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.
this week in theater
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
JUDGMENT DAY: ONLINE BENEFIT READING
Who: Jason Alexander, Patti LuPone, Santino Fontana, Michael McKean, Loretta Devine, Josh Johnston, Bianca LaVerne Jones, Julian Emile Lerner, Justina Machado, Carol Mansell, Michael Mastro, Elizabeth Stanley
What: Online benefit reading of new play
Where: Barrington Stage Company
When: Saturday, August 22, $35+, 7:30 (available through August 25)
Why: The Pittsfield-based Barrington Stage Company will be holding an all-star benefit reading of a new work on August 22 at 7:30, with proceeds going to the Massachusetts troupe and the Actors Fund. For a donation of $35 or more, you will gain access to the live reading, which features Jason Alexander, Patti LuPone, Santino Fontana, Michael McKean, Loretta Devine, Josh Johnston, Bianca LaVerne Jones, Julian Emile Lerner, Justina Machado, Carol Mansell, Michael Mastro, and Elizabeth Stanley in Rob Ulin’s Judgment Day, directed by Matthew Penn. A near-death experience results in a lawyer (Alexander) examining himself and his faith as questions of morality take center stage. “Judgment Day is the perfect panacea for today’s world — a smart, funny play with a brilliant cast; the play gives us an opportunity to laugh out loud — something we’ve had little opportunity to do recently,” Barrington founder and artistic director Julianne Boyd said in a statement. The link will be available for viewing through August 25.
ARTIST CONVERSATION: IGOR GOLYAK & WANG CHONG
Who: Igor Golyak, Wang Chong, Annie G. Levy
What: Artist conversation
Where: ArtsEmerson, HowlRound
When: Wednesday, August 19, free with RSVP, 10:00 am
Why: Back in June, I called Arlekin Players’ virtual interactive play State vs. Natasha Banina “the future of online productions.” On August 19 at 10:00 am, ArtsEmerson’s Together Apart Series will present a live conversation between Arlekin Players artistic director Igor Golyak, who directs the one-woman show — which stars his wife, Darya Denisova, and which you can still catch here — and Théâtre du Rêve Expérimental artistic director Wang Chong, moderated by theater maker and Emerson artist-in-residence Annie G. Levy. Golyak and Chong will focus on the place of theater during a pandemic.
In his Online Theater Manifesto, Chong writes, “The ancient Greeks probably could not have imagined that the public forum they called theater would still exist more than two thousand years in the future. They absolutely could not have imagined that, more than two thousand years later, a plague like the one in their play Oedipus Rex would suffocate theater. Performances have stopped; venues have closed; theater has disappeared. . . . In this world, theater artists can start from scratch with just their bare hands. We can define all time and space; we can control all language and symbols; we can create all the currents and futures. In this world, it is easier for us to find the Dionysian spirit or the ‘immediate theater’ imagined by Peter Brook.” The talk will have live captioning and ASL interpretation, and the audience is encouraged to ask questions.
CELEBRATING TERRENCE McNALLY: EVERY ACT OF LIFE
Who: Jeff Kaufman
What: Celebration of the life and career of Terrence McNally
Where: PBS American Masters on ITVS OVEE
When: Wednesday, August 19, free with RSVP, 8:00
Why: Emmy and four-time Tony-winning legend Terrence McNally died of Covid-19 complications on March 24 at the age of eighty-one. On August 19 at 8:00, PBS’s American Masters series will be celebrating the life and career of the theater giant with a live presentation by Jeff Kaufman, who wrote, directed, and produced the 2018 documentary Every Act of Life, which I called “a lovely and loving look at playwright and activist Terrence McNally, a compelling film about chasing one’s hopes and dreams, refusing to back down, and fighting for what’s right personally and professionally, onstage and off. Kaufman speaks extensively with McNally, who is forthcoming about his career and his sexuality, which included relationships with Edward Albee and Wendy Wasserstein and several men who died during the height of the AIDS crisis.” The event will feature film clips, discussion, and a live, interactive Q&A. You can read my full review here and check out my interview with Kaufman here.
