twi-ny recommended events

A CELEBRATION OF GRATITUDE AND HOPE

Who: Joshua Malina, David Broza, Nita M. Lowey, Joel Grey, Shoshana Bean, Tiffany Haddish, Yemin Orde Youth Village Choir, more
What: Virtual benefit
Where: ImpactIsrael
When: Wednesday, October 28, free with RSVP, 8:00
Why: ImpactIsrael is a Maryland-based organization that “provides the support needed to transform immigrant and at-risk youth into productive members of Israeli society through value-driven education and support. ImpactIsrael works to improve the education, security, health, and welfare of over 25,000 Israelis by touching lives across all boundaries — religious, secular, Jews, Arabs, Druze, and Bedouins.” On October 28 at 8:00, it will be presenting “A Celebration of Gratitude and Hope,” an online benefit for Israel’s next generation of leaders. The evening will be emceed by Joshua Malina (A Few Good Men, Scandal) and features appearances by Israeli singer-songwriter David Broza (East Jerusalem West Jerusalem, At Masada: The Sunrise Concert featuring Shawn Colvin & Jackson Browne), U.S. Representative Nita M. Lowey (who will receive the Tikkun Ha’Lev Award), singer and stage actress Shoshana Bean (Wicked, Waitress), comedian and actress Tiffany Haddish (Girls Trip, The Carmichael Show), legendary actor and director Joel Grey (Cabaret, Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish), and the Yemin Orde Youth Village Choir, among others. Admission is free, but donations will be accepted, including at special levels that will qualify you for listings on a digital scroll, promotional materials, and recognition with a commemorative gift.

DUET BEHAVIOR 2020

Meredith Monk (photo by Christine Alicino) and John Hollenbeck (photo by Mercedes Jelinek) will present virtual duet on October 28

Who: Meredith Monk, John Hollenbeck, Brett Littman
What: Virtual performance and Q&A
Where: Noguchi Museum and Zoom
When: Wednesday, October 28, free, 8:00
Why: Multidisciplinary avant-garde artist Meredith Monk and composer and percussionist John Hollenbeck celebrate ten years of collaboration between the Noguchi Museum and Bang on a Can with the special online presentation Duet Behavior 2020. The show, streaming for free October 28 at 8:00, features excerpts in which Monk and Hollenbeck improvise on pieces from throughout Monk’s fifty-plus-year career, reimagining familiar and unfamiliar works. They have been working together since 1998; Hollenbeck has appeared in Monk’s Magic Frequencies, mercy, impermanence, Songs of Ascension, and On Behalf of Nature in addition to recording several of their compositions on his own. New York City native Monk will be playing from upstate New York and Hollenbeck from Montreal, using Zoom for the visuals and Jamulus for the audio, produced by the House Foundation for the Arts. The premiere will be followed by a Zoom Q&A with the two creators and Noguchi Museum director Brett Littman.

A VERY BRADY MUSICAL: A VIRTUAL BENEFIT READING

Who: Barry Williams, Christopher Knight, Gavin Lee, Kerry Butler, Klea Blackhurst, Trista Dollison, Celia Hottenstein, Diana Huey, Troy Iwata, Mason Reeves, Anthony Zambito, Tracy Bidleman, Jason Matthews, Melinda Portages, Chuck Ragsdale
What: Virtual benefit reading and Q&A
Where: Ogunquit Playhouse
When: Wednesday, October 28, suggested donation $20, 7:00
Why: It was bound to happen. How many of us have not at least once made a Brady Bunch joke during a Zoom session? Well, that was the impetus behind the virtual reading of the 2008 show A Very Brady Musical, benefiting Maine’s Ogunquit Playhouse. The cast features Gavin Lee as Mike Brady, Kerry Butler as Carol, Klea Blackhurst as Alice, Trista Dollison as Cindy, Celia Hottenstein as Marcia, Diana Huey as Jan, Troy Iwata as Peter, Mason Reeves as Greg, and Anthony Zambito as Bobby in addition to Tracy Bidleman, Jason Matthews, Melinda Portages, and Chuck Ragsdale as the kids try to prevent their parents from divorcing. The book is by Lloyd J. Schwartz and Hope Juber, with music and lyrics by Hope Juber and Laurence Juber; the show is directed by Richard Israel, with technical direction and video design by Jeremy Handelman.

