The Theatre @ Home Winter Festival begins on Tuesday, January 26th and runs through March 7th.

Every show will be made available for four performances. These are the shows being offered (with a link built into each title so you can go directly to full details about the show and its performance schedule):

Molly Sweeney – January 26th, February 6th, 13th, 18th, 26th and March 2nd

Brian Friel’s play, first performed in 1994 in Dublin, tells the story of the title character who has been blind since birth. At the age of 41, she undergoes a procedure that allows her to see. Told in monologues by Molly, her husband, Frank and the surgeon, Mr. Rice, the play explores what, if anything, did Molly have to lose by undergoing the procedure.

Starring in Molly Sweeney are Geraldine Hughes, Paul O’Brien, and Ciarán O’Reilly. The production was directed by Charlotte Moore.

The show runs 2 hours 30 minutes including an intermission.

The performances take place on Tuesday, January 26 at 7:00 PM EST/4:00 PM PST; Saturday, February 6th at 3:00 PM EST/12:00 PM PST; Saturday, February 13th at 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST; Thursday, February 18th at 7:00 PM EST/4:00 PM PST; February 26th at 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST and March 2nd at 7:00 PM EST/4:00 PM PST.

Yes! Reflections of Molly Bloom – January 27th, February 2nd, 14th, 17th, 28th and March 3rd

Aedín Moloney stars is this one-woman show inspired by James Joyce’s novel Ulysses. 

Set in Ireland in 1904, Molly struggles to find meaning in her life after her children are gone, her marriage has lost its luster and the affair she was having ran its course. She doesn’t fully know what she wants, but she knows this isn’t it. With a true Irish sense of both doom and humor, Molly follows an untraditional path to rediscovering who she is.

Moloney, who won the Outer Critics Circle Award for her performance, adapted the novel with Colum McCann. YES! features music from Paddy Moloney, best known for his band The Chieftains.

The show runs 1 hour 30 minutes without an intermission.

The performances take place Wednesday, January 27, at 3pm EST/12:00 PM PST; Tuesday, February 2, at 7:00 PM EST/4:00 PM PST; Sunday, February 14th at 2:00 PM EST/11:00 PST and Wednesday, February 17th at 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST; February 28th at 7:00 PM EST/4:00 PM PST and March 3rd at 3:00 PM EST/12:00 PM PST

The Weir – January 27th, February 6th, 10th, 19th, 28th and March 3rd

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.

The performances take place Wednesday, January 27th at 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST; Saturday, February 6th at 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST; Wednesday, February 10th at 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST and Friday, February 19th at 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST; February 28th at 2:00 PM EST/11:00 AM PST and March 3rd at 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST

The show runs 1 hour 50 minutes with no intermission.

Love, Noël – January 28th, February 3rd, 14th, 20th, 24th and March 4th

Barry Day, who has authored multiple books about playwright/composer/actor Noël Coward, created and wrote this two-person show about him. Coward wrote the plays Private Lives, Design for Living, Blithe Spirit and the musical Sail Away.

Steve Ross plays the piano and assumes the role of Coward in this two-character production that combines his letters and his music. KT Sullivan sings the songs and embodies many of the famous people, particularly Elaine Stritch and Marlene Dietrich, who made his songs come to life. The show was produced at Irish Rep in 2019.

The show runs 1 hour 15 minutes without an intermission.

The performances take place Thursday, January 28, at 7:00 PM EST/4:00 PM PST; Wednesday, February 3rd at 3:00 PM EST/12:00 PM PST; Sunday, February 14th at 7:00 PM EST/4:00 PM PST and Saturday, February 20th at 3:00 PM EST/12:00 PM PST; February 24th at 3:00 PM EST/12:00 PM PST and March 4th at 7:00 PM EST/4:00 PM PST

Belfast Blues – January 29th, February 7th, 13th, 17th, 23rd and March 5th

Geraldine Hughes first performed Belfast Blues in New York in 2005. Her one-person show examines both the troubles in Northern Ireland and her own eyes which helps explain the show’s subtitle, One Wee Girl’s Story About Family, War, Jesus and Hollywood.

