this week in theater

BROADBEND, ARKANSAS WITH LIVE Q&A

Transport Group will present live Q&A about Broadbend, Arkansas on July 23

Who: Justin Cunningham, Danyel Fulton, Marcia Pendelton, Andre Harrington, Michael Dinwiddie, more
What: Live Q&A
Where: Transport Group online
When: Thursday, July 23, free with RSVP, 7:00 (musical available for streaming through August 16)
Why: New York City-based Transport Group is streaming a filmed version of its fall 2019 world premiere musical Broadbend, Arkansas, through August 16, hosted by Tony winner Chuck Cooper; the show, which deals with racial inequality, caregiving, and police brutality and was nominated for three Antonyo Awards, stars Justin Cunningham and Danyel Fulton and is directed by two-time Obie winner and TG artistic director Jack Cummings III; the libretto is by Ellen Fitzhugh and Harrison David Rivers, with music and additional lyrics by Ted Shen. It’s free to stream, although donations are encouraged to the Black Theatre Network. On July 23 at 7:00, Transport Group will host a live discussion and Q&A with the cast and creative team in addition to Marcia Pendelton of Walk Tall Girl Productions and Black Theatre Network president Andre Harrington, moderated by NYU associate professor Michael Dinwiddie.

CAPE COD THEATRE PROJECT: I, MY RUINATION

i my ruination

Who: Nina Arianda, Paul Giamatti, Pedro Pascal, Corey Stoll, Arian Moayed
What: Benefit reading series
Where: Cape Cod Theatre Project
When: Thursday, July 23, and Saturday, July 25, $50, 7:00
Why: Based in Falmouth, Massachusetts, Cape Cod Theatre Project is presenting a live, virtual benefit reading series, which they kicked off earlier this month with Zora Howard’s Bust, directed by Lileana Blain-Cruz; Edith Freni’s The Hystericals, directed by Jessica Holt; and Michele Lowe’s Moses, directed by Daniella Topol. The quartet of newly developed work concludes with Kevin Artigue’s I, My Ruination, directed by Hal Brooks and featuring Tony winner Nina Arianda, Emmy winner and Oscar nominee Paul Giamatti, Drama Desk and Golden Globe nominee Corey Stoll, Pedro Pascal, and Tony nominee Arian Moayed. The play is set in 1952 Hollywood as Elia Kazan appears before the House Un-American Activities Committee and discusses his life and career with his wife, Molly, and fellow writer Arthur Miller. Among the other playwrights whose work has been developed by Cape Cod Theatre Project are Sharr White, Anna Ziegler, Will Arbery, Bess Wohl, Lucas Hnath, Hamish Linklater, and Heidi Schreck. The readings will take place July 23 and 25 at 7:00 and will be followed by an interactive talkback; tickets are $50.

SHAKESPEARE IN VEGAS

shakespeare in vegas

Who: Karen Ziemba, Patrick Page, Melissa WolfKlain, Adrienne Kaori Walters, Nican Robinson
What: A New Works from Home online reading
Where: TheatreWorks Silicon Valley online
When: July 23-27, free, 6:00
Why: TheatreWorks Silicon Valley and the Vegas Theatre Company have amassed quite a cast for their online Zoom reading of Shakespeare in Vegas, a new comedy written by Suzanne Bradbeer and directed by Giovanna Sardelli. The story about bringing the Bard to the Las Vegas Strip features Tony winner Karen Ziemba, Tony nominee Patrick Page, Melissa WolfKlain, Adrienne Kaori Walters, and Nican Robinson, performing from wherever they are sheltering in place. Admission is free, but donations are accepted to help support VTC. You can check out the trailer here.

JODY SPERLING / TIME LAPSE DANCE: SINGLE USE

Jody Sperling dances on the Upper West Side in plastic bags in Single Use

Who: Jody Sperling, Jennifer Congdon
What: World premiere livestream from Jody Sperling/Time Lapse Dance
Where: Time Lapse Dance YouTube channel and Zoom
When: Wednesday, July 22, free with RSVP for Zoom talkback, 7:00
Why: Jody Sperling/Time Lapse Dance has been celebrating its twentieth anniversary season over twenty weeks during the pandemic, with online repertory works and new dances that you can view on its YouTube channel, including Turbulence, Book of Clouds, Wind Rose, and the quarantine dance Plastic Virus. Sperling continues the environmental theme with Single Use, which premieres on July 22 at 7:00. The nine-minute film is choreographed, performed, and edited by Sperling, with cinematography by Angela Hunter, costume by Lauren Gaston, and music by Matthew Burtner. As Single Use begins, Sperling, wearing a mask and gloves, is standing outside the Urban Outfitters store at Broadway and One Hundredth St.; signs in the window announce that March 20 was its last day in business. Sperling then drapes herself in plastic bags from numerous retail stores and dances around the neighborhood, embracing poles and hopping atop barriers, the swishing of the plastic bags in the wind accompanying her, along with the natural sounds of a nearly empty city. She looks like a homeless person or some lost plastic creature, seeking solace somewhere while taking risks and lamenting what we’ve done to the world.