“As we move through 2020, we are continuing our mission of new works development while celebrating how many of us are spending our lives in the ‘Brady square’ virtual worlds of Zoom and other online platforms,” Ogunquit Playhouse executive artistic director Bradford T. Kenney said in a statement. “Working with our outstanding A Very Brady Musical team, we’re taking what could be a static reading, adding a dash of digital magic, and layering it with that iconic Brady framing to create a unique experience that appeals to every kind of theatergoer.” The reading will take place October 28 at 7:00 and be available for viewing through November 1; the suggested donation is $20. Donations of $100 or more give you access to the live Zoom talkback and Q&A with members of the cast and crew and original Bradys Barry Williams (Greg) and Christopher Knight (Peter).

CONSCIENCE

George Street Playhouse reimagines Joe DiPietro’s Conscience for Zoom

Who: Harriet Harris, Mark Junek, Lee Sellars, Cathryn Wake
What: Live world premiere play reading
Where: George Street Playhouse
When: October 27-31, November 11-15, suggested donation $25
Why: In March, the world premiere of two-time Tony winner Joe DiPietro’s Conscience opened at George Street Playhouse in New Brunswick, but the pandemic shut it down. The original cast is now reuniting for a live, virtual adaptation streaming October 27-31 (with an encore November 11-15). The play is built around Maine senator Margaret Chase Smith’s “Declaration of Conscience,” which she delivered on the Senate floor on June 1, 1950; it was directed at President Harry S. Truman and explained that “the United States Senate has long enjoyed worldwide respect as the greatest deliberative body in the world. But recently that deliberative character has too often been debased to the level of a forum of hate and character assassination sheltered by the shield of congressional immunity” while also calling for “the right to criticize. The right to hold unpopular beliefs. The right to protest. The right of independent thought.” Sound familiar? Tony winner Harriet Harris (Thoroughly Modern Millie, Desperate Housewives) stars as Smith, with Lee Sellars as Sen. Joseph McCarthy, Mark Junek as William Lewis, and Cathryn Wake as Jean Kerr, directed by David Saint. For more on the production, you can watch an April Q&A with Wake here and listen to a virtual symposium with Saint, DiPietro, and playhouse director of education and community artistic programming Jim Jack here.

WHOLE LOTTA CELEBRATIN’ GOIN’ ON: 85 YEARS OF THE KILLER

Who: Jerry Lee Lewis, John Stamos, Elton John, Bill Clinton, Willie Nelson, Lee Ann Womack, Joe Walsh, Billy F Gibbons, Bonnie Raitt, Chris Janson, Jacob Tolliver, James Burton, Jerry Phillips, Jimmy Swaggart, Linda Gail Lewis, Lindsay Ell, Marty Stuart, Mickey Gilley, Mike Love, Priscilla Presley, Tom Jones, Wink Martindale, Kenny Lovelace, Ray Gann, Kenny Aronoff, more
What: Virtual benefit birthday party for Jerry Lee Lewis
Where: jerryleelewis.com
When: Tuesday, October 27, free with advance RSVP, 8:00
Why: At last year’s “Play It Loud: Instruments of Rock and Roll” exhibit at the Met, the signage for Jerry Lee Lewis’s 1955 Petite Grand Piano spoke of “the Killer” in the past tense, but Lewis is still alive and kicking. The man behind such monster hits as “Great Balls of Fire,” “Breathless,” “High School Confidential,” and “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Going On” turned eighty-five on September 29, and several dozens of his friends, relatives, and music colleagues will be honoring the living legend at the virtual birthday party “Whole Lotta Celebratin’ Goin’ On: 85 Years of the Killer,” taking place October 27 at 8:00. Among the participants are Elton John, Bill Clinton, Willie Nelson, Lee Ann Womack, Joe Walsh, Billy F Gibbons, Bonnie Raitt, James Burton, Linda Gail Lewis, Marty Stuart, Mickey Gilley, Priscilla Presley, Tom Jones, Wink Martindale, Kenny Aronoff, and host John Stamos. The all-star event is free, but donations will be accepted for World Vision, which “partners with children, families, and their communities to reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice.”

