this week in theater

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.

THE NEW GROUP OFF STAGE: THE TRUE (and more)

the true reunion

Who: Austin Cauldwell, Edie Falco, Glenn Fitzgerald, Michael McKean, John Pankow, Peter Scolari, Tracy Shayne
What: Live reunion reading by the New Group
Where: The New Group Off Stage
When: Thursday, July 16 (available through July 19 at midnight), $25, 7:00
Why: In my September 2018 review of the New Group’s world premiere of The True, I wrote, “Obie-winning playwright Sharr White and director Scott Elliott manage to make a story about the 1977 mayoral election in Albany, New York, tense and exciting.” White’s fact-based drama featured a stellar cast taking us behind the scenes of political intrigue in the state capital. The Manhattan-based troupe is bringing the original cast back for a live, virtual reunion reading on July 16 at 7:00 as part of “The New Group Off Stage,” an online initiative benefiting the company and local organizations. Chiming in from wherever they are sheltering in place will be Michael McKean as Erastus Corning II, Glenn Fitzgerald as Howard C. Nolan, John Pankow as Charlie Ryan, Tracy Shayne as Betty Corning, Austin Cauldwell as Bill McCormick, Edie Falco as Dorothea “Polly” Noonan, and Peter Scolari as her husband, Peter. Ten percent of the proceeds will go to Girl Be Heard, which helps build youth resilience.

“The New Group Off Stage” continues July 30 with Jesse Eisenberg’s The Spoils, with Eisenberg, Kunal Nayyar, Erin Darke, Annapurna Sriram, and Michael Zegen, benefiting the Immigrant Freelance Artists for Theatre Fund. In addition, the New Group hosts “Why We Do It” on Wednesdays at 4:00, free live conversations moderated by founding artistic director Scott Elliott; coming up are Suzanne Vega on July 15, Clint Ramos on July 22, Maulik Pancholy on July 29, Erica Schmidt on August 5, Nico Santos on August 26, and Natasha Lyonne on September 2. And the New Group is teaming up with the NRDC for “Facing the Rising Tide: A free digital festival of play readings and conversations about environmental racism, the climate crisis, and hope,” consisting of free live readings and discussions July 20-24 at 7:00, with Charles Gershman’s Quik-Mart, directed by Arpita Mukherjee; Erika Dickerson-Despenza’s shadow/land, directed by Candis C. Jones; Rae Binstock’s That Heaven’s Vault Should Crack, directed by Kareem Fahmy; Jessica Huang’s Mother of Exiles, directed by Seonjae Kim; and Daniella De Jesús’s Mambo Sauce, directed by Machel Ross.

KAYE BALLARD — THE SHOW GOES ON!

kaye ballard

Who: Special guests
What: Livestream film premiere of Kaye Ballard — The Show Goes On! with bonuses before and after screening
Where: Facebook Live
When: Tuesday, July 14, free, 8:00
Why: In January 2019, the one and only Kaye Ballard passed away at the age of ninety-three. If you don’t know anything about her, you need to, and you can do so on July 14 when the documentary Kaye Ballard — The Show Goes On! makes its virtual premiere for free on Facebook Live. Ballard was a beloved singer, actress, and comedian perhaps best known for her many guest appearances on talk shows, game shows, and variety programs, from The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson (and Jack Paar) and The Mike Douglas Show to Hollywood Squares and The Perry Como Show; she also appeared on such sitcoms as The Mothers-in-Law, The Doris Day Show, and What a Dummy in addition to a bunch of films, burlesque and vaudeville, and more than two dozen stage shows, going back to 1946.

In Kaye Ballard — The Show Goes On!, director Dan Wingate speaks with Ann-Margret, Jerry Stiller, Carol Burnett, Harold Prince, Carol Channing, Michael Feinstein, Rex Reed, Joy Behar, Peter Marshall, and Ballard herself, who is seen in new interviews, classic archival footage, and clips from her 2017 one-woman show about her life. “I don’t know where I got it, I don’t know why it happened, but I think I’m lucky because I always knew what I wanted to do,” she says in the film. And now you can consider yourself lucky to discover the great Kaye Ballard either for the first time or all over again; the advance screening (the virtual release is set for July 17) will be preceded by a special introduction and followed by a surprise bonus.

