Phylicia Rashad, Debbie Allen in a Pearl Cleage Play, and More This Weekend
From Broadway to off-Broadway, from music to magic, TheaterMania Streaming offers you the best live-streams and videos on demand in the world of performing arts. For more information, click here and watch the trailer below:
THIS WEEKEND
The second season of the Spotlight on Plays continues with Pearl Cleage's Angry, Raucous and Shamelessly Gorgeous, starring Debbie Allen, Phylicia Rashad, Heather Alicia Simms, and Alicia Stith, and directed by Camille A. Brown on April 8 at 8pm.
Upcoming productions will include The Baltimore Waltz, starring Mary-Louise Parker, Eric McCormack, and Brandon Burton by Paula Vogel on April 29; Dear Elizabeth by Sarah Ruhl; Watch on the Rhine by Lillian Hellman; Ohio State Murders by Adrienne Kennedy; and The Sisters Rosensweig by Wendy Wasserstein. Actors scheduled to take part include Debbie Allen, Ellen Burstyn, Bobby Cannavale, Kathryn Hahn, Kevin Kline, Audra McDonald, Phylicia Rashad, Keanu Reeves, Heidi Schreck, Alia Shawkat, Heather Alicia Simms, and Alicia Stith. For tickets and more information, click here.
(© Cliff Roles)
Florida's Asolo Repertory Theatre will stream its concert production of Lerner and Loewe's Camelot through April 11. The outdoor concert, which is currently running, stars Britney Coleman as Guenevere, Nick Duckart as Arthur, Alex Joseph Grayson as Lancelot, John Rapson as Mordred/Sagramore, Joseph Torello as Dinadin, and Levin Valayil as Lionel/Dap/Tom. For tickets and more information, click here.
Manhattan Theatre Club's virtual Curtain Call series will stream Neat, written and performed by Tony Award nominee Charlayne Woodard. It will feature original music by acclaimed Rolling Stones bassist Darryl Jones. The production will stream on demand from April 15 through April 25. Neat is a magical, compelling, and inspiring portrait of a young woman's coming-of-age, and her realization that some of life's most difficult times can also be the most fulfilling. Tickets are free and can be reserved here.
American Ballet Theatre Live from City Center | A Ratmansky Celebration, now streaming through April 18, showcases many of the company's renowned dancers in excerpts from The Seasons, Seven Sonatas, and The Sleeping Beauty, and a world premiere, Bernstein in a Bubble, set to the music of legendary composer Leonard Bernstein. Digital access may be purchased for $25. This event will be available to watch on demand through Sunday, April 18. To purchase, click here.
ON THE HORIZON
Original cast members from The Producers will reunite on Stars in the House to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the show's Broadway premiere. The reunion will take place on April 17 at 8pm ET, hosted by Seth Rudetsky and James Wesley. Joining director and choreographer Susan Stroman will be Tony-winning stars Nathan Lane (Max Bialystock), Matthew Broderick (Leo Bloom), and Cady Huffman (Ulla), alongside Tony-nominated cast members Roger Bart (Carmen Ghia) and Brad Oscar (Franz Liebkind). Gary Beach, who won a Tony for originating the role of Roger DeBris, died in 2018 at the age of 70. Stars in the House streams for free on YouTube, with donations going to the Actors Fund. You can watch the reunion above.
(© Tricia Baron)
Red Bull Theater has announced it will present a new adaptation of John Milton's epic poem Paradise Lost as a two-part online live presentation. The first part, The Fall of Lucifer, will premiere live on April 12 at 7:30pm ET, the recording of which will be available through Friday, April 16, 7pm. The second part, Eve and Adam, will premiere live on April 26 at 7:30pm ET, the recording of which will be available through Friday, April 30, 7pm. Pay-what-you-can reservations can be made here.
(image provided by the Old Vic Theatre)
London's Old Vic Theatre will present a live-streaming production of Dr. Seuss's The Lorax for six performances only, April 14-17. Adapted for the stage by David Greig, with a score by Charlie Fink, The Lorax will star Jamael Westman as the Once-ler, with Audrey Brisson, David Ricardo-Pearce, and Ben Thompson as the Lorax. Richard Katz, Melanie La Barrie, and Silas Wyatt-Barke round out the cast. The show chronicles the plight of the environment and focuses around a confrontation between the Lorax, who speaks for the trees, and the Once-ler, who causes destruction. For tickets and more information, click here.
