My top pick this week celebrates International Jazz Day. Another significant jazz event this weekend is a concert by Christian Sands. SFJAZZ offers a 2019 concert by Orquesta Akokán on Friday with a re-stream on Saturday.

If jazz isn’t your thing, we’ve got plenty of other options. There are several play readings, a very ambitious new film from the Colburn School in Los Angeles, a couple cabaret performances and a very unique fundraiser that realizes the first three letters in that word are FUN.

Here are my Best Bets: April 30th – May 3rd:

*TOP PICK* JAZZ: 2021 Global All-Star Concert for International Jazz Day – April 30th – 5:00 PM ET/2:00 PM PT

Yesterday we started revealing our Top Pick for the weekend in a sneak peek of the weekend’s Best Bets. So I won’t rehash everything from that column. You can read the full preview here.

Simply put, there aren’t many places where you’ll find performances by Dee Dee Bridgewater, Cyrus Chestnut, Gerald Clayton, Herbie Hancock, Stefon Harris, Angélique Kidjo, Dianne Reeves, Antonio Sánchez, Ben Williams and many more from around the world.

The concert is free and can be found on the event’s website, their YouTube channel, Facebook page and more. International Jazz Day’s concert will remain available for viewing for 30 days.

CLASSICAL/JAZZ/DANCE: The Way Forward – Colburn School – Now – May 13th

Few projects would offer the opportunity to see and hear music and performances by Kris Bowers, Johannes Brahms, Aaron Copland, Gabriel Fauré, George Frideric Handel, Thelonious Monk, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Christoph Waltz, Eric Whitacre and thousands of singers, dancers and musicians.

The pandemic-era project was filmed in Australia, Canada, England, Finland, Spain and at the Colburn School in Los Angeles.

This one-of-a-kind film and it will be available for free streaming. You do have to register on the Colburn School website. The Way Forward will only be available for two weeks.

For those in Los Angeles, there will be one in-person screening of the one-hour film. That screening will take place on Saturday, May 1st at 8:00 PM PT at Thayer Hall at Colburn. Capacity will be limited to 25%. Tickets for this screening are $25 and can be purchased here.

PLAY READING: The Baltimore Waltz – Spotlight on Plays on Broadway’s Best Shows – Now – May 3rd

When playwright Paula Vogel’s The Baltimore Waltz opened off-Broadway in 1992, it was immediately acclaimed as a unique way of addressing the AIDS crisis. The play went on to win three Obie Awards for Best New American Play, Best Director and Best Performance (Cherry Jones).

Vogel’s play depicts a real-life situation between a school teacher and her brother.

How the sister chooses to address that he is dying of a terminal disease is at the heart of The Baltimore Waltz. Vogel uses fantasy to take her characters on a journey that is both fanciful and heartbreaking in its inevitable return to reality.

For this reading the cast features Mary-Louise Parker, Eric McCormack and Brandon Burton. Lileana Blain-Cruz directs.

Tickets are $15 with proceeds going to The Actors Fund.

VIRTUAL MUSICAL: Working: A Musical – CATCO – Now – May 9th

When I was a much younger man I remember seeing Working on the PBS series American Playhouse. I was immediately taken in by this collage of interviews and songs. Based on Studs Terkel’s 1974 book  Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do, the musical features songs by Stephen Schwartz, Mary Rodgers, James Taylor and more.

The musical received six Tony Award nominations when it opened on Broadway in 1978. It’s run, however, was short. There were only 12 previews and 24 performances.

CATCO in Columbus, OH is presenting a streaming version of the updated 2012 version of the musical that includes contributions from Lin-Manuel Miranda.

This is a perfect musical for the virtual format. I will be interested to see how the show holds up and how Miranda’s revisions help the show.

Working streams only Thursday – Sunday through May 9th. Tickets are $20.

PLAY READING: The Line – Public Theater – Now – June 21st

Great timing for this encore presentation of the Public Theater’s Zoom reading of Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen’s The Line. Their play was constructed by doing interviews with frontline medical workers in New York at the outset of the pandemic.

As restrictions start to loosen around the country, this is a great reminder of the heroism that was required (and still is) to get us through this crisis.

The Line also reflects the personal toll their actions took on their lives. This should be a wake-up call that there is still work to be done by all of us.

Thankfully The Line is thoroughly engrossing. Assisting the storytelling is music by Aimee Mann and Jonathan Coulter (which was produced by Michael Penn).

If you’ve ever experienced The Exonerated by Blank and Jensen you know what powerful storytellers they are.