THE HOMEBOUND PROJECT: THEATER FOR THE FRONT LINE PART FOUR

The fourth iteration of the Homebound Project features a stellar lineup performing new short plays from their homes

The fourth iteration of the Homebound Project features a stellar lineup performing new short plays from their homes

Who: Tommy Dorfman, Lisa Edelstein, Adam Faison, Santino Fontana, Cherry Jones, Sue Jean Kim, Judith Light, Jon-Michael Reese, Amber Tamblyn, Marquise Vilsón, Mary Wiseman, Thomas Sadoski
What: New online theatrical works to benefit No Kid Hungry
Where: Link supplied by the Homebound Project after donation and shortly before start of stream
When: July 15-19, $10 or more, 7:00
Why: The fourth edition of the Homebound Project, collections of ten or eleven short monologues created by Oscar-, Tony-, Emmy-, and Pulitzer Prize-winning actors, writers, and directors exploring intimate, personal reactions to the current pandemic, is set for July 15-19, another opportunity to experience poignant original drama during the lockdown. A benefit for the national nonprofit No Kid Hungry, which, as part of Share Our Strength, seeks to solve poverty and hunger issues around the country, each set of mini-plays is available to watch online for four days only, with a minimum donation of ten dollars. In addition to experiencing provocative, compelling, and humorous takes on the coronavirus crisis, you get to see where these actors are sheltering in place; Amanda Seyfried’s ranch is particularly impressive.

The first lineup of actor/playwright combinations featured Christopher Abbott / Lucy Thurber, Glenn Davis / Ren Dara Santiago, William Jackson Harper / Max Posner, Jessica Hecht / Sarah Ruhl, Marin Ireland / Eliza Clark, Raymond Lee / Qui Nguyen, Alison Pill / C. A. Johnson, Elizabeth Rodriguez / Rajiv Joseph, Thomas Sadoski / Martyna Majok, and Amanda Seyfried / Catya McMullen, while the second iteration consisted of Ngozi Jane Anyanwu / Anne Washburn, Nicholas Braun / Will Arbery, Utkarsh Ambudkar / Marco Ramirez, Betty Gilpin / Lily Houghton, Kimberly Hébert Gregory / Loy A. Webb, Hari Nef / Ngozi Anyanwu, Mary-Louise Parker / Bryna Turner, Christopher Oscar Peña / Brittany K. Allen, Zachary Quinto / Adam Bock, Taylor Schilling / Sarah DeLappe, and Babak Tafti / David Zheng. The third (with directors added) consisted of Ralph Brown / Donnetta Lavinia Grays / Jenna Worsham, Daveed Diggs / C. A. Johnson, Diane Lane / Michael R. Jackson / Taylor Reynolds, Paola Lázaro / Gina Femia / Taylor Reynolds, Jennifer Carpenter and Thomas Sadoski / John Guare / Jerry Zaks, Joshua Leonard / Mara Nelson-Greenberg, Eve Lindley / Daniel Talbott / Kevin Laibson, Arian Moayed / Xavier Galva, Ashley Park / Bess Wohl / Leigh Silverman, Will Pullen / Samuel D. Hunter / Jenna Worsham, Phillipa Soo / Clare Barron / Steven Pasquale, and Blair Underwood / Korde A. Tuttle. If you haven’t been following along, you’ve missed some of the best theater out there over the last several months.

The fourth section offers yet more exciting talent with the following actor/writer/director teams: Tommy Dorfman / Diana Oh / Lena Dunham, Lisa Edelstein / Janine Nabers, Adam Faison / Charly Evon Simpson, Santino Fontana / Emily Zemba, Cherry Jones / Erin Courtney / Jenna Worsham, Sue Jean Kim / Leslye Headland and Claire Rothrock / Annie Tippe, Judith Light / Jon Robin Baitz / Leigh Silverman, Jon-Michael Reese / Harrison David Rivers / Colette Robert, Amber Tamblyn / Halley Feiffer, Marquise Vilsón / Migdalia Cruz / Cándido Tirado, and Mary Wiseman / Boo Killebrew / Jenna Worsham. Kudos also go out to Andy Jean for costume consultation, Fan Zhang for sound design, and Jon Burkland/ZANNI Productions for video editing and design. We might not be able to go to the theater these days, but this is one of the smartest ways the theater is being brought to us, and all for a crucially important cause in very difficult times. The fifth and final iteration is scheduled for August 5-9 — don’t forget that these are indeed very limited runs, available for only four days, so sign up quickly and give generously.

