this week in theater

ROCHESTER FRINGE FESTIVAL: COLLECTED STORIES

Annemarie Hagenaars and Judy Rosenblatt star in Donald Margulies’s Collected Stories at the Rochester Fringe Festival this month

Who: Judy Rosenblatt, Annemarie Hagenaars, Austin Pendleton
What: Livestreamed play as part of the Rochester Fringe Festival
Where: Rochester Fringe Festival online
When: September 15, 5:30, September 19, 5:30, September 21, 6:30, September 24, 7:30 (festival runs September 15-26), $5
Why: You didn’t really think a little ol’ thing like a pandemic lockdown would stop Austin Pendleton, did you? The ubiquitous eighty-year-old writer-actor-director-teacher extraordinaire has kept working throughout the Covid-19 crisis, starring in the Guild Hall benefit livestream of Joe Beck’s one-man show James Joyce: A Short Night’s Odyssey from No to Yes on Bloomsday; appearing in a short new one-man play by Craig Lucas, directed by Pam McKinnon, for the Homebound Project benefit series for No Kid Hungry; and directing and performing in a radio adaptation of Arthur Miller’s The American Clock for Steppenwolf.

Next up for Pendleton is directing Donald Margulies’s Pulitzer Prize finalist Collected Stories at the Rochester Fringe Festival. The two-character play debuted in 1996 at South Coast Rep and opened on Broadway in 2010. For the fringe, which is taking place virtually September 15-26 and consists of more than 170 presentations, Judy Rosenblatt will portray teacher and short story writer Ruth Steiner, and Annemarie Hagenaars will be her ambitious twenty-six-year-old student and protégée Lisa Morrison. “I am so grateful and lucky that I get to work with Austin and Judy,” Hagenaars told me via email. “I met them both online back in March at HB Studio. I haven’t met them both in real life yet. Isn’t that strange? Our whole relationship that we have built up over the past months happened solely on Zoom.”

Among the prestigious pairs who have previously played Steiner and Morrison are Kandis Chappell and Suzanne Cryer, Maria Tucci and Debra Messing, Uta Hagen and Lorca Simons, Linda Lavin and Samantha Mathis, Helen Mirren and Anne-Marie Duff, and Lavin and Sarah Paulson.

“I’m so excited to be working with Judy on this play,” Hagenaars, a Dutch actress who also has an MSc in physics and a BSc in astronomy, said about Rosenblatt (Woman Before a Glass, There or Here), who has studied and acted with Pendleton. All three live in New York City but have not been able to get together in person. “We have been meeting on Zoom and rehearsing for the past five months and we have gotten to know each other really well. Not only each other, but also our characters. Donald Margulies wrote a marvelous play and it’s a real treat to be working on these characters. Judy and I work very well together. We both have a Meisner background and we like exploring every single beat in the script. We are a great match.”

I let Hagenaars (Girl Gone: Or Before A League of Their Own, CasablancaBox) know that last summer I rode the Third Ave. bus a short way with Pendleton and we had a lovely chat about theater. I did not tell him that the bus kiosk where we met featured an ad for his play at the time, Aaron Posner’s brilliant Uncle Vanya reimagining Life Sucks, and that the rave at the top of the ad was mine.

“Austin is a fantastic director,“ Hagenaars explained. “He is very kind and he knows exactly how to work with actors and give them notes and feedback on their work. I guess because he also has a lot of experience as an actor he knows how he likes to be directed and reflects that in his work. He is always very supportive of our work but gives the necessary adjustments to us to guide us in a different direction. And his directions are truly enlightening for me. I can’t wait to meet him in real life and give him a big hug.”

The play will be streamed live September 15 and 19 at 5:30, September 21 at 6:30, and September 24 at 7:30; tickets are a mere five bucks.

“I’m having a blast and I feel so fortunate with Judy and Austin,” Hagenaars concluded. “This whole process has been totally worth it and we haven’t even gotten to the first performance yet, but I’m gonna enjoy every single minute.”