There is no charge to stream The Line, but registration is required.

PLAY READING: Home – The Refocus Project at Roundabout Theatre Company – April 30th – May 3rd

New York’s Roundabout Theatre Company debuts the first of five readings of little-known plays from the twentieth century by Black playwrights. The first to be streamed is Samm-Art Williams’ Home.

The Negro Ensemble Company first performed the work in 1979. It was critically-acclaimed and it transferred to Broadway in 1980 and earned two Tony Award nominations including Best Play.

The central character, Cephus, tells two women stories from his life. He loves the idea of just staying…home. But circumstances require he travel from his country home to the big city.

The play is a fable that dabbles in elements of realism – like war and racism. Though there are only three actors (Rob Demery, Brittany Inge and Tony nominee Joaquina Kalukango), Williams has his cast perform dozens of characters.

Tony Award-winner Kenny Leon directs.

Mel Gussow, writing for the New York Times, raved about Williams’ writing:

“The play itself is a freshet of good will, a celebration of the indomitability of man, a call to return to the earth. In all respects — writing, direction and performance — this is one of the happiest theatrical events of the, season.”

He went on to say, “More often, with his gift for local language, Mr. Williams seems closer to the spirit of Mark Twain. If Twain were black and from North Carolina, he might have written like Samm‐Art Williams.”

There is no charge to stream Home, but RSVP/registration is required.

CUBAN JAZZ: Orquesta Akokán – SFJAZZ – April 30th – 8:00 PM ET/5:00 PM PT

Orquesta Akokán began as a one-time-only recording band to become a touring and live celebration of mambo. So for those who do not want to go gentle into their weekends, this show is for you.

Their performance at SFJAZZ is from June 2019. This big band will have you shaking your groove thing and burning down the house.

Pianist and arranger Michael Ekroth, vocalist José “Pepito” Gómez are joined by members of legendary Cuban bands Irakere and Los Van Van and more as they take to the stage for this show.

Tickets are $5 which allows for a one-month digital membership. If you’re unable to see the show on Friday, there will be an encore streaming on Saturday, May 1st at 8:00 PM ET/5:00 PM PT. The show will then be available on demand from May 1st – June 30th.

JAZZ: The Christian Sands Trio – Just Jazz – April 30th – 9:00 PM ET/6:00 PM PT

LeRoy Downs, host of Just Jazz on KCRW in Los Angeles, is celebrating International Jazz Day with an intimate concert by pianist Christian Sands, drummer Jonathan Pinson and bassist Ben Williams. The concert will be streaming live from Mr. MusicHead Gallery in Los Angeles.

The trio will be joined by special guest trumpeter Theo Croker.

Sands is one of the most exciting young musicians on the jazz scene. This is a concert you won’t want to miss.

If you’d like more information on Downs and his take on jazz in 2021, check out my interview with him here.

Tickets are $20.

CABARET: Chester Gregory: Celebrating the Motown Era – The Wallis Sorting Room Sessions – April 30th – May 2nd

Chester Gregory has been seen on Broadway in the musicals Hairspray!, Tarzan, Cry-Baby, Sister Act and Motown: The Musical where he portrayed Berry Gordy.

That last credit no doubt awakened Gregory’s appreciation for all things that Gordoy accomplished.

He’ll be Celebrating the Motown Era in this weekend’s first of The Wallis Sorting Room Sessions.

The show becomes available at 10:00 PM ET/7:00 PM PT and will remain available through Sunday, May 2nd. Tickets are $20 and allow for 48 hours of streaming.

PLAY: The Importance of Being Earnest – L.A. Theatre Works – May 1st – May 31st

Residents of Los Angeles know that in addition to their fine radio play performances, LATW coordinates with HD Live to offer in person viewings of filmed productions from theater companies from around the world.

For the month of May they are making the 2011 Broadway revival of Oscar Wilde’s throughly delightful play available for streaming.

Certainly you know this very funny play about identity and marriage. And why a man would play a woman in it – as is done here.

This production was directed by and starred Brian Bedford as Lady Bracknell. Dana Ivey, Paxton Whitehead and Santino Fontana are also in this production which was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play.

Tickets are $15 and allow for viewing anytime within two weeks of purchase.

PLAY READING: We Have to Hurry – Broadway on Demand – May 1st – May 2nd

Elliot Gould and Kathleen Chalfant will perform this new play by Dorothy Lyman. We Have to Hurry is set in a retirement complex in Florida. Gil and Margaret cannot see each other because they and all the residents at the complex are forced to quarantine. They only communicate with each other from their respective balconies.

