

I really do think of them as musical environments. They’re not leitmotifs, but they’re languages that I think are associated with the different characters and their situations.

This opera has been in the works for quite some time with Fleming, O’Hara and DiDonato attached. Did that allow you to write specifically for their voices?

It was very much written for the three of them because we hadn’t started writing yet. So I knew who we were writing for. I knew Renee’s voice very well having done a couple of projects with her. And I knew Kelli O’Hara’s voice from musical theater. I was talking to her a lot and finding out that she actually has an incredible range and she can sing the lyric soprano roles. And, of course, I knew Joyce DiDonato’s voice. The piece will continue to be written for the three of them over the next several months.

I really think that’s crucial for an opera to make sure that the principles really feel like they can deliver with their parts. It’s funny how minute the changes can be and sometimes that makes a big difference to them. It’s easy for me and actually really satisfying for me to develop these roles within the parts of their voice that work given the situation.

How did Greg Pierce become the writer you wanted to adapt Cunningham’s novel and create the libretto?

Greg had only done one opera, Fellow Travelers, which is a really successful opera with Gregory Spears. I read the libretto and I really liked it. I also liked the fact that he hadn’t done a lot of operas. He had done work in other areas: screenplays, et cetera. He showed me some poems that he wrote. I knew there would be a poetic element to the language. It’s what inspires me. I think that there has to be some poetry in the libretto. His enthusiasm for The Hours was clear. He had been thinking about it for years as a possibility as an opera. In our first conversation I felt like we were already writing it. It just felt natural once I met him.

In the spring of 2021 you had a workshop of the music with Cincinnati Opera. What did you and Greg learn from that session and how did it inform the subsequent work you’ve done on The Hours?

My score was marked in red. I just went to work immediately. Once you figure out what you need to do you just want to forget the past like it never happened.

I think that one of the really crucial scenes in the opera was entirely re-written. It’s a complicated scene actually. A couple of scenes between Clarissa and Richard. I need to work really hard at dialogue. I feel like it should all feel like part of a seamless musical flow and there should be real singing in the dialogue. It should flow naturally like a conversation that kind of ebbs and flows. So those scenes, in some ways, require the most work.

How did that work in the middle of the pandemic?

That was a heroic thing that they did. We were all in a massive ballroom and there were twelve singers – all of the masked in little separate booths with microphones. The pianist and the conductor were in the middle of the room and none of us could approach each other. But we got through the entire opera and we learned a ton from it.

Given that Mrs. Dalloway is so revered, as is the language of Virginia Woolf and that The Hours is revered both as a book and a movie for the language that Cunningham and screenwriter David Hare used, what challenges do you face in continuing with a successful telling of this story?

I think it always is the case when you’re working with a property that’s really known. It’s inevitable. They’re going to be reactions like “well, it’s not like this. And I love the book and it’s too bad that it’s not this way and that way.” It was certainly true of The Manchurian Candidate, my second opera. It was the same kind of challenge.

But I felt like when I began composing that I was doing things on my own terms. It just feels different – just the nature of the piece. I feel like it’s its own thing and it’s not going to feel like the book. It’s not going to feel like the film. The music has its own personality, I hope. But yeah, that’s definitely a challenge. I hope that people will listen to it on its own terms.

The nice thing is the book and the film will still exist independent of the opera.

As soon as Renée mentioned the book I started thinking about the possibilities that can happen on an opera stage that cannot happen in a film. You can’t split the screen in three ways. These stories can begin to intermingle and overlap and they can sing duets that transcend time. That was what was really exciting about it for me because with the language of music and harmony it’s possible to do that. So that’s why I wanted to do it.

I think about that all the time. What’s the point? But I think with this I really thought there was a point.

Michael Cunningham said in an interview when the novel was released that he felt that he entered into some kind of maturity with The Hours and that it was something only he could have written. I’m wondering if you could compare your own thoughts about your perspective of having written this opera at this point in your life and whether you’ve reached a certain kind of maturity and if only you could have written this.

I don’t feel that I’m the only composer who could have written this. But I do think that the way I like to approach opera is well suited to this story. The emotional situations; I live for these these things as a composer. I live for the moments when I can let these situations wash over me and let music come out. This is why I do it.

I think as far as maturity, I feel like now I understand how to not only how to write for voice and how to set the English language and the way I want to that really extracts all the musicality that’s possible out of it. i really love to set English as a language. But also I feel like I’ve kind of tempered my, what is often described in Silent Night, as a kind of a poly-stylistic approach. I’ve tempered that in a way that feels like it’s more cohesive and more kind of all me, even though there are references to different stylistic things that occur in the piece. So yeah, I feel like it was a good time for me to write this opera.

To see the full conversation with Kevin Puts, please go here.

Main Photo: Composer Kevin Puts (Photo by David White)

The post UPDATED: Composer Kevin Puts Discusses “The Hours” appeared first on Cultural Attaché.

Our top pick this week is actually a twofer. Jazz vocalist Jazzmeia Horn, who has taken the world by storm since her 2017 debut album A Social Call, is featured in two concerts you’ll want to watch this weekend.

With several operas, a very wide range of dance, play readings and more, it will seem at first glance like a pretty intense selection of programs. However, nothing is what it seems this week. Read about each of these programs and you’ll find they almost all represent a new way of telling both familiar and new stories.

Here are the Top Ten Best Bets: June 18th – June 21st.

*TOP PICK* JAZZ: Jazzmeia Horn – SFJAZZ – June 18th – 8:00 PM ET/5:00 PM PT and Cal Performances on demand through July 21st

This week’s Fridays at Five offering from SFJAZZ is a 2019 performance from the 37th San Francisco Jazz Festival in support of her second album, Love and Liberation.

She rose to prominence after winning the 2015 Thelonious Monk Institute International Jazz Competition.

In a 2017 review of a performance Horn gave at Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola in New York, Giovanni Russonello wrote in the New York Times after calling her one of the most talked-about jazz singers to emerge since Cécile McLorin Salvant and Gregory Porter:

“…she’s possessed of some distinctive tools, all of which were on display: a pinched, sassy tone in the highest register; a fondness for unguarded duets with her bassist (at Dizzy’s, it was Noah Jackson); an array of rough, pealing nonverbal sounds that add drama to codas and interludes, hinting at meanings in the music that go beyond what fits on the page.”

Should you be unable to catch the streaming of this concert on Friday, there is an encore showing on Saturday at 1:00 PM ET/10:00 AM PT. Tickets are $5 which includes a one-month digital membership to SFJAZZ.

If you want to explore more of what Horn can do (and perhaps see and hear how she evolved her performances and her set list almost two years later), you can check out a concert filmed at New York’s Le Poisson Rouge in February of this year for Cal Performances.

That concert is available for on-demand streaming with prices ranging from $5 for Cal students and $15 per non-student viewers up to $68 for those who have the ability to pay.