This show was filmed at Belfast’s Lyric Theatre. The stage production was directed by Carol Kane.

The show runs 1 hour and 15 minutes with no intermission.

The performances take place Thursday, January 28, at 7:00 PM EST/4:00 PM PST; Wednesday, February 3rd at 3:00 PM EST/12:00 PM PST; Sunday, February 14th at 7:00 PM EST/4:00 PM PST; Saturday, February 20th at 3:00 PM EST/12:00 PM PST; February 23rd at 7:00 PM EST/4:00 PM PST and March 5th at 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST

Give Me Your Hand – January 30th, February 7th, 10th, 21st, 24th and March 6th

Poetry and art are combined in Give Me Your Hand. Dermot Crowley and Dearbhla Molloy serve as docents for a tour of The National Gallery of London.

Poet Paul Durcan wrote the poetry used here after his own visit to the museum. Crowley then turned that poetry, combined with images of works of art, into this two-character piece that was first performed at Irish Rep in 2012.

This performance was filmed at London’s Coronet Theatre and was directed by Jamie Beamish.

The show runs 1 hour and 20 minutes with no intermission.

The performances take place Saturday, January 30, at 3:00 PM EST/12:00 PM PST; Sunday, February 7th at 2:00 PM EST/11:00 AM PST; Wednesday, February 10th at 3:00 PM EST/12:00 PM PST; Sunday, February 21st at 7:00 PM EST/4:00 PM PST; February 24th at 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST and March 6th at 3:00 PM EST/12:00 PM PST

A Touch of the Poet – January 30th, February 4th, 12th, 16th, 27th and March 6th

Playwright Eugene O’Neill (Long Day’s Journey Into Night) wrote this play in 1942. But it was not performed until 1958, nearly five years after his death.

Irishman Cornelius Melody’s life hasn’t turned out the way he had hoped or planned. Whether because of circumstance or whiskey is unclear. Living at an inn with his wife and daughter, Melody is keenly aware of his shortcomings. Yet when a well-to-do young man takes an interest in his daughter, his reaction isn’t the one you’d expect. Melody keeps his wife and daughter in the precarious position of being punished for not believing his stories and also for not acknowledging their lack of credibility.

This online production, from 2020, stars Belle Aykroyd, Ciaran Byrne, Robert Cuccioli, Kate Forbes, Mary McCann, Andy Murray, David O’Hara, Tim Ruddy, David Sitler and John C. Vennema. It was directed by Ciarán O’Reilly.

The show runs 2 hours and 45 minutes with an intermission.

The performances take place Saturday, January 30, at 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST; Thursday, February 4th at 7:00 PM EST/4:00 PM PST; Friday, February 12th at 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST; Tuesday, February 16th at 7:00 PM EST/4:00 PM PST; February 27th at 3:00 PM EST/12:00 PM PSTS and March 6th at 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST

On Beckett/In Screen – January 31st, February 5th, 9th, 20th, 25th and March 7th

On Beckett/In Screen is an amazing show that combines the writing on Samuel Beckett with Bill Irwin’s impeccable ability to be a clown.

Samuel Beckett is the poet and playwright best known for Krapp’s Last Tape and Waiting for Godot. Irwin, in addition to his award-winning performance in Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, has appeared on Broadway in Full Moon.

In On Beckett/In Screen Irwin will performance excerpts from Godot plus The Unnamable and Texts for Nothing.

The Unnamable is the third in a trilogy of novels written by Beckett. It was published in 1953 and follows Molloy and Malone Dies (both of which were published in 1951). Texts for Nothing is series of thirteen untitled pieces of prose.

What Irwin does so brilliantly is to find not just the humor, but the emotion, in each of the Beckett pieces he performs.

On Beckett/In Screen was filmed at Irish Repertory Theatre. It was directed for film by M. Florian Staab and Bill Irwin.

The show runs 1 hour and 20 minutes with no intermission.