(© David Gordon)
Former first lady Michelle Obama will team up with Dr. Anthony Fauci, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and more for a televised NBC special encouraging the American public to get vaccinated against Covid-19. Roll Up Your Sleeves, presented by Walgreens, will air on April 18, at 7pm ET/PT. The show will also feature comedic and musical performances, with an overriding message to get vaccinated when it's your turn so the country can get back on track.
The off-Broadway musical A Letter to Harvey Milk, produced at Theatre Row in 2018, will be presented as a benefit online April 22-25. Proceeds will benefit the Actors Fund and HIAS. For tickets and more information, click here.
(© T Charles Erickson)
Lincoln Center Theater will stream its 2016 archival recording of Marco Ramirez's The Royale, directed by Rachel Chavkin, April 22-May 16 for free via Broadway On Demand. Those looking for access can register on the Lincoln Center Theater website. Ramirez's drama is inspired by the life of Jack Johnson, the first Black heavyweight world champion. The production opened at the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater on March 7, 2016, with a cast made up of McKinley Belcher III, Khris Davis, Montego Glover, John Lavelle, and Clarke Peters.
(image provided by Roundabout Theatre Company)
Roundabout Theatre Company has announced the launch of the Refocus Project, a multiyear effort to elevate rarely produced dramas by formerly marginalized theatrical voices to the forefront of the American theatrical canon. The centerpiece of the Refocus Project is a series of play readings, with the first season spotlighting historically overlooked Black dramatists from the 20th century. In association with Black Theater United, the readings will include Rachel by Angelina Weld Grimké (April 23), Home by Samm-Art Williams (April 30), I Gotta Get Home by Shirley Graham Du Bois (May 7), Spunk by Zora Neale Hurston (May 14), and Wine in the Wilderness by Alice Childress (May 21). The readings are free, with all suggested donations supporting Black Theatre United. For more information, click here.
(image provided by the production)
Veteran cast members from across the world will come together to celebrate the 30th-longest-running show in Broadway history on April 24 with the live Rock of Ages: All-Star Reunion Concert. Featuring a "supergroup" cast, the show will include live performances of the greatest hits of the 1980, with performances at the Rock of Ages Hollywood stage at the Bourbon Room and in New York City. For more information on the show's streaming platform, click here.
Caesar: A Surround Sound Experiment will air during the first full super moon of the year, inspired by the cosmic images and warnings conjured in Shakespeare's portrait of a divided nation, and the work of NASA's data sonification project. The 95-minute production will premiere in-homes around the world on all devices with a dimmable screen April 27-29 at 8pm ET each night. Proceeds will benefit the Actors Fund, a national services organization which has given over $17 million in emergency relief to arts workers affected by the pandemic. For tickets and more information, click here.
(© David Gordon)
New York City Center will present the new concert Sutton Foster: Bring Me to Light, available online April 28-May 31. The new show will feature Foster and friends Kelli O'Hara, Raúl Esparza, Joaquina Kalukango, and Wren Rivera sharing stories and singing songs from Violet, South Pacific, Oklahoma!, Camelot, Anyone Can Whistle, The Wild Party, and more. For tickets and more information, click here.
(© David Gordon)
Mary-Louise Parker and Eric McCormack will star in a virtual production of Paula Vogel's Obie-winning The Baltimore Waltz, streaming April 29 at 8pm ET and available for a limited time only. Proceeds from the production will be donated to the Actors Fund. For tickets and more information, click here.
(© Tristan Fuge)
The nonprofit organization Target ALS will host a one-night-only concert tribute to Rebecca Luker on May 4, at 7:30pm. The fundraiser, titled Becca, will feature Laura Benanti, Sierra Boggess, Michael Cerveris, Victoria Clark, Santino Fontana, Judy Kuhn, Howard McGillin, Norm Lewis, Kelli O'Hara, and Sally Wilfert. Tickets are $20 with 100 percent of sales sales and donations benefiting ALS research. For to find out more and to purchase tickets, click here.
Tony- and Grammy-winner John Lloyd Young will stream in his show John Lloyd Young By Request: Live From Las Vegas. Taking place on May 1 at 9pm ET, the 75-minute livestreamed pay-per-view concert will include favorites from John's popular repertoire of classic R&B, rock, doo-wop, Broadway, and of course, Jersey Boys. The concert will be available for purchase OnDemand for one week following the live event. A virtual VIP after-party will begin at 10:45pm. For tickets and more information, click here.
