this week in theater

BROADWAY RELIEF PROJECT LIVE BENEFIT CONCERTS

Vinny Pastore’s Gangster Squad played a live benefit for the Nick Cordero Fund at Open Jar Studios (photo courtesy Broadway Relief Project)

Who: Teal Wicks, Kate Baldwin, Brandon Victor Dixon, Eva Noblezada
What: Live concerts to be seen in person and online, presented by Broadway Relief Project
Where: Open Jar Studios, 1601 Broadway between Forty-Eighth & Forty-Ninth Sts., eleventh floor
When: September 4-11 (more to come), $5 – $90, 8:00
Why: Just as many schools are starting up again in a hybrid format, a mix of in-person and virtual learning, Open Jar Studios is doing the same with concerts. The Broadway Relief Project kicked off August 21 with a concert by Joshua Henry at the Theater District venue, where a fully masked crowd of forty-eight (in a space that can hold up to three hundred) watched from individual seats separated by plexiglass, with a specially designed air system and no one within twenty feet of the band; you can also join in via livestream here. That was followed August 22 by Jay Armstrong Johnson and August 30 by Vinny Pastore’s Gangster Squad; each performer chooses what charity they want proceeds to go to. “It’s been remarkable to be able to bring a live audience together for the first time in over five months and to see the emotional reception the artists are receiving,” Open Jar Studios owner Jeff Whiting said in a statement. “The cooperation with the city and these Broadway artists has been key to the development of this socially distant space, and it’s been a wonderful challenge to find safe ways to get audiences together to enjoy these Broadway stars.”

Next up is Teal Wicks (Wicked, The Cher Show) on September 4 ($35-$50), benefiting One Tree Planted, followed by Tony nominee Kate Baldwin (Big Fish, Hello, Dolly!) on September 5 ($35-$50), benefiting Active Minds; Tony, Emmy, and Grammy nominee Brandon Victor Dixon (Hamilton, Shuffle Along) on September 6 ($70-$90), benefiting the WeAre Foundation; and two-time Tony nominee and Grammy winner Eva Noblezada (Miss Saigon, Hadestown) on September 11 ($70-$90, charity TBA). Keep watching this space for more announcements.

THEATER OF WAR: THE OEDIPUS PROJECT UK

Who: Kathryn Hunter, Damian Lewis, Clarke Peters, Lesley Sharp, Jason Isaacs, Nyasha Hatendi, Brian F. O’Byrne, Nick Holder, Bryan Doerries
What: Live Zoom theatrical production and discussion from Theater of War
Where: Zoom link sent with advance registration
When: Thursday, September 3, free with RSVP, 2:00
Why: One of the best Zoom presentations of the pandemic has been Theater of War’s The Oedipus Project, in which Frances McDormand, John Turturro, Oscar Isaac, Jeffrey Wright, Frankie Faison, David Strathairn, Glenn Davis, Marjolaine Goldsmith, and Jumaane Williams gave a live, powerful dramatic reading of scenes from Sophocles’s fifth-century BCE classic, Oedipus the King, from wherever they were sheltering in place. (Isaac delivered an unforgettable finale as the tortured king.) The event was introduced by Theater of War cofounder and adapter/director Bryan Doerries, who also led a postshow discussion relating the play to the Covid-19 crisis.

The organization now heads virtually across the pond for an all-star UK edition of The Oedipus Project, featuring Kathryn Hunter, Damian Lewis, Clarke Peters, Lesley Sharp, Jason Isaacs, Nyasha Hatendi, Brian F. O’Byrne, and Nick Holder. The production will take place September 3 at 2:00 and will also conclude with a discussion facilitated by Doerries with four community panelists, focusing on the subjects of aging, dementia, elder care, and family dynamics, examining the play — which Shakespeare wrote, perhaps while self-isolating, during the 1606 plague, when theaters had shut down — in context with the current pandemic.

