twi-ny recommended events

TNC ON THE AIR: VISITORS IN THE DARK

visitors

Who: Charles Busch, Julie Halston, Becky London, Ruth Williamson, Carl Andress
What: Online reading of new play
Where: Theater for the New City Facebook Live
When: Monday, July 20, free (donations accepted), 7:00
Why: On May 13, Stars in the House presented a live, one-time-only reading of Charles Busch’s wonderful comedy, The Confessions of Lily Dare, which ran at the Cherry Lane earlier this year. On July 20 at 7:00, the downtown institution Theater for the New City is hosting the world premiere of Busch’s latest work, Visitors in the Dark, on Facebook Live. The play, directed and narrated by longtime Busch collaborator Carl Andress, features Busch as Trina, Julie Halston as Hope, Becky London as Lou, and Ruth Williamson as Yvonne, four characters who find themselves trapped in a Greenwich Village tenement during the Northeast Blackout of 1965, evocative of the current situation with everyone still sheltering in place during the pandemic lockdown. Busch, an actor, playwright, cabaret performer, and drag legend, has either written and/or starred in such works as The Allergist’s Wife, Olive and the Bitter Herbs, The Tribute Artist, Vampire Lesbians of Sodom, and Die Mommie Die! The virtual production is part of TNC “On the Air,” which has previously streamed Roberto Monticello’s Café Resistance, Melanie Goodreaux’s The White Blacks, Claude Solnick’s The Statement, William Electric Black’s I Will Never Clean My Room and The Cry, and Eva Dorrepaal’s Raising a Revolutionary, among others. As always, admission is free, but donations are accepted to support this New York City jewel.

DTH ON DEMAND: COMING TOGETHER

Dance Theatre of Harlem will present online premiere of Nacho Duato’s Coming Together this week (photo courtesy DTH)

Who: Dance Theatre of Harlem
What: Livestreamed performances and discussions
Where: Dance Theatre of Harlem YouTube channel
When: July 16-18, free
Why: Dance Theatre of Harlem is continuing its fiftieth anniversary, dubbed “50 Forward,” with virtual presentations this summer. DTH on Demand launched last month with Arthur Mitchell and Frederic Franklin’s adaptation of Creole Giselle, Grand Moultrie’s Vessels, Robert Garland’s Return, and Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s Balamouk. The next iteration is under way, featuring an extended look at last year’s Works & Process performance at the Guggenheim and exciting programs built around Nacho Duato’s Coming Together. Last week the troupe livestreamed “Inside Works & Process: The Four Temperaments,” a panel discussion with George Balanchine Trust répétiteur Deborah Wingert, New York City Ballet solo pianist Susan Walters, and DTH company artist Daphne Lee; “Tones II — A Reflection on Arthur Mitchell,” a talk with company artists Derek Brockington, Choong Hoon Lee, Amanda Smith and former DTH ballerina and board member China White, former ballerinas Gayle McKinney and Brenda Garrett-Glassman, and former principal dancer Donald Williams; and the online premiere of the full-length Guggenheim Rotunda performance from September 30, 2019, consisting of Nyman String Quartet No.2 (choreographed by Robert Garland, with music by Michael Nyman), the first three of The Four Temperaments (choreographed by George Balanchine, with music by Paul Hindemith), and Tones II (choreographed by Mitchell, with a score by Tania León).

This week DTH delves into Duato’s powerful piece, which was commissioned in 1991 for Compania Nacional de Danza in Madrid and was inspired by a letter Attica prisoner Sam Melville wrote on May 16, 1971. The letter reads today as if it were composed during the coronavirus pandemic: “I think the combination of age and a greater coming together is responsible for the speed of the passing time. It’s six months now and I can tell you truthfully few periods in my life have passed so quickly. I am in excellent physical and emotional health. There are doubtless subtle surprises ahead, but I feel secure and ready. As lovers will contrast their emotions in times of crisis, so am I dealing with my environment. In the indifferent brutality, incessant noise, the experimental chemistry of food, the ravings of lost hysterical men, I can act with clarity and meaning. I am deliberate — sometimes even calculating — seldom employing histrionics except as a test of the reactions of others. I read much, exercise, talk to guards and inmates, feeling for the inevitable direction of my life.” Melville was shot and killed during the Attica uprising four months later. On July 16 at 8:00, company artist Crystal Serrano and professor and former dancer Eva Lopez Crevillen will take viewers “Inside Coming Together: Staging the Ballet”; on July 17 at 8:00, “The Greater Coming Together” explores the minimalist score by Frederic Rzewski; and on July 18 at 8:00, the full work will have its virtual premiere, hosted by company artist Lindsey Donnell and including a live interactive chat on YouTube with company artist Dylan Santos. DTH has also been holding live open classes and artist talks regularly on its Instagram and Facebook pages.