AMERICAN UTOPIA MEETS UTOPIA AVENUE: DAVID BYRNE AND DAVID MITCHELL IN CONVERSATION

David Mitchell and David Byrne will discuss the concept of utopia and the state of the world i 92Y conversation

David Mitchell and David Byrne will discuss the concept of utopia and the state of the world in 92Y conversation

Who: David Byrne, David Mitchell
What: Online discussion and Q&A
Where: 92Y Unterberg Poetry Center
When: Tuesday, July 14, $35, 6:00
Why: In his Broadway show American Utopia, Scotland-born former Talking Heads American lead singer David Byrne adapted songs from throughout his career into a stunningly conceived stage musical with a mobile, untethered band, choreography by Annie-B Parson, and a narrative delving into the nature of the human brain and our experience on this planet, featuring such songs as “Here,” “This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody),” “Bullet,” and “Road to Nowhere.” In his brand-new novel, Utopia Avenue, English author David Mitchell (Cloud Atlas, Black Swan Green) follows the life and times of a fictional British psychedelic band; the first chapter is titled “Abandon Hope.” On July 14 at 6:00, Byrne and Mitchell will discuss their latest work and the state of the world in a livestreamed discussion from wherever they are sheltering in place; the event is hosted by the 92nd St. Y’s Unterberg Poetry Center and the Community Bookstore in Park Slope. Tickets are $35 but come with a signed copy of Utopia Avenue; the first one hundred purchasers will get the opportunity to briefly chat virtually one-on-one with Mitchell.

FREE SHAKESPEARE ON THE RADIO: RICHARD II

richard ii radio

Who: Barzin Akhavan, Sean Carvajal, Michael Bradley Cohen, Sanjit De Silva, Biko Eisen-Martin, Michael Gaston, Stephen McKinley Henderson, André Holland, Miriam A. Hyman, Merritt Janson, Elijah Jones, Dakin Matthews, Jacob Ming-Trent, Maria Mukuka, Lupita Nyong’o, Okwui Okpokwasili, Estelle Parsons, Tom Pecinka, Phylicia Rashad, Reza Salazar, Thom Sesma, Sathya Sridharan, John Douglas Thompson, Claire van der Boom, Natalie Woolams-Torres, Ja’Siah Young
What: Audio broadcast of Richard II over four consecutive nights
Where: WNYC 93.9 FM and AM 820
When: July 13-16, free (donations accepted), 8:00
Why: The Public Theater was originally set to present a rare production of Richard II from May 19 to June 21 at the Delacorte this season; the only other times Shakespeare in the Park tackled the first play in the Henriad were in 1961 with Gladys Vaughan, J. D. Cannon, and James Earl Jones and again in 1987 with Marian Seldes, Rocky Carroll, Tony Shalhoub, and Peter MacNicol in the title role. The pandemic lockdown changed those plans, so instead, the late-sixteenth-century play, known in full as The Life and Death of King Richard the Second, will be performed on the radio by an all-star cast, specifically adapted for this time of coronavirus and BLM protests against police brutality. “A fractured society. A man wrongfully murdered. The palpable threat of violence and revenge against a broken system. Revolution and regime change. This was Shakespeare’s backdrop for Richard II,” director Saheem Ali said in a statement. “I’m exceptionally proud of this production, recorded for public radio with a predominantly BIPOC ensemble. It’s my hope that listening to Shakespeare’s words, broadcast in the midst of a pandemic and an uprising, will have powerful resonance in our world.” The stellar cast includes André Holland as the king, Elijah Jones as Hotspur, Sean Carvajal as Gardner’s Man and Surrey, Michael Gaston as Northumberland, Stephen McKinley Henderson as Gardener, Miriam A. Hyman as Bollingbroke, Dakin Matthews as Gaunt, Okwui Okpokwasili as Willoughby and Abbot, Estelle Parsons as the Duchess of York, Phylicia Rashad as the Duchess of Gloucester, John Douglas Thompson as York, and Lupita Nyong’o as the narrator. For the production, the Public has teamed up with WNYC, which will stream the audio online and on the radio (93.9 FM and AM 820) in four hourlong parts, July 13-16 at 8:00.