Horn is a force to be reckoned with. These two concerts allow you to chart her growth as, we hope, a new album will soon be on the horizon.

OPERA: Stravinsky’s Oedipus Rex – LA Opera – Now – July 18th

Igor Stravinsky composed this opera/oratorio in 1927. Based on the tragedy by Sophocles, it is a work for orchestra, speaker, soloists, and male chorus. If you believe you know well the story of Oedipus, I think you’ll be surprised at all the ultimately timely material to be found in this story.

For this filmed performance of Oedipus Rex, Los Angeles Opera has assembled a terrific ensemble.

Singing the title role is tenor Russell Thomas. The role of his mother, Jocasta, is sung by mezzo-soprano J’Nai Bridges. Creon and the Messenger are sung by John Relyea. Tiresias is sung by Morris Robinson. The role of the Shepherd is sung by Robert Stahley. Serving as narrator is Stephen Fry (via video).

James Conlon conducts the LA Opera orchestra.

I attended a rehearsal of this production two weeks ago (prior to a live performance in Los Angeles – LA Opera’s first live performance back in their home at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion). Collaborating with them is Manual Cinema. They are the Chicago-based company that did a truly memorable production of A Christmas Carol that was streamed last December (and was also a Best Bet).

At 50 minutes, this is a terrific way to get some opera into your weekend. And it’s free; though donations to LA Opera are encouraged.

If you want to see more of what Thomas and Bridges have to offer, let us remind you of LA Opera’s Signature Recital Series which has recitals by each of them available for streaming through the end of the month. Check out our preview here.

PLAY READING: Dear Elizabeth – Spotlight on Plays from Broadway’s Best Shows – Now – June 21st

You don’t need to know who poets Elizabeth Bishop and Robert Lowell were. You don’t need to know that they became very good friends, mostly through the hundreds of letters they wrote to each other. Nor that they had an affair. You don’t even need to know that this play, which had its New York premiere in 2015, is written by award-winning playwright Sarah Ruhl.

All you really need to know about this reading is that it stars Kevin Kline and Meryl Streep. The two famously appeared together in Sophie’s Choice. This was the film that earned Streep her second Academy Award. They also appeared as exes in Jonathan Demme’s Rikki and the Flash in 2015.

Not to be outdone, Kline won an Academy Award for his performance in A Fish Called Wanda.

They appeared on stage in the 2001 production of The Seagull and the 2006 production of Mother Courage and Her Children at the Delacorte Theater as part of The Public Theater’s Shakespeare in the Park series.

This seems like a pretty easy choice to make for your weekend plans. Why not see these incredibly talented actors together again? This is the final play in the Spotlight on Plays series. They are clearly going out on a high note.

Kate Whoriskey directs.

Tickets are $19 and allow for streaming through Monday, June 21st at 6:00 PM ET/3:00 PM PT. Proceeds benefit The Actors Fund and The Acting Company.

OPERA/MINI-SERIES: desert in – Boston Lyric Opera – Now available

As befits a project from the mind of James Darrah, desert in does not fit easily into any one category. It is a mini-series. It is an opera. It contains nudity. There’s strong sexual content and adult language. It also comes from the minds of playwright christopher oscar peña and Pulitzer-Prize winning composer Ellen Reid.

In other words, it’s like nothing you’ve seen before.

The stories of multiple characters swirl around a lodge in the desert and its swimming pool. A combination of trysts, betrayals and shamanic ceremonies result in the lodge’s owners Cass and Sunny and new guests Ion and Rufus caught up in its mysterious ways.

Appearing in desert in are mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard (for whom the project was written), soprano Talise Trevigne, Tony-nominated performer Justin Vivian Bond (Kiki & Herb Alive on Broadway), actors Carlis Shane Clark, Alexander Flores, Anthony Michael Lopez, Jon Orsini, Ricco Ross and Raviv Ullman with vocal performances by tenor Neal Ferreira, Tony Award-winner Jesus Garcia (La Bohème), baritone Edward Nelson, tenor Alan Pingarrón, soprano Brianna J. Robinson, mezzo-soprano Emma Sorenson and bass-baritone Davóne Tines.

Joining Reid in composing music for desert in are Michael Abels, Vijay Iyer, Nathalie Joachim, Nico Muhly, Emma O’Halloran, Wang Lu and Shelley Washington. Each one a truly fascinating composer.

Six of the eight episodes have been released and are available for viewing on operabox.tv. The final two episodes will be released in the next couple of weeks.

You have several options for viewing with varying price points. You can subscribe to operabox.tv, purchase on-demand streaming of the entire series or for individual episodes. Details can be found here.

CLASSICAL MEETS HIP-HOP: Common with the Los Angeles Philharmonic – Debuts June 18th

We’ve previewed the second season of the LA Philharmonic’s Sound/Stage series, but can attest from personal experience that seeing Common on the stage of the Hollywood Bowl with the orchestra is an event like few others. Frankly, it’s almost one of a kind, except that they created this 17-minute film available for free streaming that didn’t come from that concert.

Common is one of the most important and exciting performers in hip-hop. Gustavo Dudamel leads one of the most adventurous orchestras in this country. This pairing is going to please those who can’t imagine hip-hop with classical music institutions and those who can’t imagine a symphony orchestra with hip-hop.

Other episodes in this series are available for streaming and can be found at the link above.

OPERA: This Little Light of Mine – Kentucky Opera in collaboration with the Santa Fe Opera – June 19th – 6:00 PM ET/3:00 PM PT

Here’s a great opportunity to see a work truly in development. The Santa Fe Opera commissioned this opera inspired by the story of Fannie Lou Hamer. She was a voting rights activist whose relentless efforts lead to the passage of the Voting Rights Act in 1965.

Chandler Carter is the composer of This Little Light of Mine. The libretto is by Diana Solomon-Glover.

The two had previously collaborated on No Easy Walk to Freedom about Nelson Mandela. Solomon-Glover portrayed Winnie Mandela in that work.

On Saturday they will be streaming a workshop of This Little Light of Mine that was filmed on Monday at Kentucky Opera. This opera had been scheduled for a workshop last fall, but was cancelled due to the pandemic.

Nicole Joy Mitchell sings the role of Fannie Lou Hamer. Aundi Marie Moore sings the role of Dorothy Jean Hamer and Heather Hill sings the roles of June Johnson and an Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee Worker. The workshop is directed by Beth Greenberg.

There is no charge to watch This Little Light of Mine. It will be available on Kentucky Opera’s YouTube channel.

ONE-ACT PLAYS: Unmasked: A Theatrical Celebration of Black Women’s Liberation – The Wallis – Debuts June 19th

The Wallis collaborated with Black Rebirth Collective on Unmasked, one-act plays by four Black female playwrights that was filmed in the Lovelace Studio Theatre at The Wallis.

Those writers are: Ngozi Anyanwu, Jocelyn Bioh, Dominique Morisseau and Stacy Osei-Kuffour.