DEAR LIAR BENEFIT READING

Who: Marsha Mason, Brian Cox
What: Special benefit reading of Jerome Kilty’s Dear Liar
Where: Bucks County Playhouse
When: Tuesday, September 1, $25 in advance, $35 day of show, 7:00
Why: “The perfect love affair is one which is conducted entirely by post,” George Bernard Shaw claimed, and he had just such an epistolary relationship with Mrs. Patrick Campbell, aka Mrs. Pat, an actress who appeared in several of his plays and for whom Shaw created the role of Eliza Doolittle in Pygmalion. Their letters, which encompass forty years, were published in 1952, two years after Shaw’s death, and actor, director, and playwright Kilty adapted their exchanges for the stage in 1957. On September 1, Bucks County Playhouse will be hosting a livestreamed virtual reading of the play, with four-time Oscar and Grammy and Emmy nominee Marsha Mason and Emmy and two-time Olivier Award winner Brian Cox, directed by Obie and Drama Desk winner Mark Brokaw. Mason and Cox join a parade of stars who’ve taken on the roles: The play came to New York City in 1960, starring Katharine Cornell as Mrs. Pat and Brian Aherne as Shaw, was made into a 1964 television movie with Zoe Caldwell and Barry Morse, and was turned into a 1981 film with Jane Alexander and Edward Herrmann.

Marsha Mason and Brian Cox star in virtual benefit reading of Dear Liar

The reading translates wonderfully to Zoom, with Mason (The Goodbye Girl, Chapter Two) and Cox (Rat in the Skull, Succession) performing from where they are sheltering in place. The two are an utter delight to watch; one of the toughest parts of getting online plays to work is for the actors to make a connection not only with the audience but with each other, and Mason and Cox accomplish that with an infectious enthusiasm; they are truly enjoying every minute of being together, even though they are in different locations, and the viewer can’t help but become part of the rapturous celebration of the written word. Kilty structured the play so it’s not merely a reading of letters but a fabulous conversation between two people with rather large egos, with occasional narration. “All I ask is to have my own way in everything,” Shaw commands. Mrs. Pat explains, “Oh, when you are tender like this, a thousand cherubs peek out from under your purple and black wings. Oh, it’s getting difficult not to love you more than I ought to love you. Offend me, quickly, to pull me together again but don’t come here.” They discuss theater, America, the casting of Henry Higgins, age, jealousy, illness, libel, the publication of these very letters, and their families in a thrilling battle of the sexes, gleefully directed by Brokaw (How I Learned to Drive, Heisenberg), who cheerfully plays around with Zoom boxes.

Mason is a delight as Mrs. Pat, whom Shaw calls Stella, taking a slightly more subtle approach than Cox, whose charismatic portrayal of Shaw, whom Mrs. Pat calls Joey, is gloriously bombastic. He can barely contain himself within his Zoom square while Mason watches him ever so eagerly, perhaps having even more fun than we are. Cox has been a pandemic all-star; the New York City resident has been spending time at his Columbia County country house, where he did a magnificent dramatic reading of a section of James Joyce’s Ulysses for Symphony Space’s Virtual Bloomsday on Broadway, sitting outside near the woods, wearing a Panama hat, and involved his wife, Nicole Ansari-Cox, and sons Orson and Torin in Melis Aker’s hysterical short play Fractio Panis for the Homebound Project, which should land them their own family reality show. (When Shaw mentions in Dear Liar that a doctor has “stabbed in the seat” to cure him of a sickness, it recalls Cox’s demands for an “ass thermometer” in Fractio Panis.) The Dear Liar reading benefits the Bucks County Playhouse Pandemic Campaign; tickets are $25 in advance and $35 the day of the performance.