UNFINISHED WORK: FINISH THE FIGHT
Who: Harriett D. Foy, Zora Howard, Q’orianka Kilcher, Leah Lewis, Chelsea Rendon
What: Virtual play about women’s suffrage
Where: New York Times online
When: Tuesday, August 18, free with RSVP, 7:00
Why: The Nineteenth Amendment might have given women the right to vote, but there is still a lot of work to do, including ending voter suppression particularly of people of color. On August 18 at 7:00, the New York Times will premiere the new play Finish the Fight, adapted by Ming Peiffer (Usual Girls, i wrote on ur wall and now i regret it) from the 2020 picture book Finish the Fight!: The Brave and Revolutionary Women Who Fought for the Right to Vote by Veronica Chambers and the Times staff. The show stars Harriett D. Foy as Mary McLeod Bethune, Zora Howard as Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, Q’orianka Kilcher as Zitkála-Šá, Leah Lewis as Mabel Ping-Hua Lee, and Chelsea Rendon as Jovita Idár and is directed by Whitney White (Our Dear Dead Drug Lord, What to Send When It Goes Down). Upon registering, you can submit questions for the creators that might be answered in a Q&A following the show.
THEATRE FOR ONE: HERE WE ARE
Who: Candis C. Jones, Carmelita Tropicana, DeLanna Studi, Eisa Davis, Jaclyn Backhaus, Lydia R. Diamond, Lynn Nottage, Mahira Kakkar, Nikkole Salter, Patrice Bell, Rebecca Martinez, Regina Taylor, Russell G. Jones, Shyla Lefner, Stacey Rose, Tamilla Woodard, Taylor Reynolds, Tiffany Nichole Greene, Zuleyma Guevara
What: Microplays performed for one person at a time
Where: Theatre for One online
When: Thursdays, August 20 – October 29, free with advance RSVP, 6:00 – 7:30 (reservations available the Monday before the show at 10:00 am)
Why: Since 2010, Tony-nominated set designer Christine Jones has been presenting Theatre for One, short plays performed for one person at a time inside a mobile four-by-eight-foot repurposed musical equipment container, at such locations as Times Square, the Brookfield Place Winter Garden, Zuccotti Park, the Signature Theatre, and the Grace Building. With the pandemic lockdown, Jones and Brookfield Place are taking the show online, reimagining its motto of “Intimate Exchanges in Public Spaces” for private spaces, where specially commissioned plays by BIPOC women about intimacy and isolation at this challenging moment in history will be staged in computer boxes, for one audience member at a time, sitting in the confines of wherever they are sheltering in place. “Here We Are” is also being held in conjunction with the hundredth anniversary of the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment, which gave women the right to vote, but a century later, voter suppression, particularly of people of color, is still a major issue.
Co-artistic directors Jones and Jenny Koons said in a statement, “American theater is facing both a historic crisis and a historic opportunity: the COVID-19 crisis and the opportunity to fundamentally address white supremacy in our culture. A spectrum of responses is essential to create lasting change in the fight against systemic racism. The Black Lives Matter and We See You WAT movements, and all of the theater artists fighting racism in our community, inspire us. ‘Here We Are’ is our vision of American theater: one where a vibrant chorus of the most innovative and eloquent artists are centered to share their voices. Theatre for One is made by many. We are committed to creating intimate exchanges in equitable digital and physical spaces.”
The all-star roster for “Here We Are” includes playwrights Jaclyn Backhaus, Lydia R. Diamond, Lynn Nottage, Carmelita Tropicana, DeLanna Studi, Regina Taylor, Nikkole Salter, and Stacey Rose, directors Tiffany Nichole Greene, Candis C. Jones, Rebecca Martinez, Tamilla Woodard, and Taylor Reynolds, and actors Russell G. Jones, Mahira Kakkar, Patrice Bell, Shyla Lefner, Zuleyma Guevara, and Eisa Davis. Eight microplays (three of which are Pandemic Fight, Here We Are, and Before America Was America) will be performed Thursday nights from 6:00 to 7:30 (with additional, later shows some evenings), August 20 through October 29; free tickets will be available each preceding Monday at 10:00 am. There will be some interactivity, so have your computer audio and camera at the ready.