Anyanwu is best known for Good Grief, an award-winning play that was first performed at the Kirk Douglas Theatre in 2016. Her play is called G.O.A.T. which finds three close friends who try to determine who is the greatest of all time (hence the title) through a sacred ritual.

Bioh, best known for School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play, has written White-N-Luscious. While appearing on a talk show a Nigerian pop star and an Afro-British scholar face issues of self-representation and beauty standards.

Morisseau, who was Tony nominated for writing the book for Ain’t Too Proud and also wrote The Detroit Project trilogy of plays, contributes Jezelle the Gazelle. As the title perhaps alludes to, the title character is a young female runner who is easily the fastest on her block. But does she have the skill set to navigate what life has in store for her and still remain on top?

Osei-Kuffour’s work is called Madness. While handling an issue at work on a phone call, the protagonist is offered a new way to address the situation by a new colleague whom she doesn’t know. Osei-Kuffour’s ANIMALS was recorded by the Williamstown Theater Festival and can be heard on Audible.

The ensemble cast – Kelly M. Jenrett, Masha Mthembu, Candace Thomas and Jonah Wharton – are accompanied by violinist Katherine Washington. Unmasked was co-drected by Kimberly Hébert of Black Rebirth Collective and The Wallis’ Camille Jenkins.

Tickets are $19 for all four plays. If you only want to watch one of the plays, you can purchase a single ticket for $5. Please go here for details on ticket sales. Unmasked will be available for streaming on demand through July 2nd.

BROADWAY VOCALS: Jenn Colella – SETH Concert Series – June 20th – 3:00 PM ET/12:00 PM PT

I’ve never been lucky enough to see Broadway star and Tony-nominated actor Jenn Colella in any of the shows in which she’s appeared (Come From Away, If/Then, Chaplin, High Fidelity and Urban Cowboy). But that last show did lead to a chance to see her early in her career and I realized how special she was immediately.

Colella was a guest at a concert by composer Jason Robert Brown in North Hollywood. (He music directed Urban Cowboy). When she sang a couple songs with him it was like the best possible hurricane just blew into and through the theater.

I can only imagine what Colella will do this weekend as Seth Rudetsky’s guest in his concert series.

If you’re unable to see the live stream on Sunday as scheduled, there will be a re-stream of the show at 8:00 PM ET/5:00 PM the same day. Tickets for either showing are $25.

DANCE: Broadway Bares: Twerk from Home – Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS – June 20th – 9:00 PM ET/6:00 PM PT

Just as Broadway is on the cusp of coming back comes an annual tradition that is one of the toughest tickets in town. And because Broadway isn’t back yet…we all get a front row seat.

Broadway Bares is an annual dance/performance fundraiser, usually performed on a Broadway stage.

For the uninitiated, it is one where clothes become less necessary as each performance goes on. This year’s show is called Twerk from Home and it will debut on Sunday night.

Two-time Tony Award winning choreograph Jerry Mitchell (Kinky Boots, the 2005 revival of La Cage Aux Folles), is the creator of Broadway Bares and once again he directs this year’s show. Joining this year as co-directors are Laya Barak and Nick Kenkel.

Over 170 dancers are participating in Twerk from Home. Joining them will be Harvey Fierstein, J. Harrison Ghee, Jay Armstrong Johnson, Robyn Hurder, Peppermint and Jelani Remy who make special appearances. This year’s Broadway Bares culminates in a finale extravaganza that was filmed outdoors in Times Square.

There is no charge to watch Twerk from Home, but donations are encouraged. This is one of their biggest fundraisers of the year. Last year’s virtual edition raised $596,504 for Broadway Cares. You can watch the show on BC/EFA’s YouTube Channel.

MODERN DANCE: Future Dance Festival – 92Y – June 21st – July 4th

From a pool of 185 applicants, seven panelists selected 21 choreographer finalists to be part of the 92nd Street Y’s first Future Dance Festival. The goal of the festival is to pair emerging choreographers and creators with working directors.

Beginning on Monday, those 21 finalists will have their work showcased in three different programs that will all be available for free streaming.

Program 1 features work by Annie Rigney, Max Levy, Madison Elliott, Leonardo Sandoval, Burr Johnson, Nicole von Are and Brian Josiah Martinez.

Program 2 features works by Barkha Patel, Adrienne Lipson, Jessie Lee Thorne, William Ervin, Vera Kvarcakova & Jeremy Galdeano, Brian Golden and Caroline Payne.

Program 3 features works by Taylor Graham, Baye & Asa, Patrick Coker, Charly and Eriel Santagado, Jamal Callender, Beatrice Panero and Nicholas Ranauro.

The panelists, who come from Ballet Hispánico, Dance Magazine, Martha Graham Dance Company and other organizations, will introduce each work.

Registration is required.

Here ends the Top Ten Best Bets: June 18th – June 21st. But just a couple reminders:

The Metropolitan Opera celebrates Father’s Day with Verdi’s Rigoletto from the 1981-1982 season Friday; his Don Carlo from the 2010-2011 season on Saturday and his Luisa Miller from the 1978-1979 season Sunday. If you’re not a father, consider this the end of Verdi Week.

Next week the Met will be celebrating Pride Week. Monday that program gets launched with the 2017-2018 season production of Thomas Adés’ The Exterminating Angel. We’ll have the full line-up for you on Monday. We strongly recommend this opera.

Your last chance to watch A Tribute to John Williams from the Boston Pops Orchestra is Saturday. Film music fans, what are you waiting for?

On Monday South Coast Rep starts streaming the final production of their Pacific Playwrights Festival. It’s a concert performance of Harold & Lillian. You can find details here.

You’re now fully loaded with options to enjoy the performing arts this weekend. That’s all for this week’s Top Ten Best Bets: June 18th – June 21st.

Enjoy your weekend!

Photo: Jazzmeia Horn (Photo by Emmanuel Afolabi/Courtesy imnworld.com)

The post Top Ten Best Bets: June 18th – June 21st appeared first on Cultural Attaché.

With yesterday’s good news that those who are vaccinated can go around without masks with the exception of a few specified areas, it seems like only a matter of time before live events will come roaring back.

The question now is whether or not all the streaming events of the past 15 months will become a relic of the era or a regular part of our cultural experience. Only time will tell.

For now, there are still plenty of great programs available for viewing. Topping our list is MCC Theater’s Miscast 2021 Gala. There are two other gala events, a new musical reading, a vintage classical music concert, new music, a play reading and more.

Here are the Best Bets: May 14th – May 17th.

*TOP PICK* – Miscast 2021 – MCC Theater – May 16th – May 20th

Yesterday we posted a full preview of this event, but here’s what makes this show so entertaining: Broadway stars perform songs separately or with others they would never be cast to sing. For instance, Robert Fairchild sings this song from the musical Sweet Charity in a clip from last year’s “quarantine” edition of Miscast.