THE THEATRE WILL SURVIVE

Who: Christine Andreas, Sarah Uriarte Berry, Christina Bianco, Chuck Cooper, Robert Cuccioli, Marc De la Cruz, George Dvorsky, Anita Gillette, Jason Graae, Ann Harada, Leah Hocking, Richard Jay-Alexander, Judy Kaye, Jeff Keller, Eddie Korbich, Michael McCormick, N’Kenge, Barry Pearl, Gabriella Pizzolo, Stephanie Pope, Faith Prince, Courtney Reed, T. Oliver Reid, Steve Rosen, Jennifer Sanchez, Analise Scarpaci, Tony Sheldon, Ryan Silverman, Paulo Szot, Ben Vereen
What: Benefit for the Actors Fund, hosted by Theater Pizzazz
Where: Metropolitan Zoom
When: Monday, August 31, $20, 7:00
Why: On August 31 at 7:00, Sandi Durell’s Theater Pizzazz, an entertainment website dedicated to live music and theater, is presenting the world premiere of the video “The Theatre Will Survive,” a song created during the pandemic to celebrate the resiliency of the industry. The lyrics are by Michael Colby, with music and orchestrations by Ned Paul Ginsburg. The cast features such award winners and favorites as Chuck Cooper, Anita Gillette, Judy Kaye, Stephanie Pope, Faith Prince, Courtney Reed, Paulo Szot, and Ben Vereen. The evening will include a live chat with many of the participants; all proceeds benefit the Actors Fund’s Covid-19 Emergency Relief Fund.

SOLDIERGIRLS: A BENEFIT CONCERT

Who: Jenn Colella, Lilli Cooper, Chilina Kennedy, Ezra Menas, Melanie Field, Jessie Shelton, Anna Crivelli, Danielle Chaves, Hannah Van Sciver, Madeleine Barker, Em Weinstein, Emily Johnson-Erday, Sophia Choi, Stephanie Cohen, Rebecca Adelsheim
What: Live, virtual benefit concert
Where: soldiergirls.org
When: Monday, August 31, free with RSVP (donations accepted), 7:00
Why: An all-star cast will participate in Rattlestick Playwrights Theater’s live, virtual concert staging of the new “lesbian musical sex comedy” SOLDIERGIRLS. Tickets are free, but donations will be accepted to support SPART*A (Service Members, Partners, Allies for Respect and Tolerance for All), the mission of which “is to advocate for our actively serving transgender military members, veterans, and their families.” The two-person show features book and lyrics by 2019-20 Rattlestick artistic fellow Em Weinstein and music by Emily Johnson-Erday, inspired by actual letters and found and original text from personnel serving in the Women’s Army Corps during World War II. The sixty-minute presentation will include behind-the-scenes information from the creators as well as costume designer Sophia Choi, set designer Stephanie Cohen, and dramaturg Rebecca Adelsheim; among the performers are Jenn Colella, Lilli Cooper, Chilina Kennedy, Ezra Menas, Melanie Field, and Jessie Shelton. You can find out more about the show in this inside look from PBS.

THE NEW GROUP OFFSTAGE: THE JACKSONIAN

Who: Ed Harris, Amy Madigan, Bill Pullman, Juliet Brett, Carol Kane
What: Live reunion reading by the New Group
Where: The New Group Off Stage
When: Thursday, August 27, $25, 7:00 (available through August 30 at midnight)
Why: In my November 2013 review of the New Group’s NYC premiere of The Jacksonian, I wrote, “Pulitzer Prize winner Beth Henley, who was born in Jackson, Mississippi, has crafted a gripping southern Gothic black comedy with sharp, unpredictable dialogue and heavily stylized direction by Robert Falls. An actor’s actor, Ed Harris gives an exceptional performance as the seemingly stalwart dentist who just wants to have a normal family. Amy Madigan plays Susan with a tension ready to explode at any moment. Bill Pullman is nearly unrecognizable as the bartender harboring more than a few secrets, while Glenne Headly has fun chewing some scenery as the scheming Eva. But it’s Juliet Brett who packs the biggest punch in a breakout role as Rosy.” Harris, his real-life wife, Madigan, Pullman, and Brett are reuniting for a live Zoom reading of the play on August 27 at 7:00; Headly, who passed away in 2017 at the age of sixty-two, will be replaced by Carol Kane. Tickets are $25, with ten percent of the proceeds benefiting Race Forward, which “brings systemic analysis and an innovative approach to complex race issues to help people take effective action toward racial equity”; the link will be available through August 30 at midnight. Part of “The New Group Off Stage,” the reunion reading series previously presented Sharr White’s The True and Jesse Eisenberg’s The Spoils. You can still catch the New Group’s “Why We Do It” conversation series with such guests as Cynthia Nixon, Bobby Cannavale, Edie Falco, Donja R. Love, and Suzanne Vega here.