READING OF THE KEYS BY DOROTHY LYMAN

Dorothy Lyman’s The Keys looks at life in Florida during the current health crisis

Who: Dorothy Lyman, Tim Jerome
What: Live readings of new play
Where: Zoom
When: Sunday, October 25, free with RSVP, 4:00, and Tuesday, October 27, free with advance RSVP, 7:00
Why: One of my closest friends and regular theatergoing companions has two happy places. One is any dark venue that hosts live dramas, comedies, and musicals; the other is the Florida Keys. Unfortunately, because of the pandemic, she cannot fill either of those needs, but she can scratch both itches at least in a small way with a live Zoom reading of Dorothy Lyman’s new play, The Keys. The story is set in the Florida Keys during the current coronavirus crisis, as a pair of senior citizens, Margaret (Lyman) and Gil (Tim Jerome), take stock of their lives in the age of Covid-19, remembering their pasts and imagining an unexpected future. The reading is directed by Elinor Renfield and admission is free, though spaces are limited. Two-time Emmy winner Lyman is a familiar face after spending more than twenty years in soap operas, most notably All My Children, as well as starring in Mama’s Family and the one-woman show My Kitchen Wars; Tony nominee Jerome has appeared in such Broadway productions as Me and My Gal, Beauty and the Beast, The Phantom of the Opera, and Tarzan. It might not be a day at the beach, but what is these days?

RuckUS VOTER ACTIVATION PARADE AND POP-UP

Who: Kurt Andersen, Chavisa Woods, Siri Hustvedt, Carlos Menchaca, the Blacksmiths Marching Band, Will Calhoun, PRC Drum Team, Stefan Zeniuk, Laurie Anderson, Nona Hendryx, Masha Gessen, Tine Kindermann, Bill T. Jones, Elizabeth Streb, Batala NY, Frank London’s Klezmer Brass All-Stars, Mambembe NY, Holly Bass, Plezi Rara, Kenny Wollesen and the Himalaya
What: RuckUS 2020 get out the vote events
Where: Multiple locations in Brooklyn and Manhattan
When: Saturday, October 24, free, noon – 6:00
Why: With the election only eleven days away, events to get out the vote are ratcheting up around the country and here in New York City. RuckUS, a group started by Laurie Anderson, Arto Lindsay, Ryuichi Sakamoto, and Iain Newton to advocate for voter participation and election security, will be hosting rallies in Brooklyn and Manhattan on Saturday following last week’s events in Staten Island and the Bronx, featuring special guest speakers and socially distanced live performances. (An event in Queens for Sunday has been canceled but is trying to be rescheduled.) Below is the lineup. And remember: “Register. Plan. Protect.”

Saturday, October 24, Manhattan
The Africa Center, 1280 Fifth Ave. & 110th St., noon
New York Public Library Main Branch, Fifth Ave. & 42nd St., 2:00
New York Live Arts, 219 West 19th St. off Seventh Ave., live performance by Holly Bass of Moneymaker, twelve-hour endurance performance, 4:00
Washington Square Park, 5:00
Speakers: musicians Laurie Anderson and Nona Hendryx, journalist Masha Gessen, visual artist Tine Kindermann, choreographers Bill T. Jones and Elizabeth Streb
Live performances: Batala NY, Frank London’s Klezmer Brass All-Stars, Mambembe NY, Plezi Rara, Kenny Wollesen and the Himalayas

Saturday, October 24, Brooklyn
Grand Army Plaza, noon
BRIC, Fulton St. & Rockwell Pl., 2:00
Cadman Plaza, 4:00
Speakers: Kurt Andersen, Councilman Carlos Menchaca, Siri Hustvedt, Chavisa Woods
Live performances: The Blacksmiths Marching Band, Will Calhoun, PRC Drum Team, Stefan Zeniuk