This year’s line-up includes Annaleigh Ashford (Sunday in the Park with George), Melissa Barrera (In the Heights), Gavin Creel (Hello, Dolly!), Robin de Jesús (The Boys in the Band), Renée Elise Goldsberry (Hamilton), Leslie Grace (In the Heights), Cheyenne Jackson (Finian’s Rainbow), Jai’Len Josey (SpongeBob SquarePants), LaChanze (Summer: The Donna Summer Musical), Idina Menzel (Wicked), Kelli O’Hara (Kiss Me, Kate), Billy Porter (Kinky Boots), Kelly Marie Tran (Raya and the Last Dragon), Aaron Tveit (Moulin Rouge) and Patrick Wilson (The Full Monty).

This is a free event, though donations are encouraged.

PLAY READING: Watch on the Rhine – Broadway’s Best Shows – Now – May 17th

Lillian Hellman’s Watch on the Rhine had its world premiere at the Martin Beck Theater on April 1, 1941. Her play tells the story of a German man, Mueller, married to an American woman, who is involved with anti-fascist causes in Europe. While visiting his wife’s relatives in Washington, D.C., another guest, also staying with the family, blackmails Mueller after discovering Mueller is planning to send money to aid underground operations in Germany.

For this reading as part of Spotlight on Plays, Ellen Burstyn, Alan Cox, Carla Gugino, Mary Beth Peil and Jeremy Shamos star in this reading directed by Sarna Lapine.

Tickets are $18 with the reading available for viewing through Monday at 6:00 PM ET/3:00 PM PT. Proceeds from the reading benefit The Actors Fund.

Trivia: Two years later a film version of Watch on the Rhine was released starring Bette Davis and Paul Lukas (reprising his role from Broadway). The film was nominated for four Academy Awards including Best Picture. Lukas won for Best Actor.

DANCE: Stephen Petronio Company – The Joyce Theater – Now – May 26th

There are five works being showcased in this new film by the Stephen Petronio Company, the New York-based dance company that was founded in 1984.

Two of the five pieces being performed are set to songs made famous by Elvis Presley: Are You Lonesome Tonight and Love Me Tender.

There are two versions of Are You Lonesome Tonight being performed. Love Me Tender was originally performed in 1993 in a collaboration with artist Cindy Sherman.

New Prayer For Now (Part 1) has its debut in this film. Petronio was inspired by Balm in Gilead and Bridge Over Troubled Water when creating New Prayer…. Monstah Black (who is also a dancer and choreographer in addition to being a musician) composed the music and performs with the Young People’s Chorus of New York City.

The program wraps up with a new version of Group Primary Accumulation by Trisha Brown and Pandemic Portraits, a film by Dancing Camera.

Tickets are $25.

CLASSICAL MUSIC: Berlin Philharmonic 1967 – Carnegie Hall – May 14 – May 21st

Herbert von Karajan leads the Berliner Philharmoniker in a performance of Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with soloist Alexis Weissenberg.

This is amongst the most popular concerti in the world. But if Weissenberg’s name isn’t familiar to today’s audiences, this quote from his obituary by Maraglit Fox in the New York Times defines his reputation:

“Mr. Weissenberg possessed a technical prowess rivaled by few other pianists. The ice of his demeanor at the keyboard (he sat, leaned forward and got down to business, playing with scarcely a smile or grimace) was matched by the fire that came off the keys.” (Weissenberg passed away in 2012.)

There is no charge to watch this performance. This is the first of a new series Carnegie Hall Selects featuring performances by artists who played major roles in the 130-year history of the venue.

BROADWAY VOCALS: Jose Llana: Broadway Stories & Songs with Ted Sperling – May 14th – 8:00 PM ET/5:00 PM PT

Broadway star Jose Llana is Ted Sperling‘s guest for Broadway Stories & Songs. Llana has been seen in The King and I, Rent, Street Corner Symphony, Flower Drum Song, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee and Wonderland on Broadway.

I first saw him in Flower Drum Song at the Mark Taper Forum. I also saw him in the incredible show Here Lies Love at the Public Theater.

He also performed Adam Guettel’s song cycle Saturn Returns (later renamed Myths and Hymns) which is where he and Sperling first worked together.

If you can’t see the show on Friday, there is an encore showing scheduled for May 15th at 2:00 PM ET/11:00 AM PT. Tickets for either showing are $25. You can watch the show a second time if you buy tickets for the Friday night showing.

JAZZ: Robert Glasper: Everything’s Beautiful – SFJAZZ – May 14th – 8:00 PM ET/5:00 PM PT

This 2018 concert found innovative musician/composer Robert Glasper putting his own spin on works by Miles Davis for his album Everything’s Beautiful. Glasper’s music was featured in Don Cheadle’s film Miles Ahead from 2015.

If you don’t know Glasper or his work, he’s one of the most interesting artists working in jazz today. He’s also collaborated with Erykah Badu, Herbie Hancock, Kendrick Lamar, Ledisi and Jill Scott.

Joining Glasper in this performance are vocalist Bilal; Michael Severson on guitars; Burniss Travis on bass and Justin Tyson on drums.

If you can’t watch Friday night’s showing that is part of SFJAZZ’s Fridays at Five series, there is an encore showing on Saturday, May 15th at 1:00 PM ET/10:00 AM PT. Tickets require either a one-month digital membership for $5 or a $50 annual digital membership.

MUSICAL: Breathe: A New Musical – May 14th – July 9th

Playwright Timothy Allen McDonald (Roald Dahl’s Willy Wonka) and novelist Jodi Picoult (The Book of Two Ways) have teamed up for this new musical suite that features interlocking stories of five different couples navigating their way through the Covid pandemic and its impact on their lives.

The songs were written by Doug Besterman (The Big One-Oh!), Zina Goldrich (Ever After), Marcy Heisler (Hollywood Romance), Kate Leonard (Ratatouille: The TiKTok Musical), Douglas Lyons (Peter, Darling), Daniel J. Mertzlufft (Ratatouille: The TikTok Musical), Rebecca Murillo (Credence & Cecilia), Ethan Pakchar (Five Points), Rob Rokicki (The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical) and Sharon Vaughn (My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys).

Appearing in this online musical are Tony Award winners Kelli O’Hara and Brian Stokes Mitchell along with Denée Benton (Hamilton), Rubén J. Carbajal (Hamilton), Max Clayton (Moulin Rouge), Josh Davis (Beautiful: The Carole King Musical), Colin Donnell (Anything Goes), Matt Doyle (the upcoming revival of Company), Patti Murin (Frozen), T. Oliver Reid (Hadestown), and Daniel Yearwood (Once on This Island).

Tickets are $25 to watch Breathe. If you want to join the official opening night on Friday, May 14th at 8:00 PM ET/5:00 PM PT, those tickets are $40 and includes an post-premiere cast party and a download of the music from the show.

CONTEMPORARY SONG CYCLE: Dorothea – CAP UCLA – Debuts May 15th – 10:00 PM ET/7:00 PM PT

Ted Hearne, one of our most fascinating and interesting composes, has created a song cycle inspired by the poetry of Dorothea Lasky.