THEATER IN QUARANTINE: CLOSET WORKS V.2

Who: Joshua William Gelb, Sanaz Ghajar, Veronica Jiao, Nehemiah Luckett, Nate Stevens, Raja Feather Kelly
What: Live performance series from an East Village closet
Where: Joshua William Gelb YouTube channel
When: Thursday, July 16, free, 7:00 (encore at 9:00)
Why: Feeling claustrophobic? Wait till you get a load of Joshua William Gelb. During the pandemic, the writer, director, performer, and librettist has been presenting short, livestreamed works from his 2′ x 4′ x 8′ converted closet in his East Village apartment, making creative use of the space in a series he calls Theater in Quarantine. Among the pieces you can still catch on his YouTube channel are Franz Kafka’s The Neighbor, Hypochondriac! (based on Moliere’s The Imaginary Invalid), Scott R. Sheppard’s Topside, and box thrree. spool five. a piece of krapp, from Beckett’s Krapp’s Last Tape. On July 16 at 7:00 and 9:00, Gelb will premiere closet works v.2, featuring choreography by regular collaborator Katie Rose McLaughlin and guest artists Sanaz Ghajar, Veronica Jiao, Nehemiah Luckett, Nate Stevens, and Raja Feather Kelly, offering a whole new interpretation of digital space.

In a statement, Gelb (The Black Crook, A Hunger Artist) explained, “I often think about Peter Brook’s invocation of the empty space when standing in front of my closet. How can this utilitarian container, so uncomfortably small, so disproportionate in its aspect ratio, become a stage for the imagination? And it’s here I find the central metaphor, and perhaps appeal, of the entire project — it’s about as obvious as you might expect — that my attempts not only to make art in this confinement but to exist whatsoever, are not so dissimilar from what many of us are experiencing. There is frustration, and boredom, and lots of loneliness. But there is also great potential and for once an expanse of time that we have the chance to fill not with mere anxiety but with the thoughtful, rigorous creative impulse.” The series, held in conjunction with the Invisible Dog Art Center, continues August 13 and September 12; admission is free, but you can donate to the project here. Also on the schedule for Theater in Quarantine is The 7th Voyage of Egon Tichy on July 30, an adaptation of Stanisław Lem’s Star Diaries directed by Jon Levin and written by Josh Luxenberg; and the spoken-word chamber opera Footnote for the End of Time on August 27, based on Jorge Luis Borges’s short story “The Secret Miracle,” directed by Levin and with music by Alex Weston inspired by Olivier Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time.

GRUDGES

grudges zoom

Who: Knowledge Workings Theater Company
What: Livestreamed play about family and politics
Where: Zoom link sent after ticket purchase
When: July 16-24, $10-$20
Why: Last year, satirist Joe Queenan and actor, director, and producer T. J. Elliott kicked off their Knowledge Workings Theater Company with Alms, a play about sports, religion, and homelessness. They’ve followed that up with Grudges, a comic tale of two brothers torn apart by the 2016 presidential election. The cast features John Blaylock as Matthew McCarthy, Lynne Otis as Faith Vergaretti McCarthy, James Lawson as Paul McCarthy, Jasmine Dorothy Haefner as Candy Cruz, and Andre Montgomery as Jerry Marcus, with Ed Altman serving as narrator; Matthew and Paul are considering reconciling over dinner after two years of battling over Donald Trump and Barack Obama, two names they are not allowed to say to each other. Directed by Dora Endre, the piece will be performed live seven times on Zoom July 16-24; tickets are $10-$20. I’ve been enjoying Queenan’s Wall Street Journal column “Moving Targets” for several years; he has also offered his view on the state of the country in such books as Balsamic Dreams: A Short But Self-Important History of the Baby Boomer Generation; Red Lobster, White Trash, and the Blue Lagoon: Joe Queenan’s America; and The Unkindest Cut: How a Hatchet-Man Critic Made His Own $7,000 Movie and Put It All on His Credit Card. So Grudges promises to be sharp, biting, and funny; just don’t hold a grudge against me if it isn’t.