FASHION VICTIMS

Who: Kelsey Sheppard, Michael Potts, Alison Fraser
What: Two plays benefiting the Episcopal Actors’ Guild
Where: Zoom
When: Monday, September 14, $15-$100, 7:00
Why: The Episcopal Actors’ Guild is taking part in NY Fashion Week in a unique way; on September 14, it is presenting two new one-act plays about fashion, written by longtime Vogue writer and editor Richard Alleman. And like Fashion Week, it is happening online. First up is Bag Lady, in which an aspiring model from Ohio (Kelsey Sheppard) meets a wise old man (Michael Potts) in a Greenwich Village park. That will be followed by No Room at the Ritz, in which a legendary fashion editor (Alison Fraser) is unaware she might have lost her powerful job. Both works are directed by actor Anthony Newfield, who participated last month in a virtual reading of Alleman’s Adrift with Karen Archer, Glauco Araujo, and Fraser for Cape May Stage, which you can watch here. (Bag Lady and No Room at the Ritz are actually part of a trilogy that also includes #HeToo, about a male model who claims he has been sexually abused.) In a statement, Alleman said about his Vogue career, “It’s a crazy world. But I don’t regret one minute of my time there. If anything, I felt privileged. Of course, there was a dark side to it as well, but all that makes a great background for stories and plays.” The $15 and $25 tickets are sold out, but you can still get $50 and $100 tickets, which come with special benefits; for $100, you are invited to a postshow virtual cocktail party with the cast.

Founded in 1923 and based in the Church of the Transfiguration on East Twenty-Ninth St., the Episcopal Actors’ Guild “helps bridge the inevitable gaps that happen in performing arts careers so these artists can keep working in the career of their choice. During this unprecedented Covid-19 public health crisis, not only have all productions shut down but our performing arts community now finds their supplementary sources of income cut off as well. Your gift will ensure that the services of EAG remain available for our city’s amazing performers ‘of all faiths, and none’ during this difficult time.”

MISCAST20

Miscast20 features an exciting roster of theater stars performing just the wrong songs

Who: Norbert Leo Butz, Heather Headley, Rob McClure, Isaac Powell, Robert Fairchild, Joshua Henry, Ingrid Michaelson, Lauren Ridloff, Adrienne Warren, Beanie Feldstein, Leslie Odom Jr., Nicolette Robinson, Phillipa Soo, Jocelyn Bioh, Julianna Margulies, Raúl Esparza, Piper Perabo, Judith Light, Thomas Sadoski, Kenneth Cole, Laura Bell Bundy, Kerry Butler, Harvey Fierstein, Jenn Gambatese, Jackie Hoffman, Kamilah Marshall, Matthew Morrison, Corey Reynolds, Judine Somerville, Shayna Steele, Marissa Jaret Winokur
What: Virtual edition of MCC Theater’s annual Miscast gala
Where: MCC YouTube channel
When: Sunday, September 13, free (donations accepted), preshow 7:45, show 8:00
Why: We’ve all been there: We’re in a theater watching a show when we realize that it’s just not going to work because of a bad casting decision. MCC Theater has been spoofing on that situation with its annual Miscast fundraising galas, in which they purposely match talented performers with the wrong song. On September 13, Miscast20 will go virtual, adding a geographic dimension to the wrongness. Admission is free, though donations will be accepted, with ten percent going to the Mental Health Coalition, which was founded earlier this year by fashion designer and activist Kenneth Cole; MHC’s mission “is to build a like-minded community who will work together to destigmatize all mental health conditions by changing the way people talk about, and care for, their mental health.”

