this week in lectures, signings, panel discussions, workshops, and Q&As

DAZED AND CONFUSED VIRTUAL REUNION TABLE READ / THIS IS SPINAL TAP: A VIRTUAL REUNION

The cast of Dazed and Confused is reuniting for benefit live script reading

DAZED AND CONFUSED LIVE SCRIPT READING
Sunday, October 11, minimum donation, 7:30
marchforscience.org
votolatino.org

Alright, alright, alright! Virtual reunions have been all the rage during the pandemic lockdown, from Josh Gad’s “Reunited Apart” YouTube series, which has brought back the casts of such films as Back to the Future, Splash, Ghostbusters, The Goonies, and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, to Seth Rudetsky and James Wesley’s daily Stars in the House get-togethers with the casts of Mean Girls, Fun Home, One Day at a Time, Les Misérables, Sweeney Todd, and many others in addition to live reunion readings of plays, all free but with donations encouraged.

Sean Penn recently raised money for CORE, which promotes Covid-19 testing and other community programs, with a celebrity script reading of Fast Times at Ridgmont High with superstars who were not in the movie (Jennifer Aniston, Dane Cook, Morgan Freeman, Jimmy Kimmel, Shia LaBeouf, John Legend, Ray Liotta, Brad Pitt, and Julia Roberts, as well as Penn not as Spicoli). With the election approaching, script readings and reunions have reached a new level as they seek to help flip red states to blue, including a terrific live virtual reading of The Princess Bride (with Cary Elwes, Robin Wright, Carol Kane, Chris Sarandon, Mandy Patinkin, Wallace Shawn, Billy Crystal, Christopher Guest, director Rob Reiner, and others) for the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, followed by a Veep reunion, headed by Julia Louis-Dreyfus.

On October 11 at 7:30, the original cast of Richard Linklater’s classic 1993 film, Dazed and Confused, will reunite to support the Voto Latino Foundation and the March for Science. The live reading will feature all your favorites: Matthew McConaughey as Wooderson, Ben Affleck as O’Bannion, Parker Posey as Darla, Jason London as Pink, Joey Lauren Adams as Simone, Adam Goldberg as Mike, Anthony Rapp as Tony, Rory Cochrane as Slater, Marissa Ribisi as Cynthia, Cole Hauser as Benny, Deena Martin as Shavonne, Esteban Powell as Carl, Christine Harnos as Kaye, Wiley Wiggins as Mitch, Michelle Burke as Jodi, Mark Vandermeulen as Tommy, Sasha Jenson as Don, Jeremy Fox as Hirschfelder, Christin Hinojosa as Sabrina, Catherine Morris as Julie, and Nicky Katt as Clint. The film has always been a quote lover’s dream, but several of them will take on a new meaning given the state of the country today. Cynthia: “Maybe the ’80s will be, like, radical or something. I figure we’ll be in our twenties and it can’t get worse.” Simone: “You act like you’re so oppressed. You guys are kings of the school. What are you bitching about?” Mike: “I feel like I’m being stalked by a Nazi.” Tony: “Neo-McCarthyism, I like that.” And Ms. Stroud: “Okay, guys, one more thing. This summer when you’re being inundated with all this American bicentennial Fourth Of July brouhaha, don’t forget what you’re celebrating, and that’s the fact that a bunch of slave-owning, aristocratic white males didn’t want to pay their taxes.” Patton Oswalt, who hosted the Princess Bride reunion and moderated the postshow Q&A, will perform the same duties here.

THIS IS SPINAL TAP: A VIRTUAL REUNION
Wednesday, October 14, minimum donation, 9:00
www.padems.com

On October 14 at 9:00, another too-cool reunion will be taking place, raising money for the Pennsylvania Democratic Party as it tries to switch the state, which voted for Trump in 2016, to Biden this time around. And once again it will be a quote-laden classic directed by Reiner, the 1984 mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap, with Michael McKean (David St. Hubbins), Christopher Guest (Nigel Tufnel), Harry Shearer (Derek Smalls), Reiner (who also played Marty DiBergi), and host and moderator Oswalt. “Democratic enthusiasm in Pennsylvania is already turned up to eleven,” Pennsylvania Democratic Party executive director Jason Henry said in a statement.

