This Weekend’s Highlights:
Friday, December 11
* George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker, featuring Maria Kowroski (Sugarplum Fairy), Tyler Angle (Her Cavalier), and Megan Fairchild (Dewdrop), with Sophie Thomopoulos (Marie), Adam Hendrickson (Herr Drosselmeier), Kai Misra-Stone (the Nutcracker), Lauren King (Marzipan), Ashley Hod & Peter Walker (Hot Chocolate), Georgina Pazcoguin (Coffee), Spartak Hoxha (Tea), Daniel Ulbricht as Candy Cane, Preston Chamblee as Mother Ginger, Mira Nadon), Unity Phelan (Flowers), India Bradley & Rachel Hutsell (Harlequin & Columbine), Roman Mejia (Soldier), Silas Farley (Mouse King), Ask la Cour (Dr. Stahlbaum), and Marika Anderson (Frau Stalbaum), begins streaming at NYC Ballet.
* Meet Me in St. Louis — A Holiday Special in Song and On Screen, adapted & directed by Charlotte Moore, featuring Shereen Ahmed, William Bellamy, Rufus Collins, Kerry Conte, Melissa Errico, Ali Ewoldt, Kathy Fitzgerald, Ian Holcomb, Austyn Johnson, Jay Aubrey Jones, Kylie Kuioka, Ashley Robinson, and Max Von Essen, begins streaming at Off-Broadway’s Irish Rep.
*A West End Christmas concert, featuring Tom Allen, Samantha Bond, Kerry Ellis, Clive Rowe, Olver Tompsett, Marisha Wallace, Robin Windsor, Anya Barnis, and many more, begins streaming at London’s St. Paul’s Church.
* A Very Ella Christmas concert, starring Tina Fabrique, begins streaming at Theatre Works Hartford (and available through Dec. 31).
* “The Prom,” directed by Ryan Murphy, starring Meryl Streep, James Corden, Nicole Kidman, Keegan-Michael Key, Andrew Rannells, Ariana DeBose, Kerry Washington, and Jo Ellen Pellman, premieres on Netflix.
* Cyndi Lauper’s Home for the Holidays benefit concert, featuring Bette Midler, Taylor Swift, Cher, Dolly Parton, Whoopi Goldberg, Harvey Fierstein, the musical Kinky Boots, and more, streams at 8 PM ET on TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube.
* “Stars in the House,” offering “The Night Before Christmas” with the Chelsea Symphony, streams for FREE at 8 PM ET here.
* Who’s Holiday! filmed 2017 performance, by Matthew Lombardo, directed by Carl Andress, starring Lesli Margherita, streams for FREE at 8 PM ET here (and available through Dec. 15), in support of BC/EFA.
* “Maury Sings Yeston: The Demos,” featuring 40 tracks, released on CD here.
Saturday, December 12
* A Christmas Carol, adapted by Jack Thorne, directed by Matthew Warchus, featuring Andrew Lincoln (Ebenezer Scrooge), Melissa Allan, Rosanna Bates, John Dagleish, Tim van Eyken, Sam Lathwood, Eugene McCoy, Myra McFadyen, Gloria Obianyo, Maria Omakinwa, Golda Rosheuvel, Michael Rouse, Clive Rowe, and Sam Townsend… with Rayhaan Kufuor-Gray, Lara Mehmet, Lenny Rush, and Eleanor Stollery sharing the role of Tiny Tim, opens virtually at London’s Old Vic.
* Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, by Dan Gillespie Sells & Tom MacRae, directed by Jonathan Butterell, featuring Noah Tomas (Jamie New), Meliss Jacques (Margaret), Sejal Keshwala (Ray), Hiba Elchikhe (Pritti Pasha), Gillian Ford (Miss Hedge), Phil Nicol (Hugo/Loco Chanelle), Alexander Archer (Mickey), Zion Battles (Levi), Marlon G. Day (Jamie’s Dad), James Gillan (Tray Sophisticay), Zahra Jones (Becca), Emily Kenwright (Vicki), Keenan Knight (Sayid), Jordan Laviniere (Cy), Garry Lee (Sandra Bollock), David O’Reilly (Laika Virgin), Harriet Payne (Bex), Jordan Ricketts (Dean Paxton), and Rachel Seiran (Fatimah), with Ebony Clarke, Brian James Leys, and Joe Wolstenholme), returns (streaming) to London’s Appollo Theatre.