The performances take place Sunday, January 31, at 2:00 PM EST/11:00 AM PST; Friday, February 5th at 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST; Tuesday, February 9th at 7:00 PM EST/4:00 PM PST; Saturday, February 20th at 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST; February 25th at 7:00 PM EST/4:00 PM PST and March 7th at 2:00 PM EST/11:00 AM PST

Meet Me In St. Louis – January 31st, February 2nd, 14th, 21st, 27th and March 7th

Vincente Minnelli’s 1944 film, Meet Me in St. Louis, serves as the inspiration for this musical adaptation by Hugh Martin (High Spirits), Ralph Blane (Best Foot Forward) and Hugh Wheeler (Sweeney Todd). The musical made its debut on Broadway in 1989.

Meet Me in St. Louis tells the story of the Smith family in 1903 and follows them through the seasons leading up to the opening of the World’s Fair in 1904. 

In addition to the title song, the musical includes The Boy Next Door, The Trolley Song and Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.

Irish Rep in New York has filmed a version of the musical that was adapted and directed by Charlotte Moore who appeared in the Broadway production. She’s assembled a terrific cast that includes Melissa Errico (Amour), Ali Ewoldt (Phantom of the Opera), Jay Aubrey Jones (Porgy and Bess) and Max von Essen (An American in Paris).

The show runs 1 hour and 45 minutes with a 10-minute intermission.

The performances take place Wednesday, January 27, at 3:00 PM EST/12:00 PM PST; Tuesday, February 2nd at 7:00 PM EST/4:00 PM PST; Sunday, February 14th at 2:00 PM EST/11:00 AM PST; Wednesday, February 17th at 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST; February 27th at 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST and March 7th at 7:00 PM EST/4:00 PM PST

Main Photo: Aedín Moloney in Yes! Reflections of Molly Bloom (Photo by Carol Rosegg/Courtesy Irish Repertory Theatre)

Update: This post has been updated to reflect an extension of the festival through March 7th.

The post Irish Rep’s Theatre @ Home Winter Festival – EXTENDED appeared first on Cultural Attaché.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Citizen Detective – Geffen Stayhouse – Now – February 7th

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The piece does not use words, but rather sounds.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The music director/arranger is Oded Lev-Ari.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Gershwin & Dvořák– Pasadena Symphony – November 20th

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

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

Music Director David Lockington conducts.

Tickets are $25 to watch the concert.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

You need to register in advance to watch the screening.

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

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

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

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

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

Tickets are $20.

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

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

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

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

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

Tickets are $25.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Enjoy your weekend!

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

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

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

Samuel Beckett is the poet and playwright best known for Krapp’s Last Tape and Waiting for Godot. Irwin, in addition to his award-winning performance in Edward Albee’s classic play, has appeared on Broadway in Full Moon and The Goat, Or Who Is Sylvia?

In On Beckett/In Screen Irwin will performance excerpts from Godot plus The Unnamable and Texts for Nothing.

The Unnamable is the third in a trilogy of novels written by Beckett. It was published in 1953 and follows Molloy and Malone Dies (both of which were published in 1951). Texts for Nothing is series of thirteen untitled pieces of prose.

What Irwin does so brilliantly is to find not just the humor, but the emotion, in each of the Beckett pieces he performs.

On Beckett/In Screen was filmed at Irish Repertory Theatre. It was directed for film by M. Florian Staab and Bill Irwin.

You must make reservations in advance to watch one of the eight performances. The schedule is as follows:

November 17th: 7:00 PM EST/4:00 PM PST

November 18th: 3:00 PM EST/12:00 PM PST and 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST

November 19th: 7:00 PM EST/4:00 PM PST

November 20th: 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST

November 21st: 3:00 PM EST/12:00 PM PST and 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST

November 22nd: 3:00 PM EST/12:00 PM PST

Irish Rep suggests a donation of $25 per viewer, though reservations can be made if you are unable to pay that amount.

For reservations go here.

Photo: Bill Irwin in On Beckett/In Screen (Courtesy Irish Repertory Theatre)

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