Although this one is not a table read, Spinal Tap also still has a relevant take on the U.S. of A. after all these years. St. Hubbins explains, “I believe virtually everything I read, and I think that is what makes me more of a selective human than someone who doesn’t believe anything.” Speaking about a new album cover, St. Hubbins says, “Well, I think it looks like death. It looks like mourning,” to which their manager, Ian Faith (Tony Hendra), responds, “Death sells.” And then there’s this exchange: St. Hubbins: “It’s such a fine line between stupid, and uh . . .” Tufnel: “Clever.” St. Hubbins: “Yeah, and clever.” Tickets for the Dazed and Confused and Spinal Tap reunions are pay-what-you-wish; as we approach the end of the campaign (and maybe the end of our nation), don’t forget these key words from St. Hubbins: “Well, I don’t really think that the end can be assessed as of itself as being the end because what does the end feel like? It’s like saying when you try to extrapolate the end of the universe, you say, if the universe is indeed infinite, then how — what does that mean? How far is all the way, and then if it stops, what’s stopping it, and what’s behind what’s stopping it? So, what’s the end, you know, is my question to you.”

EDGECUT: CAPTIVITY

Kate Ladenheim + the RAD Lab’s Babyface is part of Edgecut: Captivity live 3D experience online at NYLA on Saturday

Who: Carrie Sijia Wang, Emily Twines, Theater in Quarantine, Kate Ladenheim + the RAD Lab, Rourou Ye, Sadi Oortmood, Sylvain Souklaye, XUE
What: 3D live experience
Where: New York Live Arts
When: Saturday, October 10, livestream free, interactive experience $7-$20, noon – 5:00
Why: The cutting-edge series EdgeCut is teaming up with New York Live Arts for Captivity, five hours of short performance works, talkbacks, and networking taking place online from noon to 5:00 on October 10. Curated by Heidi Boisvert and Kat Mustatea, the EdgeCut program, which originally convened at the New Museum’s NEW INC incubator for art, tech, and design for in-person presentations, is now seeking to expand and redefine the virtual 3D experience during the pandemic lockdown, exploring the question “How do we create collective experience and transformative gatherings in this moment of ‘a crisis within a crisis’ that speak to transition, change, healing, humanity?” The works, chosen through an open call focusing on captivity, sanity, and humanity, include Kate Ladenheim + the RAD Lab’s Babyface, Rourou Ye’s The Absent Umbra, Theater in Quarantine’s The Neighbor, Carrie Sijia Wang’s The System 2.0, Sadi Oortmood’s Invisible Creativity, Emily Twines’s lookingGlass, Sylvain Souklaye’s Black Breathing, and Xue’s Endless Return Rave. Virtual attendees can roam from room to room and engage with others, but be patient, as there’s a maximum of fifteen at any one time in the Nowhere platform. The full Captivity experience can be accessed with advance tickets of $7 to $20, but they are extremely limited, so act fast; it can also be watched for free via livestream but without the participatory elements.

HUDSON VALLEY DANCE FESTIVAL 2020

Who: Ayodele Casel, Billy Griffin, Ricky Ubeda, Stephen Petronio, Lloyd Knight, Nicholas Sciscione, Jamar Roberts, Caleb Teicher, Catherine Hurlin, Peter Walker, Daniel Applebaum, Christopher D’Ariano, Adam Weinert
What: Virtual Hudson Valley Dance Festival
Where: Dancers Responding to AIDS
When: Saturday, October 10, free (donations accepted), 7:00 (available for four days)
Why: The Hudson Valley Dance Festival can’t take place in its beautiful Catskill environs, so instead it is happening online, presenting an hour of special works on October 10 at 7:00. “We’ll miss gathering on the banks of the Hudson River and amid the gorgeous fall foliage, but we’re happy to continue the tradition of sharing breathtaking dance that gives back to and celebrates the Hudson Valley community,” Dancers Responding to AIDS founding director Denise Roberts Hurlin said in a statement. “In these unprecedented times, we’re thrilled to come together virtually and provide immediate help to those affected by Covid-19, HIV/AIDS, and other life crises in the area and across the country.” The program includes tap dancer Ayodele Casel’s Oscar Joy, filmed in his home studio; Billy Griffin’s Is That All There Is? with Ricky Ubeda; Stephen Petronio’s Are You Lonesome Tonight, filmed at the Petronio Residency Center, with Lloyd Knight and Nicholas Sciscione; Jamar Roberts’s WPA commission, Cooped, the most explosive dance made during the pandemic lockdown; Caleb Teicher’s Tee Time, an outdoor solo performed by Catherine Hurlin; Peter Walker’s Words in the Fire, with Daniel Applebaum and Christopher D’Ariano; and an excerpt from Adam Weinert’s Monument.

