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

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

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

closet works

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.

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.

BENEFIT READING AND ACTOR/PLAYWRIGHT DISCUSSION OF GOOD AS NEW

good as new

Who: Julianne Moore, Kaitlyn Dever, Peter Hedges
What: Benefit reading and discussion for MCC Theater
Where: MCC Theater YouTube channel
When: Thursday, July 16, $25, 7:00
Why: In its twenty-fifth anniversary 1993-94 season, Manhattan Class Company (now known as MCC Theater) presented novelist, screenwriter, and playwright Peter Hedges’s one-act play Good as New, which was turned into a full-length work in 1997 starring John Spencer, Jennifer Dundas, and Laura Esterman. The company is bringing back the shorter, two-character version for a special benefit reading on July 16 at 7:00, with Oscar and Grammy winner Julianne Moore (Far from Heaven, Still Alice) starring as a mother butting heads with her teenage daughter, played by Kaitlyn Dever (Unbelievable, Booksmart), who is learning how to drive. In a statement, Hedges explained, “Thirty-three years ago I met Julianne Moore at the same time I met MCC Theater. Bernie [Telsey], Bob, and Will had arranged for a stage reading of my play Andy and Claire. An actress unknown to me at that time, Julianne Moore, read Claire. In that moment, she became one of my favorite actors in all the world. MCC Theater is my favorite theater in all the world. And back when I wrote plays, MCC often workshopped and produced them. I even wrote much of my first novel, What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?, reading and staging excerpts under the auspices of MCC Theater. After experiencing the sublime and exquisite live reading this past spring of Alan Bowne’s Beirut with Marisa Tomei and Oscar Isaac, the possibilities of meaningful virtual theater became ever apparent. It was a thrill when MCC approached me about doing a reading of Good as New — and the whole thought of it went to a surreal next level when the great Julianne Moore and one of my favorite younger actors in all the world, the phenomenal Kaitlyn Dever, agreed to come play at what will be a live virtual theatrical party on July 16.”

The twenty-five-minute reading will be directed by Hedges, who has also written and directed such films as Pieces of April, Dan in Real Life, and The Odd Life of Timothy Green and written such plays as Champions of the Average Joe, Imagining Brad, and Baby Anger, and will be followed by a twenty-five-minute interactive talk back with the cast and creative team. Tickets are $25, with proceeds going to MCC’s Be Our Light Campaign; ten percent of any additional donations will go to the Artist Co-op.

PLAYBAC: PERFORMANCES FROM THE ARCHIVE SERIES 2

Who: Baryshnikov Arts Center
What: Free virtual series
Where: Baryshnikov Arts Center online
When: Thursdays at 5:00, free (available through the following Tuesday at 5:00)
Why: Baryshnikov Arts Center is celebrating its fifteenth anniversary virtually, streaming a wide range of archival performances that display its diversity, from dance and music to theater and poetry. Its second series of “PlayBAC: Performances from the Archive” begins July 16-21 with Trisha Brown Dance Company’s Opal Loop / Cloud Installation #72503, filmed ten years ago in the Howard Gilman Performance Space, where Leah Morrison, Nicholas Strafaccia, Laurel J. Tentindo, and Samuel von Wentz move quietly around a smokey stage, with costumes by Judith Shea, lighting by Beverly Emmons, and visual presentation by Fujiko Nakaya creating a mystical atmosphere. The look back continues with Aszure Barton’s Over/Come July 23-28 (with members of Hell’s Kitchen Dance), the Quodlibet Ensemble July 30 – August 4, Company SBB / Stefanie Batten Bland’s A Place of Sun August 6-11, Laurie Anderson, Lou Reed, and Patti Smith reading Catalan poetry August 13-18, and doug elkins choreography, etc.’s Scott, Queen of Marys August 20-25, featuring Javier Ninja. The videos will be introduced by founding artistic director Mikhail Baryshnikov and several of the artists. The first series consisted of works by Rocío Molina, the Latvian National Choir, Rashaun Mitchell, Merasi: Master Musicians of Rajasthan, Vertigo Dance Company, and singer/songwriter Somi, but you cannot see them anymore because they are available for only a limited time, so don’t miss this opportunity to see this second collection of cutting-edge presentations, for free.

July 16-21
Trisha Brown Dance Company, Opal Loop / Cloud Installation #72503 (1980), Howard Gilman Performance Space, filmed April 10, 2010

July 23-28
Aszure Barton, Over/Come (2005), Studio Showing, Rudolf Nureyev Studio, filmed June 16, 2005

July 30 – August 4
Quodlibet Ensemble: Music by Biber, Martynov + Sharlat, Jerome Robbins Theater, filmed December 5, 2018

August 6-11
Company SBB / Stefanie Batten Bland, A Place of Sun (2012), world premiere, Jerome Robbins Theater, filmed May 17, 2012

August 13-18
Laurie Anderson, Lou Reed, and Patti Smith: A Reading of Catalan poetry, Howard Gilman Performance Space, filmed March 23, 2007

August 20-25
doug elkins choreography, etc., Scott, Queen of Marys (1994), Howard Gilman Performance Space, filmed December 7, 2012