The livestream will be followed by a Zoom talkback with Sperling and Jennifer Congdon, the development director of Beyond Plastics, a Bennington College-based organization whose “mission is to end plastic pollution by being a catalyst for change at every level of our society. We use our deep policy and advocacy expertise to build a well-informed, effective movement seeking to achieve the institutional, economic, and societal changes needed to save our planet, and ourselves, from the plastic pollution crisis.” Single Use will have you thinking not only about recycling but about how we can rejuvenate and revitalize New York City and the country in these challenging times. Time Lapse Dance’s twentieth anniversary continues July 29 with the online release of another new short film, along with a live chat, July 30 with an ecokinetics workshop, and August 6 with the online premiere of Ice Cycle, followed by a conversation with Sperling and Burtner.

TOMORROW WILL BE SUNDAY (working title) READING AND Q&A

working title

Who: Heather Raffo, Jenny Koons, Bill Buell, Laura Crotte, Carol Halstead, Mia Katigbak, CTC 2020 conservatory members
What: Online workshop reading of new play with Q&A
Where: CHQ Virtual Porch On Demand
When: Wednesday, July 22, free with RSVP (donations encouraged), 8:15
Why: During the pandemic, Chautauqua Institution in southwestern New York State has been hosting virtual events via its CHQ Virtual Porch hub, including the “Cocktails, Concerts & Conversations” series with members of Chautauqua Opera Company and Chautauqua Dance, master classes, lectures, and music recitals. On July 22 at 8:15, Chautauqua Theater Company will present a virtual reading of Tomorrow Will Be Sunday, a new play by Heather Raffo (Palace of the End, 9 Parts of Desire), directed by Jenny Koons (A Sucker Emcee, Queen of the Night). Performed by Bill Buell, Laura Crotte, Carol Halstead, Mia Katigbak, and members of the CTC 2020 conservatory, the play (with a working title) is a thriller that explores migration and the global economy. The reading will be followed by a live Q&A.

THE TENTH ANNUAL SHORT NEW PLAY FESTIVAL: PRIVATE LIVES

short new play festival

Who: Ali Ahn, Frankie J. Alvarez, Kathleen Chalfant, Lilli Cooper, Edmund Donovan, William Jackson Harper, Louisa Jacobson, Peter Francis James, Charlayne Woodard
What: Tenth annual Short New Play Festival
Where: Red Bull Live
When: Monday, July 20, free (donations accepted), 7:30 (stream can be viewed for four days)
Why: Theaters are traditionally dark on Mondays, but Red Bull has turned that night into must-see virtual evenings, with high-quality live reunion readings (The Government Inspector, Coriolanus, The Witch of Edmonton) and RemarkaBULL Podversations, in which actors (Chukwudi Iwuji, Elizabeth Marvel, Stephen Spinella, Kate Burton, Michael Urie) recite famous Shakespeare soliloquies and then discuss them. Next up is the tenth annual Short New Play Festival, which is also going virtual as a benefit fundraiser. The theme this year is, appropriately enough, “Private Lives,” inspired by Noël Coward’s 1930 comedy of manners, since we are all living rather private lives these days during the pandemic lockdown. The festival will be livestreamed on July 20 at 7:30, featuring new commissions by established playwrights Jeremy O. Harris (Slave Play, Daddy), who will premiere Fear and Misery of the Master Race (of the Brecht), and Theresa Rebeck (Seared, Seminar), who will present Something in the Ground, in addition to new work by emerging playwrights chosen through an open submission process: Ben Beckley’s Outside Time, without Extension, Avery Deutsch’s Old Beggar Women, Leah Maddrie’s Love — Adjacent, or Balcony Plays, Jessica Moss’s In the Attic, Matthew Park’s Plague Year, and Mallory Jane Weiss’s Evermore Unrest. As you can tell by the titles, the impact of the coronavirus crisis is likely to figure prominently. The outstanding cast consists of Ali Ahn, Frankie J. Alvarez, Kathleen Chalfant, Lilli Cooper, Edmund Donovan, William Jackson Harper, Louisa Jacobson, Peter Francis James, and Charlayne Woodard, with direction by Vivienne Benesch, Mêlisa Annis, and Em Weinstein.

#IRISHREPONLINE: THE WEIR

Who: Dan Butler, Sean Gormley, John Keating, Tim Ruddy, Amanda Quaid
What: Live online performance
Where: Irish Rep online
When: July 21-25, free with advance RSVP (suggested donation $25),
Why: One of Irish Repertory Theatre’s most popular recent productions is Conor McPherson’s ghostly The Weir. The work debuted in England in 1997 and on Broadway two years later; Irish Rep first staged it in 2013 and again in 2015 by popular demand. The company is now bringing it back for an online version running July 21-25, following the success of its livestreamed adaptation of Yes! Reflections of Molly Bloom and the new short pandemic-related tale The Gifts You Gave to the Dark. The six live performances reunite three members of the original Irish Rep production, Sean Gormley as Finbar, John Keating as Jim, and Dan Butler as Jack, with Tim Ruddy as Brendan and Amanda Quaid as Valerie. The show is directed by Irish Rep cofounder Ciarán O’Reilly. McPherson is an Irish Rep institution; the company has also staged Dublin Carol, St. Nicholas, Port Authority, Shining City, and The Seafarer. Irish Rep has done exceptional work during the pandemic; don’t miss what should be a thrilling show.