You can watch for free, but donations will go to Broadway Cares in support of the following Hudson Valley organizations: the Albany Damien Center, Alliance for Positive Health, Animalkind, Columbia-Greene Community Foundation, Hudson Valley SPCA, Matthew 25 Food Pantry, Community Hospice, Hudson Valley Community Services, Hudson Valley LGBTQ Community Center, Rock Steady Farm, Roe Jan Food Pantry, TOUCH (Together Our Unity Can Heal), and Troy Area United Ministries.

LIVE AT THE LORTEL: SEASON TWO

Moulin Rouge’s Karen Olivo is the guest on “Live at the Lortel” podcast taping on October 15 (photo by Matthew Murphy)

Who: BD Wong, Ty Jones, Maybe Burke, Telly Leung, Tonya Pinkins, Pooya Mohseni, Karen Olivo, Betty Shamieh, Andréa Burns, Eric Ostrow, John-Andrew Morrison, Daphne Rubin-Vega
What: Live Zoom podcast tapings
Where: Live at the Lortel Zoom
When: Thursdays & Fridays at 10:15 am and 12:15 pm, free with advance RSVP
Why: The Lucille Lortel Theatre’s second season of its “Live at the Lortel” podcast, which focuses on BIPOC and LGBTQ creators and the fight against systemic racism and hatred, got under way October 2 with an in-depth conversation with BD Wong, which you can listen to here. The talks, hosted by Eric Ostrow with cohosts John-Andrew Morrison and Daphne Rubin-Vega, are done live for later release, featuring a discussion and an audience Q&A. The live taping schedule continues October 8 at 10:15 with transgender actor, writer, and human rights advocate Maybe Burke, October 9 with Telly Leung at 10:15 and Tonya Pinkins at 12:15, October 15 with Pooya Mohseni at 10:15 and Karen Olivo at 12:15, and October 16 with Betty Shamieh at 10:15 and Andréa Burns at 12:15. If you miss the live recording, you can catch the podcast later, as a new one is posted online every Friday. Season one included such theater luminaries as Condola Rashad, Christine Baranski, Judy Kuhn, Michael Urie, Jonathan Groff, Jocelyn Bioh, Lileana Blain-Cruz, Kate Hamill, John Benjamin Hickey, Donja R. Love, Stephen Adly Guirgis, Kathleen Chalfant, John Glover, Lee Sunday Evans, Marsha Mason, Halley Feiffer, Duncan Sheik, and Charles Busch, which you can listen to here.

AN EVENING OF NEW YORK SONGS AND STORIES WITH SUZANNE VEGA: LIVE AT THE BLUE NOTE

Who: Suzanne Vega, Gerry Leonard, Jeff Allen, Jason Hart
What: Two livestreamed concerts
Where: Blue Note Jazz Club online
When: Wednesday, October 7, 9:00, and Thursday, October 8, $24, 3:00
Why: Beloved singer-songwriter Suzanne Vega might have been born in California, but she is a true New Yorker, raised in Spanish Harlem. She is celebrating the release of her live album, An Evening of New York Songs and Stories, with two shows that will be livestreamed from the Blue Note in Greenwich Village, where she will perform the full record with guitarist Gerry Leonard, bassist Jeff Allen, and keyboardist Jason Hart. On October 7, the show will begin at 9:00 for US audiences, while the October 8 show will start at 3:00 for overseas fans, although you can watch either or both concerts no matter where you are. The record, which was released on her label, Amanuensis/Cooking Vinyl, on September 11, features sixteen songs from throughout her career, focusing on New York City as a theme, including “Marlene on the Wall,” “Ludlow Street,” “Freeze Tag,” “Tom’s Diner,” “Luka,” “New York Is My Destination,” and “New York Is a Woman” in addition to a cover of Lou Reed’s “Walk on the Wild Side.” (Ten years ago, Dutch DJ Ben Liebrand did a mashup of Reed’s underground classic with “Tom’s Diner,” which you can listen to here.) Vega, who has also written her own one-woman biomusical, Carson McCullers Talks About Love, has been a fun presence on social media during the pandemic, doing interviews (she discussed her part in the New Group production of Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice here) and playing songs and telling stories from her home (check out her Greenwich Village Folk Festival set here), so this full-band show is a don’t-miss opportunity to not just hang out with a New York treasure but fall in love with her, and the city, all over again.