Lasky is an acclaimed poet who told the LA Review of Books, “I do believe it’s better not to be safe in your poems.” As a composer, Hearne also doesn’t play it safe.

They both are utterly compelling. This combination should double down on that and prove to be very exciting to watch.

Hearne was a Pulitzer Prize finalist for his 2018 composition Sound From the Bench. Both Los Angeles Opera and San Francisco Opera performed his opera The Source about Chelsea Manning.

Hearne will be singing vocals in this performance. Joining him are Eliza Bagg on vocals and synths; Ashley Bathgate on cello; Nathan Koci on piano/keyboards; Diana Wade on viola; Ron Wiltrout on drums and Ayanna Woods on bass.   

There is no charge to watch Dorothea. Donations to CAP UCLA are encouraged.

CLASSICAL MUSIC: Nadia Sirota, Gabriel Cabezas and Rob Moose – The Phillips Collections – Debuts May 16th – 4:00 PM ET/1:00 PM PT

Johann Sebastian Bach’s Trio Sonata No. 6 in G Major, BWV 530 serves as the foundation for this performance by violist Nadia Sirota, cellist Gabriel Cabezas and violinist Rob Moose.

The concert will begin and end with a movement from the sonata with a third movement at the halfway point.

Interspersed amongst the concert are works by three of today’s most interesting contemporary composers: Marcos Batler, Missy Mazzoli and Nico Muhly.

Sirota is also the music producer for Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra’s Close Quarters series.

There is no charge to watch this performance, however registration is required. The program will remain available for viewing through May 22nd.

PLAY READING: Sejanus, His Fall – Red Bull Theater – Debuts May 17th – 7:30 PM ET/4:30 PM PT

New York’s Red Bull Theater will present a new adaptation of Ben Johnson’s 17th-century play Sejanus, His Fall on Monday night. The adaptation is by Nathan Winkelstein, who also directs.

The play depicts a power struggle between Tiberius, the Emperor of Rome and Sejanus, his right-hand man. Sejanus covets being the emperor. Tiberius has no desire to make that a possibility. Factions line up behind each man and the power struggle begins with all of our own contemporary issues surrounding politics and power at play.

Participating in the reading are: Shirine Babb (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child), Grantham Coleman (The Great Society), Keith David (Seven Guitars), Manoel Felciano (To Kill a Mockingbird), Denis O’Hare (Assassins), Matthew Rauch (Junk), Liv Rooth (To Kill a Mockingbird), Laila Robins (Heartbreak House), Stephen Spinella (Angels in America), Emily Swallow (High Fidelity), Raphael Nash Thompson (The Red Letter Plays), Tamara Tunie (Radio Golf) and James Udom (The Rolling Stone).

Tickets are pay what you can with proceeds going to Red Bull Theater.

CONCERT/GALA: Stand Up, Stand Strong – Covenant House – May 17th – 8:00 PM ET/5:00 PM PT

Sara Bareilles, Stephanie J. Block, Jon Bon Jovi, Zach Braff, Terron Brooks, Rachel Brosnahan, Stephen Colbert, Charlie Day, Darius De Haas, Ariana DeBose, Mary Elizabeth Ellis, Morgan Freeman, Jon Hamm, Adrianna Hicks, James Monroe Iglehart, Capathia Jenkins, Jewel, Jeremy Jordan, Amanda Kloots, Ames McNamara, Laurie Metcalf, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Abby Mueller, Alex Newell, Desus Nice and The Kid Mero, Kelli O’Hara, Laura Osnes, Dolly Parton, Jo Ellen Pellman, Ben Platt, Jason Ralph, Ryan Reynolds, Chita Rivera, Robin Roberts, Aliza Russell, Keala Settle, Tony Shalhoub, Meryl Streep, Ana Villafañe, Dionne Warwick, Marlon Wayans, Frank Wildhorn, Vanessa Williams, Daniel Yearwood and more will join co-hosts Audra McDonald and John Dickerson for this annual fundraiser for Covenant House.

The organization provides shelter for homeless youth living on the streets. They have helped more than one million youth since their inception more than 40 years ago.

This gala fundraiser will offer music, stories and more. There is no charge to watch the show, however donations are encouraged. For a list of the many ways you can watch Stand Up, Stand Strong, please go here.

VOCALS/STORIES: Jim Caruso’s Pajama Cast Party – May 17th – 8:00 PM ET/5:00 PM PT

Though Jim Caruso has multiple guests for this Monday’s 58th episode of Pajama Cast Party, I can sum up the reason to tune into this particular episode with two words: Marilyn Maye.

That’s the official list of Best Bets: May 14th – May 17th. Here are also a few reminders:

Lincoln Center Theater’s Tales from the Wings, which we previewed here, will remain available through Monday, May 17th. This is a must for theater fans.

The Los Angeles Philharmonic debuts Chamber Music: Piazzolla in their Filmed at the Ford series. You can find details here.

This weekend’s offering from the Metropolitan Opera include the documentary The Audition on Friday; Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia from the 2014-2015 season on Saturday and Donizetti’s Roberto Devereux from the 2015-2016 season on Sunday.

Sunday will also be the finals of the National Council Auditions at the Met at 3:00 PM ET/12:00 PM PT.

Monday begins Week 62 at the Met where the theme is Unhinged Mad Scenes. The first production being streamed is the 2006-2007 season production of Bellini’s I Puritani with Anna Netrebko.

There are just two weeks left to see Sutton Foster’s Bring Me to Light. You can find details in our preview here.

There you have a jam-packed list of Best Bets: May 14th – May 17th.

Enjoy your weekend and enjoy the shows!

Photo: Renée Elise Goldsberry (Photo by Justin Bettman/Courtesy MCC Theater)

The post Best Bets: May 14th – May 17th appeared first on Cultural Attaché.

So if you love musicals, Broadway vocalists and cabaret shows, this list is for you! First up are those with specific dates, followed by programming that is already available and has a specific end date.

Here are my Musicals/Cabaret Best Bets for the Holidays:

A Catalina Christmas – December 24th – 10:00 PM EST/7:00 PM PST

Los Angeles’ Catalina Jazz Club is holding a holiday concert to help raise money to keep the club alive. In addition to their many jazz concerts, the venue features many stars of stage and screen performing their cabaret acts.

This concert will feature Rogelio Douglas, Jr., Chad Doreck, Anthony Fedorov, Joely Fisher, Jason Graae, David Hernandez, Niki Haris, Aaron Lazar, Jennifer Paz, Alisan Porter, Joan Ryan, Jake Simpson, Tyrone Mr. SuperFantastic, plus Thelma Houston and many more! Bruce Vilanch serves as host.

There is no charge to watch the concert on Catalina Jazz Club’s Facebook Page. Donations to its Go Fund Me campaign are encouraged.