Gil has fallen in love with Margaret and realizes time is not on their side. Will they have a chance to get together and take a walk on the beach? Unsure of what the future holds for them, time is of the essence.

There are two ways to watch this show. The first is with a general ticket priced at $15. For $25 they have created a virtual stage door where ticket holders can submit questions in advance for Chalfant, Gould and Lyman. Those who purchase that ticket will get a separate Zoom link.

There is one performance on May 1st 8:00 PM ET/5:00 PM PT. A second performance takes place on May 2nd at 3:00 PM ET/12:00 PM PT. The link above in the title takes you to purchase tickets for the May 1st performance. For tickets to the May 2nd performance, please go here.

PLAY: Shoot Me When… – San Francisco Playhouse – May 1st – May 22nd

I love the premise of Ruben Grijalva’s play. As the two daughters of a woman suffering from dementia, what do you do when you want to honor your mother’s wishes for end of life plans, but she forgets what she agreed to because of her condition?

Susi Damilano directs cast members Blythe de Oliviera Foster, Dan Hiatt, Lorri Holt and Melissa Ortiz.

Tickets are $15 – $100 based on your ability to pay and contribute to the San Francisco Playhouse.

OPERA: Rameau’s Hippolyte et Aricie – Nationaltheater Mannheim on OperaVision – May 1st – July 31st

Conducted by Bernhard Force; starring Amelia Scicolone, Sophie Rennert, Marie-Belle Sandis, Estelle Kruger and Charles Sy. This Lorenzo Fioroni production was filmed on April 21st and 24th of this year.

Jean-Philippe Rameau’s opera had its world premiere in Paris in 1733. The libretto is by Simon-Joseph Pellegrin and is based on Jean Racine’s Phèdre.

Gods and humans are involved in this story of Hippolyte, son of Thésée, the King of Athens and Hippolyte (not Thésée’s wife, that’s Phèdre). Hippolyte falls in love with the wrong woman, Aricie, who is the daughter of his father’s enemy, Pallas. You just know this isn’t going to end well.

I’ve included this production because I do not believe it has previously been available in other productions so far. Frankly it also looks quite interesting!

CABARET: Julian Ovenden: Can’t Help Singing – May 2nd – May 9th

Fans of Bridgerton will want to check out Sir Henry Granville singing. Okay, well it won’t actually be Granville, but it will be actor Julian Ovenden who plays him on the smash series. (Of course if you’re more of a Downton Abbey fan he played Charles Blake. And if you like The Crown, he played Bobby Kennedy in one episode.)

This concert will find Ovenden singing songs by composers and artists he loves including George Gershwin, Michel Legrand and Tom Waits.

Tickets are £12 which at press time equals approximately $17.

CABARET: Andrea McArdle – Seth Concert Series – May 2nd – 3:00 PM ET/12:00 PM PT

Seth Rudetsky’s guest on this weekend’s Concert Series is the actress who originated the roles of Ashley in the US production of Andrew Lloyd-Webber’s Starlight Express and Margy Frake in the 1993 musical State Fair. She’s also appeared in Les Misérables and Beauty and the Beast.

Of course, she’s best known for introducing the song Tomorrow to us through her Tony-nominated performance as the title character in the musical Annie. Her nomination made her the youngest nominee for Lead Actress in a Musical. (She lost to co-star Dorothy Loudon.)

Tickets are $25 for either this live stream or the replay at 8:00 PM ET/5:00 PM PT.

CONTEMPORARY CLASSICAL MUSIC: Caroline Shaw and Attacca Quartet – The Phillips Collection – May 2nd – 4:00 PM ET/1:00 PM PT

Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Caroline Shaw teams up with the Attacca Quartet for this performance from The Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C.

Their collaboration on the album Orange led to a Grammy Award nomination for Best Contemporary Classical Recording.

This concert will feature the world premiere of Imago by composer inti figgis-vizueta. The work was commissioned by The Phillips Collection.

A selection of Shaw’s own compositions (both songs and works for quartet) will also be performed.

There’s no charge for this concert, but you do have to register to be able to see it. The event will remain available for seven days.

CHAMBER MUSIC: Calidore Quartet – Shriver Hall Concert Series – May 2nd – May 9th

Violist Jeremy Berry, cellist Estelle Choi and violinists Ryan Meehan and Jeffrey Myers make up Calidore Quartet. They were founded in 2010 at the Colburn School in Los Angeles.