LESSONS IN SURVIVAL

Who: Kyle Beltran, Dan Butler, Helen Cespedes, Kalyne Coleman, Crystal Dickinson, Brandon J. Dirden, Ricardy Fabre, Yonatan Gebeyehu, Marin Ireland, Peter Mark Kendall, Nicole Lewis, Nana Mensah, Joe Morton, Deirdre O’Connell, Keith Randolph Smith, Ryan Spahn, Chris Stack, Myra Lucretia Taylor, TL Thompson, Nicole Villamil, Victoria Villier, Reggie D. White
What: Historic talks put into contemporary context
Where: Vineyard Theatre
When: October 6 – November 1, community conversations free, others $5-$9 per person per event, All Access Pass $60
Why: Conceived by Marin Ireland, Peter Mark Kendall, Tyler Thomas, and Reggie D. White, the Vineyard Theatre’s “Lessons in Survival” features a group of actors dubbed the Commissary reenacting historic speeches, interviews, and conversations from activists and artists during revolutionary times. Episodes such as “Survival Is Not a One Time Decision,” “I’m Trying to Make You See Something,” and “When You Say Revolution . . . What Do You Mean?” will be performed by Kyle Beltran, Dan Butler, Helen Cespedes, Crystal Dickinson, Brandon J. Dirden, Nicole Lewis, Joe Morton, Deirdre O’Connell, and Keith Randolph Smith, presenting the words of Nina Simone, Lorraine Hansberry, James Baldwin, Angela Davis, Fannie Lou Hamer, Maya Angelou, Toni Morrison, Nikki Giovanni, and others, directed by Tyler Thomas, with video design and editing by Josiah Davis and music by Daniel Kluger. Performances take place Tuesday and Wednesday nights at 8:30, with ticketed open rehearsals on Thursday nights and free Sunday afternoon community talks that can be viewed over YouTube and Facebook Live. To get ready, you can watch a discussion about the series here.

Tuesday, October 6, 8:30
“Survival Is Not a One Time Decision,” words by Nina Simone, Lorraine Hansberry, and Audre Lorde/Blanche Cook, with Nicole Lewis, Kalyne Coleman, Myra Lucretia Taylor, and Deirdre O’Connell

Wednesday, October 7, 8:30
“I’m Trying to Make You See Something,” words by James Baldwin/Dick Cavett, and Paul Weiss, followed by live tweeting about the vice presidential debate, with Ricardy Fabre, Chris Stack, and Dan Butler

Thursday, October 8, 8:30
Live Open Rehearsal, words by Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis and others, with Crystal Dickinson, Brandon J. Dirden, and Victoria Villier

Sunday, October 11, 5:30
Live Community Conversation, free

Tuesday, October 13, 8:30
“When You Say Revolution . . . What Do You Mean?,” words by Angela Davis, Georgia Gilmore, and Fannie Lou Hamer, with Nicole Lewis, Ricardy Fabre, Crystal Dickinson, and Helen Cespedes

Thursday, October 15, 8:30
Live Open Rehearsal, words by Bobby Seale, Bobby Seale/Bob Costas, and Ericka Huggins/Angela Davis/JoNina Abron/Barbara Rogers, with April Matthis, Reggie D. White, Sevrin Anne Mason, Adam Chanler-Berat, Brandon J. Dirden, Kristolyn Lloyd, Clarissa Marie Ligon, Nicole Lewis, and director Tyler Thomas

Sunday, October 18
Live Community Conversation, free, 5:30

“The Old Leadership Is Dead,” words by Bayard Rustin, with Kyle Beltran, Yonatan Gebeyehu, and TL Thompson, 8:30

Tuesday, October 20, 8:30
“Something Is Beginning to Crack,” words by Maya Angelou/Mavis Nicholson and James Baldwin/Mavis Nicholson, with Myra Lucretia Taylor, Marin Ireland, Joe Morton, and Deirdre O’Connell

Wednesday, October 21, 8:30
“This Country’s My Problem and Your Problem,” words by Toni Morrison and Charlie Rose, James Baldwin and R. H. Darden, with Dan Butler, Yonatan Gebeyehu, Nana Mensah, and Ryan Spahn