The adapted script is available here, and you can follow Ambereen Dadabhoy’s nightly synopsis here. “What must the King do now? Must he submit? / The King shall do it. Must he be deposed? / The King shall be contented. Must he lose / The name of King? I’ God’s name, let it go,” the king says, in words that still sting today. “My gorgeous palace for a hermitage, / My gay apparel for an almsman’s gown, / My figured goblets for a dish of wood, / My scepter for a palmer’s walking staff, / My subjects for a pair of carved saints / And my large kingdom for a little grave, / A little, little grave, an obscure grave; / Aumerle, thou weep’st, my tender-hearted cousin! / We’ll make foul weather with despised tears; / Our sighs and they shall lodge the summer corn / And make a dearth in this revolting land.”

THE IRISH (REP) . . . AND HOW WE GOT THAT WAY: A CELEBRATION OF ENDURANCE AND PERSEVERANCE THROUGH HARD TIMES

irish rep

Who: Terry Donnelly, Bob Green, Marian Tomas Griffin, Rusty Magee, Ciarán O’Reilly, Ciarán Sheehan, Donna Kane, Charlotte Moore, Kathleen Begala, Ellen McCourt, Malachy McCourt
What: Livestreamed broadcast of 1998 Irish Rep world premiere with new video introduction
Where: Irish Rep YouTube channel, preshow VIP reception on Zoom ($500 or more)
When: Monday, July 13, free, 7:00 (donations of $500 or more include special benefits and admission to preshow VIP party at 6:00)
Why: The Irish Rep continues its busy virtual programming with an online livestreamed screening of a 1998 production of Pulitzer Prize winner Frank McCourt’s The Irish . . . and How They Got That Way, which debuted in 1997 and was revived in 2000 and again in 2010. The irreverent musical about all things Irish features classic songs (“Danny Boy,” “Galway Bay,” “The Rose of Tralee,” and even a U2 tune) arranged by Rusty Magee, with a splendid cast consisting of Magee, Terry Donnelly, Bob Green, Marian Tomas Griffin, Ciarán O’Reilly, and Ciarán Sheehan; the show is directed by Irish Rep cofounder Charlotte Moore, with choreography by Barry McNabb, sets and projections by Shawn Lewis, costumes by David Toser, and lighting by Michael Gottlieb. The event, which is the company’s rescheduled gala fundraiser, will be preceded by a new video celebrating the history of the troupe and the original production with Moore, fellow cofounder O’Reilly, board chair Kathleen Begala, McCourt’s widow and board chair emerita Ellen McCourt, and playwright Malachy McCourt, Frank’s brother. It’s free to watch the show, although donations are accepted; if you give $500 or more, you can take part in the VIP preshow party, with a Zoom reception with the cast and creatives and a live performance by Sheehan.

During the pandemic, the Irish Rep has also presented Yes! Reflections of Molly Bloom, boasting a dazzling performance by Aedín Moloney; the Meet the Makers and The Show Must Go Online series; and The Gifts You Gave to the Dark, Darren Murphy’s short, heartbreaking work about a man (Marty Rea) in Belfast with Covid-19 unable to visit his dying mother (Marie Mullen) in Dublin, who is being cared for by her brother (Seán McGinley). Coming up is Dan Butler, Sean Gormley, John Keating, Tim Ruddy, and Amanda Quaid in an online version of Conor McPherson’s The Weir from July 21 to 25 and a virtual version of Barry Day’s Love, Noël, a musical about Noël Coward starring Steve Ross and KT Sullivan, from August 11 to 15.