Two by Two: The 50th Anniversary Virtual Concert – December 25th – December 28th

While we’re all familiar with the story of Noah and his ark, fewer of us are familiar with this 1970 musical from Richard Rodgers (Pal Joey), Martin Charnin (Annie) and Peter Stone (1776). The musical was not only based on the biblical story, but on a play called The Flowering Peach by Clifford Odets.

Celebrating this Golden anniversary are Karen Ziemba (Contact); Nikita Burshteyn (Mark Saltzman’s Romeo & Bernadette); Frank Calamaro (Man of La Mancha); Marcy DeGonge Manfredi (Phantom of the Opera), N’Kenge (Motown the Musical); Michael Notardonato (Mark Saltzman’s Romeo & Bernadette), and Sophia Tzougros.

Walter Willison, who played Japeth in the original production, plays Noah and also directs the virtual reading.

There’s no charge to watch Two by Two, however donations to The Actors Fund are strongly encouraged.

Sondheim Unplugged – Feinstein’s/54 Below – December 26th – January 9th

A popular series at New York’s Feinstein’s/54 Below is Sondheim Unplugged. It’s a series that examines Stephen Sondheim’s work through stories, anecdotes and performance.

The series returns online beginning at 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST on December 26th. The cast for this inaugural virtual version features Darius de Haas (Shuffle Along, Or the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All that Followed), cabaret singer Natalie Douglas, Telly Leung (Aladdin), T. Oliver Reid (Once on This Island), Nicholas Rodriguez (The Sound of Music) and Lucia Spina (South Pacific). Creator Phil Geoffrey Bond is the host and Joe Goodrich is the Music Director.

The show will remain on demand through January 9th. Tickets are $25.

A Very Weimar Christmas – Club Cumming Presents – December 30th – 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST

Alan Cumming and his New York City Club Cumming are presenting a different holiday show.

Australian Kim David Smith is the star and creator of A Very Weimar Christmas, a show he first performed at Club Cumming last December.

Imagine Cabaret meets Christmas meets Ute Lemper meets the Scissor Sisters. Or perhaps David Bowie’s German recording era as a filter for a 1930s Christmas show.

It should be quite entertaining and provocative.

Tickets are $10. There is one-time only showing. No additional re-streaming.

John Lloyd Young NYE Show – Feinstein’s at Vitello’s – December 31st – 11:00 PM EST/8:00 PM PST

Tony Award-winner John Lloyd Young (Jersey Boys) performs live from Los Angeles’ Feinstein’s at Vitello’s in this New Year’s Eve concert.

While he’s best known for his performance as Frankie Valli, I always think of him for his sublime performance of A Multitude of Amys, a song by Stephen Sondheim cut from the musical Company.

Tickets are $36.75 (which includes service charges). The show will be available on demand for 24 hours. Ticket buyers will have the ability to watch the show for seven days after purchase.

An Evening with Audra McDonald – New York City Center – Now – January 3rd

New York City Center’s Gala Concert earlier this month with Tony Award winner Audra McDonald has been extended through January 3rd. This 75-minute concert features McDonald with accompanist/music director Andy Einhorn.

Beautifully filmed and recorded you’ll hear songs that have been part of McDonald’s repertoire for quite some time and others that might surprise you.

Tickets are $35.

If you haven’t seen McDonald in her Tony Award-winning performance as Billie Holiday in Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill, that is available to stream on HBO.

Broadway Close-Up – Kaufman Music Center – Now – January 15th

For $40 you can stream three concert/lectures about significant figures in musical theatre: Oscar Hammerstein II, Dorothy Fields and Stephen Schwartz.

Hammerstein is the book writer/lyricist best known for his collaborations with Richard Rodgers that yielded the musicals South Pacific, The King and I, Oklahoma! and The Sound of MUsic.

Fields is the book writer/lyricist who collaborated on the musicals Annie Get Your Gun, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Redhead and Sweet Charity.

Schwartz is the composer behind the juggernaut musical Wicked as well as the shows Pippin, Godspell and Rags.

Performing their songs in this three-part series are Broadway stars Clifton Duncan (The Play That Goes Wrong) and Nikki Renée Daniels (Company, Hamilton, Porgy and Bess) and jazz vocalist Gabrielle Stravelli.

Each show is one hour and is hosted by Sean Hartley. Videos will be available through January 15th.

Lyrics and Lyricists: Preludes – 92nd Street Y – Now – December 31st

All five episodes of the 92nd Street Y’s Lyrics and Lyricists: Preludes series are available for streaming. Each show is $15 or you can get all five for $60.

The five episodes celebrate the work of George Gershwin; Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt; Richard Rodgers, Mary Rodgers and Adam Guettel; Jule Styne and finally Music from Films.

The cast for this series includes Farah Alvin, Allison Blackwell, Nikki Renée Daniels, Katherine Henley, Jeff Kready, James T. Lane, Telly Leung, Kara Lindsay, Julia Murney, Zachary Noah Pisner, Zachary Prince, Pearl Sun and Mariand Torres. The narrator is Beth Malone.

Each show, written and music directed by Paul Masse, runs one hour. This series is available through December 31st.

Meet Me in St. Louis – Irish Rep – Now – January 2nd

I’ve previously written about this revised stage adaption of the classic 1944 film that starred Judy Garland. This version, from Irish Rep, stars Melissa Errico and Max von Essen. Not only do you get some classic songs like The Boy Next Door and The Trolley Song, you get the holiday season standard, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.

Tickets are Pay What You Can with a suggested donation of $25.

American Utopia – HBO

If you have HBO and have yet to experience David Byrne’s American Utopia, you should stop reading and start watching. This exciting, thought-provoking, energetic and unique concert/Broadway show.

Spike Lee directed the film and huge acknowledgement must go to Director of Photography Ellen Kuras. She makes American Utopia feel like both a Broadway show and an intimate experience.

Encores! Archives Project YouTube Channel

Have you ever gone digging through New York City Center’s YouTube channel? It’s a treasure trove of clips from dozens of their Encores! productions of musicals with some of Broadway’s finest talent. These aren’t full shows, but there’s so much to enjoy.

What can you find? Jerry Herman’s Mack & Mabel; Renée Elise Goldsberry in a 2013 production of I’m Getting My Act Together and Taking It On the Road; 2015’s production of Andrew Lippa’s The Wild Party; Laura Benanti in The Most Happy Fella from 2014; Kelli O’Hara in the 2010 production of Bells Are Ringing; Jake Gyllenhaal in Sunday in the Park with George; Lin Manuel-Miranda, Colin Donnell, Celia Keenan-Bolger and Betsy Wolfe in Merrily We Roll Along from 2012; Idina Menzel in Hair and so much more.

Once you get started you’ll be surprised how much time has passed. And it’s all free to view.

The Prom – Netflix

This musical didn’t last long on Broadway, but it had legions of passionate followers.