For this concert from Baltimore’s Shriver Hall, they will be performing the world premiere performance of Hannah Lash’s new quartet.

Also on the program is Franz Schubert’s String Quartet No. 15 in G Major and Antonin Dvořák’s String Quartet No. 12 in F Major, nicknamed the American Quartet.

Tickets are $15. There is a Q&A after the performance.

BROADWAY FUNDRAISER: Broadway Acts for Women – A Is For – May 2nd – 8:00 PM ET/5:00 PM PT

This fundraiser puts the fun front and center. This is the realization of a karaoke fantasy for all fans of Broadway.

Ticket holders get to bid on the songs the performers will sing. Martha Plimpton serves as the host.

Who are the performers in this year’s event?

Sara Bareilles, Elizabeth Banks, Annette Bening, Reed Birney, Ashley Nicole Black, Kathryn Brody, Danny Burstein, Ever Carradine, Ariana DeBose, Garret Dillahunt, Eden Espinosa, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Montego Glover, Kelli O’Hara, Josh Hamilton, Michelle Hurd, Jason Isaacs, Amy Landecker, Jenn Lyon, Lesli Margherita, Howard McGillin, Patton Oswalt, Mandy Patinkin, Harold Perrineau, Carrie Preston, Judy Reyes, Annabella Sciorra, Cecily Strong, Jessica Vosk, Steven Weber, Shannon Woodward, BD Wong and Karen Ziemba.

And if you’ve got deep pockets you can also bid on unique auction items that include a voice lesson with O’Hara, cooking class with Ferguson and a private zoom concert with Bareilles.

Broadway Acts for Women will be live streamed from 54 Below in New York. Tickets start at $75 and go up to $300 with different perks along the way.

A is For is a non-profit working to eliminate the stigma of abortion.

CLASSICAL MUSIC: Taiwan Philharmonic – Los Angeles County Museum of Art – May 2nd – 9:00 PM ET/6:00 PM PT

Works of four Taiwanese composers will be performed in this free streaming concert on Sunday. They are Tyson Hsiao, Yu-Shian Deng, Ching-Mei Lin and I-Uen Wang Hwang.

The concert will be performed by the Taiwan Philharmonic.

Within Taiwan they are as the National Symphony Orchestra. Music Director Shao-Chia Lü will lead the orchestra in this performance.

How often do you get to hear this music? There’s no charge to watch the concert, but you do need to RSVP on the website.

CABARET: Jim Caruso’s Pajama Cast Party – Cast Party Network – May 3rd – 8:00 PM ET/5:00 PM PT

This week’s Pajama Cast Party guest list features Anjali Bhimani (Bombay Dreams); James Gish (Beautiful: The Carole King Musical); Alyssa May Gold (the upcoming revival of How I Learned to Drive); singer/bandleader John Malino (with family) and cabaret singer Sue Matsuki.

There is no charge to watch this always delightful show.

However, should you be so inclined, Jim Caruso and Pajama Cast Party accepts donations and makes weekly donations to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and The Actors Fund.

That’s the official list of Best Bets: April 30th – May 3rd, but there are a few reminders:

Covenant by York Walker concludes its run this weekend as part of South Coast Repertory’s Pacific Playwrights Festival. For details on the show and the full schedule of plays, please go here.

Two-time Tony Award-winner Sutton Foster’s Bring Me to Light continues from New York City Center. Amongst her guests are Raúl Esparza and Kelli O’Hara. For full details, please go here.

Carnegie Hall’s Voices of Hope Festival officially ends on Friday, April 30th, but many of the programs will be available for viewing through May 31st. Take a look at my recommendations to see if something might appeal to you.

Sound/Stage from the Los Angeles Philharmonic debuts a new episode on April 30th. The orchestra will perform Franz Schubert’s Unfinished Symphony with Gustavo Dudamel conducting.

This weekend’s offerings from the Metropolitan Opera are the 1980-1981 season production of Verdi’s La Traviata on Friday; the 2018-2019 season production of Cilea’s Adriana Lecouvreur on Saturday and the 2008-2009 season production of Puccini’s La Rondine on Sunday.

Next week’s theme at the Met is Happy Mother’s Day and will start with the 2015-2016 production of Strauss’ Elektra. Not my idea of a happy mother, but this production is staggering. Do not miss it!

Do you have enough options for your weekend? Hopefully you have more choices than you have time to watch everything on this week’s Best Bets: April 30th – May 3rd.

Enjoy your weekend!