Thursday, October 22, 8:30
Live Open Rehearsal, words by Muhammad Ali/Nikki Giovanni, Joan Baez, Pete Seeger, and more, with TL Thompson, Jennifer Ikeda, Crystal Dickinson, Nicole Villamil, Peter Mark Kendall, Peter Gerety, and director Tyler Thomas

Sunday, October 25
Live Community Conversation, free, 5:30

“This Country’s My Problem and Your Problem,” words by Toni Morrison/Charlie Rose, James Baldwin, and R. H. Darden, with Dan Butler, Yonatan Gebeyehu, Nana Mensah, and Ryan Spahn, 8:30

Tuesday, October 27, 8:30
“Lie to Me,” words by James Baldwin/Nikki Giovanni, with Kalyne Coleman, Crystal Dickinson, and Reggie White

Thursday, October 29, 8:30
Live Open Rehearsal, with words by Lucille Clifton/Sonia Sanchez, Sarah Keys Evans, John Lewis, and Paul Robeson, with Keith Randolph Smith and others

Sunday, November 1
Live Community Conversation, free, 5:30

“To Teach Is a Revolutionary Act,” words by James Baldwin/Nikki Giovanni, with Kyle Beltran, Nana Mensah, Kalyne Coleman, and Joe Morton, 8:30

LAS AVENTURAS DE JUAN PLANCHARD ONLINE PREVIEW WITH LIVE Q&A

Who: Edgar Ramírez, Moisés Kaufman, Jonathan Jakubowicz, Daniela Bascopé, Elba Escobar, María Gabriela de Farias, Rafael De La Fuente, Christian McGaffney, Iván Tamayo, Franklin Virguez, Amanda-Lynn Williams
What: Livestreamed performance of selections from new play and Q&A
Where: YouTube and Zoom
When: Tuesday, October 6, free with RSVP, 7:00
Why: New York City’s Tectonic Theater Project and Florida’s Miami New Drama are teaming up to present the world premiere of select scenes from Tectonic founder and artistic director Moisés Kaufman’s first Spanish-language play, Las Aventuras de Juan Planchard. Written and directed by the Caracas-born Kaufman (33 Variations, The Laramie Project), the work is based on the novel by Venezuelan author and filmmaker Jonathan Jakubowicz that became a rallying cry for the anti-Maduro movement. “I’ve witnessed my native country devastated by the Bolivarian Revolution. Chavez, Maduro, and their amoral cronies and henchmen have bankrupted one of the richest countries in the world, and brought about famine, disease, and scarcity of basic goods,” Kaufman said in a statement. “I’ve been eager to write a play about the situation there but couldn’t do it because I’ve been gone for twenty-five years. But then I read Jonathan’s novel and I knew I’d found the story I wanted to tell. This play wouldn’t be allowed to be performed in Venezuela today — but the online preview will allow Venezuelans to see it; in fact, all of Latin America will be able to see it, and that fills me with great joy.” The play features Daniela Bascopé, Elba Escobar, María Gabriela de Farias, Rafael De La Fuente, Iván Tamayo, Franklin Virguez, Amanda-Lynn Williams, and Christian McGaffney as the title character.

“If you multiply the money made by Al Capone by the money made by Pablo Escobar and adjust for inflation, you would still be nowhere near the amount of cash that has been stolen by Hugo Chavez and Nicolas Maduro,” Jakubowicz added. “They have undoubtedly performed the biggest robbery of all time, and it’s all been done in the name of socialism. The Adventures of Juan Planchard is an inside look at how this mafia operates. I wrote it as a desperate attempt to reach my fellow Venezuelans, and never dreamed that it would become an international bestseller. It also never crossed my mind that one of my all-time heroes, Moisés Kaufman, would end up adapting it for the stage. When I saw the first reading of his play, I was blown away. And I know that fans of the novel, and those who have never read it, will be both physically and intellectually seduced by Juan Planchard, his adventure, and his immense moral dilemma.” Following the prerecorded performance on YouTube, Kaufman, Jakubowicz, and Miami New Drama artistic director Michel Hausman will participate in a live Zoom Q&A. The fully staged show is scheduled to be performed in person, with an audience, at the Colony Theater in summer 2021 if regulations allow.