PRIMAL INSTINCTS: NINTH ANNUAL THEATRE 68 ONE ACTS FUNDRAISING FESTIVAL

Who: Theatre 68
What: Live Zoom plays and talkbacks
Where: Theatre68 YouTube
When: Tuesday – Sunday through September 27, free (donations accepted), 8:00
Why: Theater companies all across the country have been trying to survive the pandemic lockdown with reunion readings, livestreamed archival shows, and new works over Zoom, with varying degrees of success. Some have been ingenious (Arlekin Players Theatre’s State vs Natasha Banina, the Public’s The Line, Larry Powell’s The Gaze), while others, well, not so much, which is just like regular theater experienced live and in person. One of the most daring experiments is being done by Theatre 68, which is based in North Hollywood and has a New York City chapter. Resident troupe the 68 Cent Crew Theatre is following up its Bi-Coastal Monologue Jam with its ninth annual One Acts Fundraising Festival, short plays being performed live Tuesday through Sunday nights at 8:00, with a bonus show Friday at 9:00; they go dark on Mondays, giving it a realistic, recognizable schedule that most brick-and-mortar theaters follow. The works are written, directed, and performed by members of the company, taking place live from wherever the actors are sheltering in place, and are followed by a talkback with cast and crew; the shows are not archived for later viewing on YouTube, although if you check out the troupe’s Facebook page, their are occasional links to help you catch up on a show you might have missed.

Theatre 68 rehearses Fear and Self-Loathing over Zoom for one-act festival

Titled “Primal Instincts,” the festival has completed one go-round of the seven plays, which are listed below. Watching them is an intimate experience, especially if you keep the chat box open as company members, friends, relatives, and theater lovers comment on the action, including artistic director Ronnie Marmo, who played the title character in Theatre 68’s I’m Not a Comedian . . . I’m Lenny Bruce, directed by Joe Mantegna. The plays were conceived prior to the pandemic but they work well just the same; stick around for the talkback and you might get to see one of the writers kvelling at how successfully a play they wrote for the stage has been transformed for this virtual presentation. Among the other tidbits you’ll discover is that Carly Wilkins’s Old Habits Die Hard was written for two female lovers but is performed here by a gay male couple and how the actors adapt their performances week to week by studying the previous shows, something they cannot do with such clarity and specificity onstage in a theater. Look out for Evenings, which brings some fun chills, while Doomed to Live offers one way out of our rather challenging human existence and Fear and Self-Loathing resurrects a famous gonzo journalist. By the time you’ve checked out all seven shows, you’ll feel like you’re part of the Theatre 68 family.

Tuesday, 8:00: Doomed to Live, a novel take on suicide, with John Varina, Louis Politan, and Snezhana Chernyavskaya, directed by Annie Lanzillotto, written by Maria Kirke

Wednesday, 8:00: Old Habits Die Hard, in which a cat threatens the relationship between two gay men in a new apartment, with Julian Guzman Abril and Riley Fee, directed by Lauren Winnenberg, written by Carly Wilkins

Thursday, 8:00: Evenings, a creepy fairy tale about pending motherhood, with Annie Lanzillotto, Janelle Gaeta, and David Erba, directed by Carly Wilkins and Riley Fee, written by Kathryn Loggins

Friday, 8:00: Carnivorous, which presents a vegan dilemma, with Samantha Bowen, Christian Leadley, and Alan Braunstein, directed by Janelle Gaeta, written by Megan Magee

Friday, 9:00: The Stork, featuring a bizarre bird-person, with Alexandra Dominguez, Kaya Simmons, and Jade Mason, directed by John Varina, written by Samantha Bowen

Saturday, 8:00: The Hooking Place, in which a lesbian is jealous of her partner’s upcoming night out with an ex-boyfriend, with Megan Magee and Jordan Gelber, directed by Ronnie Marmo, written by Annie Lanzillotto

Sunday, 8:00: Fear and Self-Loathing, where an editor tries to convince Hunter S. Thompson to get back to writing, with Marty Grabstein, Isa Goldberg, and Richard Bernstein, directed by Megan Magee, written by Christian Leadley