Photo: Gerald Clayton, who is performing at the 2021 Global All-Star Concert for International Jazz Day (courtesy GeraldClayton.com)

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I’ve provided a preview of each reading (or in the case of the musical, concert performance). For greater details South Coast Rep is posting on the individual pages for each play an interview with the playwrights/creators. Those interviews will become available on the Monday preceding the debut of these readings.

Here is a listing of the four plays and one musical that are included in this year’s festival. Please note that they are recommended for audiences high school age or older.

York Walker’s Covenant

Playwright York Walker is currently an artist-in-residence at New York’s Vineyard Theatre. He is also the recipient of the Colman Domingo Award from the theatre.

Covenant is a twist on the story of Delta Blues musician Robert Johnson selling his soul to the devil. In Walker’s play the residents of the small Georgia town, where blues guitarist Johnny “Honeycomb” James lives, are abuzz with the rumor James followed in Johnson’s footsteps and sold his soul to become the artist he is today. Could it be true? Is this all just a rumor? And why is the devil in this story? Or is the devil in the details?

Tamilla Woodard directs.

This reading will be available from April 26th – May 2nd only.

Charlie Oh’s Coleman ‘72

Playwright Charlie Oh has a multi-faceted career as a playwright, a lyricist and actor. He appeared as Prince Chulalongkorn in the 2016 revival of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s musical The King and I at Lincoln Center. Oh and composer Ross Baum were one pair of three recipients of the 2018 New Voices Project which develops new musicals.

In Coleman ’72, Oh depicts a cross-generational culture clash – within one Korean-American family. It seems as though the parents and their American kids have a very different perspective of what a vacation should be. As they settle out across the USA on a road trip those ideas get challenged until a great reason behind their vacation becomes clear to them all.

David Ivers directs.

This reading will be available from May 10th – May 16th only

Shayan Lotfi’s Park-e Laleh

Playwright Shayan Lotfi’s Park-e Laleh was announced as part of last year’s planned Pacific Playwrights Festival at South Coast Rep. But we know what precluded the play from being performed last April.

Lotfi is an alumnus of NYU/Tisch School of the Arts. Park-e Laleh was one of five plays selected to be read at New York’s The Lark in 2019.

The play tells the story of an Iranian named Amir who is applying for asylum in the UK. He’s being persecuted in his home country for being gay. As he attempts to get acclimated to his new city, Amir is struggling to feel truly at home while feelings for the man he left behind continue to haunt him.

Mike Donahue directs.

This reading will be available from May 24th – May 30th only.

Christine Quintana’s Clean

Playwright Christine Quintana is an actor and the co-Artistic Producer of Vancouver-based Delinquent Theatre in addition to being a playwright.

A chance encounter between two women who live very different lives is at the heart of Clean. A cleaning lady at a Mexican resort, Adriana and Sarah, one of the hotel’s guests who is there for her sister’s wedding, are brought together during an incredible storm. But is the storm outside any more daunting than the storms brewing inside?

Directed by Lisa Portes with translations by Paula Zelaya Cervantes.

This reading will be available from May 31st – June 6th only.

There is a small gap in the schedule before the concert performance of the musical takes place.

Dan Collins and Julianne Wick Davis’ Harold & Lillian

Harold Michelson was an illustrator, storyboard artist and art director who worked on such films as Ben-Hur, Star Trek: The Motion Picture and Planes, Trains and Automobiles.

Lillian Michelson, with whom Harold eloped after returning from World War II, is a former film researcher who provided invaluable information for such films as Rosemary’s Baby, Reds and Full Metal Jacket.

Their lengthy marriage become the subject of a documentary in 2015 called Harold and Lillian: A Hollywood Love Story by filmmaker Daniel Raim.

Their incredibly story is played out in this musical written by Dan Collins (books and lyrics) and Julianne Wick Davis (music).

Their musical Trevor, inspired by the Oscar-winning short film of the same name (directed by Peggy Rajski and written by James Lecesne), has won multiple awards and is scheduled to have an off-Broadway production when theaters are able to reopen.

For more information on Lillian Michelson, check out this story by Mary McNamara of the Los Angeles Times from earlier this year.

This concert performance will be available from June 21st – June 27th only.

Tickets to see all five readings are $80. Supersubscribers at SCR can purchase tickets for $70. There is also special pricing available for industry professionals. There is a link on SCR’s page for this event (which I’ve linked to in the first paragraph) that will take to you a request for those tickets.

Photo: Clean collage (Courtesy ChristineQuintana.com)

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