Performing at the event, which will be broadcast for free on YouTube, are Norbert Leo Butz, Heather Headley, Rob McClure, Isaac Powell, Robert Fairchild, Joshua Henry, Ingrid Michaelson, Lauren Ridloff, Adrienne Warren, Beanie Feldstein, Leslie Odom Jr., Nicolette Robinson, and Phillipa Soo; Jocelyn Bioh, Julianna Margulies, Raúl Esparza, Piper Perabo, Judith Light, Thomas Sadoski, and Cole will serve as presenters. There will also be a special reunion appearance by the cast of Hairspray: Laura Bell Bundy, Kerry Butler, Harvey Fierstein, Jenn Gambatese, Jackie Hoffman, Kamilah Marshall, Matthew Morrison, Corey Reynolds, Judine Somerville, Shayna Steele, and Marissa Jaret Winokur. In addition, MCC is hosting an online auction where you can bid on such items as an original costume from A Chorus Line, coaching and mentor sessions with professionals, signed Playbills, wine and dinner tastings and getaways, and MCC memberships.

NICK CORDERO MEMORIAL TRIBUTE

Who: Friends, family, and colleagues of Broadway actor Nick Cordero
What: Livestreamed tribute to Nick Cordero
Where: Broadway on Demand
When: Sunday, September 6, free, 7:00
Why: The Broadway community has been hit hard by the Covid-19 crisis, from the shuttering of theaters to such mainstays as Brian Stokes Mitchell, Sara Bareilles, Aaron Tveit, Laura Bell Bundy, John Benjamin Hickey, Bryan Cranston, Danny Burstein and Rebecca Luker, and Tony Shalhoub and Brooke Adams contracting the virus. It has also claimed the lives of playwright Terrence McNally, beloved character actor Mark Blum, and, most notably, Tony-nominated Canadian star Nick Cordero, who first had to have one of his legs amputated, then passed away on July 5 at the age of forty-one, leaving behind his wife, Amanda Kloots, and their one-year-old son, Elvis. On September 6 at 7:00, Broadway on Demand is hosting a memorial tribute to Cordero, featuring friends, family, and cast members from all of his shows, including A Bronx Tale, Bullets over Broadway, Rock of Ages, The Toxic Avenger, and Waitress. It’s free to tune in, but the audience is encouraged to text CORDERO to 41444 to donate to Save the Music, a nonprofit that “helps students, schools, and communities reach their full potential through the power of making music.”

TICKET ALERT: MAGIC IN PLAIN SIGHT — A SERIES OF FREE SOCIALLY DISTANCED PERFORMANCES IN SUNSET PARK

Target Margin Theater is bringing people together at storefronts and inside for “Magic in Plain Sight” and “Electric Feeling Maybe”

Target Margin Theater
The Doxsee and nearby locations
232 52nd St. in Sunset Park
October 10, 17, 24, and 30, free with advance RSVP, 7:00 & 8:00
www.targetmargin.org/magic

Target Margin Theater is among the first troupes returning to in-person programming. “Magic in Plain Sight,” a series of pop-up presentations that deal with loss and loneliness, is taking place October 10, 17, 24, and 30 at 7:00 and 8:00 in its Doxsee space in Sunset Park as well as in nearby storefronts, parking lots, and other locations. Admission is free, but you must RSVP in advance; only ten people at a time can watch from the sidewalk. “‘Magic in Plain Sight’ is one of the ways we at Target Margin Theater often talk about how a theatrical event should feel,” founding artistic director David Herskovits said in a statement. “As we all crave for ways to connect and safely gather, we wanted to create a public event that celebrates what we have lost and the wonder that remains. This is the magic in plain sight for all of us to experience.” Each night concludes with “Electric Feeling Maybe,” a thirty-minute gathering with music, movement, and language that explores the concept of touch and people being together. The piece is created by Ali Andre Ali, Will Badgett, Purva Bedi, Leonie Bell, Ebony Burton, Rawya El-Chab, Jesse Freedman, Mary Neufeld, Grace Orr, Stephanie Weeks, and Herskovits, who also directs. Tickets are going fast, so get yours now if you’re ready to start making limited forms of contact and connection and are in dire need of live (socially distanced) performance.

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.