The Prom began life at Alliance Theatre in Atlanta. Written by Matthew Sklar with lyrics by Chad Beguelin and a book by Bob Martin and Beguelin, the musical tells the story of a group of Broadway stars facing the closure of their musical on opening night trying to find somewhere to direct their energy.

They zero in on a high school girl who wants to take her girlfriend to the prom, but the school won’t let her. Enter the Broadway stars to rescue the girl and their egos.

Ryan Murphy directed the film which stars James Corden, Ariana DeBose, Keegan-Michael Key, Nicole Kidman, Jo Ellen Pellman, Andrew Rannells, Meryl Streep and Kerry Washington.

Seth Rudetsky Concert Series – Now – January 3rd

Seth Rudetsky is making available for streaming many of this fall’s concerts with Braodway’s biggest stars. The line-up features Liz Callaway, La Chanze, Melissa Errico, Cheyenne Jackson, Rachel Bay Jones, Judy Kuhn, Beth Leavel, Beth Malone, Audra McDonald, Jessie Mueller, Karen Olivo, Orfeh and Andy Karl, Keala Settle and Lillias White.

These shows feature Rudetsky on keyboards at his home while the performers are in their own homes singing. There’s plenty of storytelling and conversation mixed in with the music.

Tickets are $20 for each concert or $15/each if you purchase all of them.

If you want to watch new live performances, Kerry Butler is joining Rudetsky live on December 27th at 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST (with a re-run on December 28th at 3:00 PM EST/12:00 PM PST). On January 3rd, Alex Brightman performs live with a re-run on January 4th (same times). These tickets are $25.

Those are my Musicals/Cabaret Best Bets for the Holidays. I have additional recommendations for Classical, Dance and Jazz if you want even more choices.

Enjoy the holidays!

Photo: Music Center Holidays (Photo by Craig L. Byrd)

The post Musicals/Cabaret Best Bets for the Holidays appeared first on Cultural Attaché.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Tickets are $20.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Photo: Sharon Needles (Courtesy Club Cumming)

The post Halloween Tricks and Treats for Culture Vultures appeared first on Cultural Attaché.

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)

The post Forward. Together. – The Public Theater appeared first on Cultural Attaché.

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.

The post We Are One Public – POSTPONED appeared first on Cultural Attaché.

Joining McDonald as host of this event is John Dickerson of 60 Minutes. Both he and McDonald are on the board of The Covenant House.

They’ve assembled quite the line-up of performances and appearances for tonight’s event. Amongst the scheduled participants are Meryl Streep, Diane Keaton, Jon Bon Jovi, Rachel Brosnahan, Stephen Colbert, Martin Short, Dolly Parton, Dionne Warwick, Stephen J. Block, Tony Shalhoub, Charlie Day, Chris O’Dowd, Zachary Levi, Zachary Quinto, Robin Thicke, Deborah Cox, Quentin Earl Darrington, Ariana DeBose, Darius de Haas, Mary Elizabeth Ellis, Eden Espinosa, Jordan Fisher, Stephanie Hsu, Randy Jackson, Capathia Jenkins, Jeremy Jordan, Ramona Keller, Alex Newell, Karen Olivo, Dawn O’Porter, Laura Osnes, Benj Pasek, Jodi Picoult, Shereen Pimentel, Andrew Rannells, Keala Settle, Jake David Smith, Will Swenson, Bobby Conte Thornton, Ana Villafane, Frank Wildhorn, the Broadway Inspirational Voices Choir, Covenant House Youth and more!

The producer of this event is two-time Tony nominee Jeff Calhoun (Newsies! and Grease), who is also on the board at The Covenant House.

The activities of The Covenant House are not exclusive to New York City. They are a multi-national organization providing support of homeless and trafficked youth in 31 cities in six countries. They have been active for nearly 50 years and have expanded their efforts to include and the front-line staff working around the clock to keep these youth safe during the COVID-19 crisis.

In addition to Broadway on Demand, A Night of Covenant House Stars can be streamed on iHeartRadio Broadway, Facebook, Twitch, YouTube, and Stars in the House.

Photo of Audra McDonald courtesy of her website.

The post A Night of Covenant House Stars appeared first on Cultural Attaché.

King Lear – Stratford Festival Website – Now – May 14th

Canada’s Stratford Festival is considered one of the finest theatre festivals in the world. In 2014 they began filming their productions of William Shakespeare’s plays. For the first time, they are making these films available for free viewing.

Launching the series is production of King Lear starring Colm Feore as Lear with Maev Beaty as Goneril, Sara Farb as Codelia, Liisa Repo-Martell as Regan and Stephen Oumiette as The Fool. Artistic Director Antoni Cimolino helmed the production.

Each film will be available for three weeks with a new title being released every Friday. Next week we will have full details of all the titles available for viewing and when they begin streaming.

Metropolitan Opera At-Home Gala – Met Opera Website – April 25th 1 PM EDT/10 AM PDT

This is a star-studded event of opera’s finest singers performing live from their homes all around the world. Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin (who will also play piano) and General Manager Peter Gelb host this event. Amongst the scheduled participants are Jonas Kaufmann, Anna Netrebko, Renée Fleming and Bryn Terfel. For our full preview go here.

Gabrielle Stravelli & Pat O’Leary Facebook Live Concert – Facebook – April 25th – 7 PM EDT/4 PM PDT

If you love the great American songbook, jazz and great singing, you should take time to hear Gabrielle Stravelli who will be performing with bassist Pat O’Leary on Saturday from their home.

The duo will play standards, originals, and some wonderful lesser-known songs. If you want to make requests for a specific song, you can do so on her Facebook page (the same link as in the event’s title.)

Cyprus Avenue – BritWeek at Home – April 25th – 10 PM EDT/7 PM PDT

BritWeek, an annual celebration of all things British, is usually held in venues across Los Angeles. This year, they’ve moved evertyhing online for Britweek at Home. Amongst their finest offerings is this film of the Royal Court Theatre and Abbey Theatre production of David Ireland’s play Cyprus Avenue.

Stephen Rea (V for Vendetta, The Butcher Boy) stars as a Belfast Loyalist. In the midst of a psychotic episode he somehow confuses his five-week old granddaughter for former Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams. Fearing that his cultural heritage is under attack, he has no choice by to act.

Cyprus Avenue was directed by Vicky Featherstone and this film combines footage shot in Belfast with a filmed live performance of the play. The production received rave reviews and multiple awards.

There is a warning on the theatre’s website about the play’s content advising: Cyprus Avenue contains strong language, discussion of sectarian themes and scenes of extreme violence that some viewers may find disturbing.

Salsa Class with Debbie Allen – Debbie Allen’s Instagram Account – April 26th – 4 EDT/1 PM PDT

Want to get some exercise while staying safer at home? You can join Debbie Allen for a live salsa class online at her Instagram account (@therealdebbieallen) for an hour of fun, dance and exercise.