NY CLASSICAL REUNION READING: THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST

importance

Who: Ademide Akintilo, Kristen Calgaro, Connie Castanzo, Jed Peterson, Kate Goehring, John Michalski, Tina Stafford, Clay Storseth
What: Live reunion reading of Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest
Where: NY Classical online
When: Thursday, July 16, free with RSVP, 8:00
Why: Last year, NY Classical Theatre presented a unique version of Oscar Wilde’s classic Victorian farce, The Importance of Being Earnest, indoors and outdoors, with all the actors switching roles and gender for each performance, which took place in A.R.T./New York’s Mezzanine Theatre, Central Park, Brooklyn Bridge Park, and Carl Schurz Park. As part of its virtual programming during the pandemic lockdown, the troupe is bringing back the original cast for a live reunion reading on July 16 at 8:00, featuring Ademide Akintilo as Algernon, Kristen Calgaro as Gwendolen, Connie Castanzo as Cecily, Jed Peterson as Jack, Kate Goehring as Lady Bracknell, John Michalski as Merriman, Tina Stafford as Miss Prism, and Clay Storseth as Dr. Chasuble. Directed by Stephen Burdman, the reading will be available for viewing through July 20. “Oh, pleasure, pleasure! What else should bring one anywhere?” Jack says in the play. We could all use some pleasure in our lives these days, even as we’re stuck at home, going nowhere.

CLASSIC CONVERSATIONS

classic conversations

Who: George Takei, André De Shields, Becky Ann Baker, Dylan Baker, Quincy Tyler Bernstine, Heather Headley, John Doyle
What: Livestreamed discussions about theater in the age of Covid-19
Where: Classic Stage YouTube channel
When: Thursdays, July 16 – August 13, free (donations accepted), 6:00
Why: Now that Classic Stage has concluded its twelve-part “Classic Conversations” series with the performers in the postponed revival of Assassins, the company is turning to other actors with ties to the troupe and its artistic director, John Doyle. The lineup features George Takei on July 16, Tony winner André De Shields on July 23, husband-and-wife team Becky Ann Baker and Dylan Baker on July 30, Obie winner Quincy Tyler Bernstine on August 6, and Tony and Grammy winner Heather Headley on August 13, all moderated by the Tony-winning Doyle. After the livestream, the talks are archived on YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram.

THE ROOM PLAYS: THE LIVING ROOM PLAYS

the living room plays

Who: Eden Theater Company
What: Short Zoom plays about isolation
Where: Zoom room and Facebook Live
When: Thursday, July 16, free with RSVP, 8:00
Why: Last month New City-based Eden Theater Company presented The Bedroom Plays, the first installment in its Room Plays trilogy, each of which consists of three ten-minute plays dealing with isolation during the pandemic lockdown. Jake Brasch’s The Man in the Fuchsia Mask, Cassandra Paras’s Daeva, and Tracy Carns’s In a Bubble, with Only You offered intriguing looks into what life is like in the age of coronavirus. As ETC explains, “This series of short plays are at-home productions that take place in the rooms that we create for ourselves, and the rooms from which we have no immediate exit. The Room Plays provide an empathetic vantage into different experiences, different traumas, and different states of spiritual well-being while in quarantine.” Moving from the bedroom to the living room, the July 16 livestreamed show features Mario Gonzales’s postapocalyptic snapped-shot, directed by Ran Xia and starring Frank Humphries as a Civil War-obsessed loner; Amanda Enzo’s First Day, in which Enzo portrays an art history professor; and husband-and-wife Annie Larussa and Mark Moses’s The Pedicure, in which Larussa and Moses play a couple dealing with NY on PAUSE. The female-driven ETC, led by producing artistic director Diane Davis and creative artistic director Paras, will head toward the bathroom for the intimate finale, scheduled for August 6.