(© David Gordon)
Beloved singer Marilyn Maye will celebrate her 93rd birthday with a new concert streaming on demand via Feinstein's/54 Below. Broadway, the Maye Way was filmed live at the venue and will premiere on May 8 at 7pm ET. It will be available on demand from May 9-29, with a VIP event with Maye following the opening-night stream. For tickets and more information, click here.
(© Kramer Morgenthau)
Off-Broadway's the New Group has announced a May 6 streaming premiere of Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot. Ethan Hawke (Vladimir), John Leguizamo (Estragon), Wallace Shawn (Lucky), Tariq Trotter (Pozzo), and Drake Bradshaw (Boy) make up the cast of Scott Elliott's production. To get access, click here.
(© David Gordon)
Bestselling author Jodi Picoult and playwright Timothy Allen McDonald will present the world premiere of Breathe, a new series of five interlocking musicals, which will premiere on May 14 at 8pm ET on Overture. Breathe was filmed in March at the 92 Street Y's Kaufmann Concert Hall in New York City without an audience, in compliance with all New York State safety regulations. The orchestra was produced and recorded by Dan Rudin, with orchestrations and arrangements by Lynne Shankel and Meg Zervoulis serving as music supervisor. For tickets and more information, click here.
(© David Gordon)
Feinstein's/54 Below will stream Jeremy Jordan's new concert Carry On, premiering May 6 and available on demand through May 27. The concert, filmed with five HD cameras, features musical direction by Benjamin Rauhala. Carry On premiered at the venue in 2019 and explores his new life as a father, while unpacking his own complicated childhood experiences. The May 6 debut includes a live chat for fans, as well as a live post-show jam session and Q&A with the artists for VIP ticket buyers. For tickets and more information, click here.
(© David Gordon)
MCC Theater's Miscast21 will take place on Sunday, May 16. Miscast, MCC Theater's annual gala celebration, features stars of stage and screen singing songs from roles for which they would never be cast. Tony Award winner Annaleigh Ashford, Tony nominee Robin de Jesús, Tony winner Renée Elise Goldsberry, Tony winner LaChanze, Tony winner Kelli O'Hara, and Tony and Emmy winner Billy Porter, and more will perform. To watch, click here .
(© Tricia Baron)
Broadway Barks will once again take its dog and cat adoption event "Across America" for a second time. The 23rd installment will take place on May 23 at 7pm ET. The streamed event will be hosted by the organization's co-founder Bernadette Peters and will feature adoptable pets in shelters and presented by animal loving celebrities from across the country. To find out more, click here.
CURRENTLY RUNNING
Sleep Squad is a family-friendly, interactive, virtual theater experience that turns your home into a rocket ship to launch kids into their dreams. Featuring brand-new, unique, kid-driven comedy and music from the Story Pirates that you can't see or hear anywhere else, this world premiere on-demand production creates a new kind of bedtime ritual for kids ages 4-12. Sleep Squad stars Tony Award nominee Lilli Cooper as the Dream Queen, who guides adventurers through three different enchanting virtual experiences, adapted from stories written by real kids. Check out the trailer and buy tickets above.
Christopher Carter Sanderson's film telling of Shakespeare's Macbeth up close and personal in the 9/16 aspect ratio with a stellar cast led by TV's Leajato Robinson (Bull, Orange Is the New Black, Boardwalk Empire), based on the long-running critical success. Check out the trailer and buy tickets above.
The Atlantic Council's Adrienne Arsht-Rockefeller Foundation Resilience Center has launched Stories of Human Resilience — a groundbreaking video project with Emmy- and Pulitzer Prize-nominated playwright, actor, author, journalist, and educator Anna Deavere Smith. Stories of Human Resilience's second installment, which you can watch above, features Tony-award winning actor LaChanze and her personal resilience journey as a performer, wife, and mother. In May, Smith will focus on the migration crisis through stories of migrants in Latin America. You can subscribe to Atlantic Council's YouTube channel here.
The Al Hirschfeld Foundation presents its latest online exhibition, It Goes So Fast: Our Town by Hirschfeld. The exhibition features Hirschfeld's reflections of the legendary Thornton Wilder drama featuring artists including Frances Conroy, Henry Fonda, Spalding Gray, Helen Hayes, Penelope Ann Miller, Paul Newman, Eva Marie Saint, Frank Sinatra, Eric Stoltz, and more. To view the exhibition now through May 15, click here.