This will be a live-stream event. If you’ve ever wanted to take a dance class, but were afraid of looking clumsy, no worries about that here. The only ones who will know how good or bad are you are the people with whom you live.

Take Me To the World: A Sondheim 90th Birthday Celebration – Broadway.com and their YouTube Page – April 26th 8 PM EDT/5 PM PDT

You can read a full description of this event here on our website. Simply put, over 40 of the biggest names in Broadway and film will perform songs by Stephen Sondheim. The participants include Meryl Streep, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Ben Platt, Bernadette Peters, Patti LuPone and so many more join host and producer Raúl Esparza.

BalletBoyz: Deluxe – BritWeek at Home – April 26th 10 PM EDT/7 PM PDT

Founded by Michael Nunn and William Trevit (principal dancers with The Royal Ballet) in 1999, BalletBoyz is an all-male dance company. They specialize in new work by collaborating with contemporary choreographers and using new music.

Misty Copeland of the American Ballet Theatre will introduce the online world premiere of Deluxe which proved quite popular when the company toured with the program.

LA Master Chorale performs Brahms’ Requiem – April 26th – 10 PM EDT/7PM PDT

Regular Los Angeles Master Chorale performances took place at 7 PM on Sundays. To honor that tradition and to acknowledge the sheltering at home guidelines, they are releasing recordings from previous concerts. A new concert will be available every Sunday.

This weekend’s concert comes from a 2018 performance of The Brahms Requiem. The concert opens with David Lang’s where you go, a re-writing of the composer’s favorite memory from the Book of Ruth. The Master Chorale gave the West Coast premiere of Lang’s work.

Ein deutsches Requiem by Brahms is considered one of the great requiems. To perform this work requires a full orchestra, 100 singers plus soloists. Jeanine De Bique – soprano and Justin Hopkins – bass baritone were the soloists for this concert.

We have a preview of the introduction to this concert to share with you.

Each recording remains available for a week after it is first posted online.

These are our selections as your Best Bets at Home: April 24th – April 26th.

Photo of Colm Feore by Don Dixon, Digital Artist: Krista Dodson/Courtesy of the Stratford Festival

The post Culture Best Bets at Home: April 24th – 26th appeared first on Cultural Attaché.

On March 22nd, composer/lyricist Stephen Sondheim turned 90. This spring was scheduled to have countless concerts, tributes and special events. Of course, those had to be cancelled. So Raúl Esparza, who has appeared in several Sondheim musicals, decided to put together a virtual concert to celebrate the man he calls “Steve.” Take Me the World: A Sondheim 90th Birthday Celebration will be streamed on Broadway.Com’s website and their YouTube channel on Sunday, April 26th at 8 PM EDT/5 PM PDT.

Who did Esparza, who will also serve as host, get to celebrate Steve? Only some of the biggest names of stage and screen:

Meryl Streep who appeared in the film version of Into the Woods and also performed in The Frogs while a student at Yale.

Bernadette Peters who has appeared in Sunday in the Park with George, Into the Woods, a revival of Gypsy (Sondheim wrote the lyrics), revivals of A Little Night Music and Follies, plus Bed and a Chair.

Mandy Patinkin who also appeared in Sunday in the Park with George.

Patti LuPone who has appeared in revivals of Sweeney Todd, Gypsy plus the recently postponed revival of Company and a concert version of the same show from 2012.

Katrina Lenk her co-star from Company.

Laura Benanti who played LuPone’s daughter in Gypsy. She also appeared in a revival of Into the Woods.

Michael Cerveris who appeared opposite LuPone in Sweeney Todd and was also in the Broadway production of Assassins, will appear. He also appeared in a production of Passion.

Audra McDonald who appeared in the same production of Passion. As will Donna Murphy who originated the role of Fosca in Passion.

Neil Patrick Harris will be performing. He appeared in the same production of Assassins with Cerveris and also a concert version of Company with LuPone.

Jake Gyllenhaal and Annaleigh Ashford who starred in the most recent revival of Sunday in the Park with George.

Christine Baranski who appeared in productions of Sweeney Todd in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. and a London concert performance of Follies.

Brian Stokes Mitchell who was Sweeney opposite Baranski in Washington, D.C.

Sutton Foster who played The Baker’s Wife in the Hollywood Bowl production of Into the Woods.

Kelli O’Hara who appeared in the 2001 revival of Follies. She also sang a gorgeous version of Take Me To The World from Evening Primrose on the recent one-night-only return of the Rosie O’Donnell Show.

Aaron Tveit who appeared in a production of Company.

Brandon Uranowitz who appeared in Encores! Off-Center production of Road Show with Esparza.

Maria Friedman who has appeared in London productions of Sunday in the Park with George, Passion and Merrily We Roll Along.

Lin-Manuel Miranda who has also appeared in a production of Merrily We Roll Along.

Melissa Errico who appeared opposite Esparza in a production of Sunday in the Park with George and also appeared in Do I Hear a Waltz? and an off-Broadway production of Passion.

Judy Kuhn, Errico’s co-star from that production of Passion.

Ben Platt and Beanie Feldstein who are currently starring in Richard Linklater’s film version of Merrily We Roll Along.

Elizabeth Stanley who appeared in Company with Esparza.

Linda Lavin who appeared in the Kennedy Center’s 2011 revival of Follies.

Chip Zien original cast member of the first production of Into the Woods.

Lea Salonga who played Mrs. Lovett in a production of Sweeney Todd in the Philippines.

Ann Harada, Austin Ku, Kelvin Moon Loh and Thom Sesma who all appeared in an off-Broadway production of Pacific Overtures.

Of course, you don’t have to ever have appeared in one of Sondheim’s shows to be part of this concert. Just ask Kristin Chenoweth, Josh Groban, Iain Armitage, composer Stephen Schwartz and Randy Rainbow who will be participating.

If that isn’t enough, there are scheduled to be special appearances by Victor Garber (Sweeney Todd), Joanna Gleason (Into the Woods), Nathan Lane (the Broadway production of The Frogs and a revival of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum) and director Steven Spielberg (the remake of West Side Story).

Mary-Mitchell Campbell, who also worked with Esparza on Company, is the music director for the concert. Take Me to the World also serves a fundraiser for ASTEP (Artists Striving to End Poverty,) an organization Campbell created with Juilliard students.

The date of April 26th was not casually chosen. It marks the 50th anniversary of the debut of the Sondheim/George Furth musical Company on Broadway. The revival of Company was set to open on March 22nd (Sondheim’s birthday). Producers hope to re-open the show, which had been in previews, once it is safe to do so.

So what will you be doing on Sunday? I know where I’ll be. Celebrating the 90th birthday of the greatest living composer of Broadway musicals. I’m looking forward to hearing each and every one of them Take Me to the World of Stephen Sondheim.

Photo of Stephen Sondheim by Emilio Madrid-Kuser for Broadway.com

The post Take Me To The World: A Sondheim 90th Birthday Celebration appeared first on Cultural Attaché.