* Broadway Princess Holiday Party concert, featuring Laura Osnes, Susan Egan, Courtney Reed, Aisha Jackson, Adam J. Levy, streams at 8 PM ET at 54 Below (and on demand through Dec. 26).
* Shoshana Bean: Sing Your Hallelujah! concert, directed by Amy Segel, with special guests Jeremy Jordan, Gavin Creel, Jared Grimes, Shayna Steele, Connie Talbot, and Daniel J. Watts, streams at 9 PM ET here.
* The Doo Wop Project: Live in Your Home for the Holidays concert, featuring Charl Brown, Dwayne Cooper, John Michael Dias, Russell Fischer, Dominic Nolfi, and Sonny Paladino, with special guest Krystal Joy Brown, livestreams at 8 PM ET here.
* “The MisMatch Game Show,” with special guests Julie Brown (Melania Trump), Marc Samuel (Morgan Freeman), Felix Pire (Ricardo Montalbán), Tom Lenk (Tilda Swinton), Drew Droege (Donald Sutherland) and Danny Casillas (Reba Areba), streams at 8 PM PT at LA’s LGBT Center.
* Robert Creighton in concert, with special guest Richard Kind, and music direction by Alex Rybeck, concludes streaming at Off-Broadway’s York Theatre.
Sunday, December 13
* School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play benefit reading, by Jocelyn Bioh, directed by Kamilah Forbes, featuring Cynthia Erivo, Shahadi Wright Joseph, Ashleigh Murray, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Storm Reid, Lyric Ross, Gabourey Sidibe, and Lovie Simone, streams ET at Off-Broadway’s MCC Theater. Tickets are available for the reading (80 min.)….. or the reading & talkback (100 min.).
* Jagged Live in NYC benefit concert, in support of regional theatres across the country, directed by Diane Paulus, featuring Elizabeth Stanley, Celia Rose Gooding, Sean Allan Krill, Derek Klena, Lauren Patten, Kathryn Gallagher, Antonio Cipriano and more, livestreams at 8 PM ET here (and available thru Dec. 15).
* Kritzerland’s Annual Holiday Show benefit concert, featuring Daniel Thomas Bellusci, Klea Blackhurst, Liz Callaway, Peyton Kirkner, Liz Larsen, Kerry O’Malley, Hartley Powers, Sami Staitman, Adrienne Stiefel, Sal Viviano, Mackenzie Wrap, and Robert Yacko, streams for FREE at 5 PM PT here.
* A Season of Hope and Inspiration concert, featuring Broadway Inspirational Voices, with special guests Debbie Allen, Gavin Creel, Montego Glover, Celia Rose Gooding, Angela Grovey, Marva Hicks, LaChanze, Telly Leung, Lisa Lynne Mathis, Audra McDonald, Michael McElroy, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Karen Olivo, John Eric Parker, Phylicia Rashad, Angela Robinson, Jeanine Tesori, Lesie Uggams, Schele Williams, Vanessa Williams, Shoshana Bean, Crystal Monee Hall, Marcus Paul James, Patti LuPone, Leslie Odom Jr., Billy Porter, Daniel J. Watts, and many more, livestreams at 7 PM ET here.
* The Seth Concert Series continues with special guest James Monroe Iglehart, streams at 8 PM ET here.
* Broadway Whodunit‘s “The Fifth Mystery: A Very Hanukkah Whodunit,” featuring Alex Brightman, Micaela Diamond, Sky Lakota-Lynch, Ethan Slater, Alex Wyse, Andrew Barth Feldman, Troy Iwata, and Grace Kaufman, livestreams at 6 PM ET.
* A West End Christmas concert, featuring Tom Allen, Samantha Bond, Kerry Ellis, Clive Rowe, Olver Tompsett, Marisha Wallace, Robin Windsor, Anya Barnis, and many more, concludes streaming at London’s St. Paul’s Church.
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Plays in the House (link TBA) presents Super Shaw: A Scintillating Shavian Scramble event, offering excerpts from the Shaw cannon, which will stream Mon. Dec. 14 at 8 PM ET, in support of The Actors Fund.
Brenda Braxton, Michael Cerveris, Joel Grey, Marsha Mason, Patrick Page, Tonya Pinkins, Renee Taylor, and Karen Ziemba.
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You’re a Green One, Mr. Finch, written & directed by David Alpert, will stream Fri. Dec. 18 at 8 PM ET at Playbill.com (link available the day of), in support of the Broadway Green Alliance, with music direction by Evan Roider.
Idina Menzel, George Salazar, Michael James Scott, Elizabeth Stanley, DeAnne Stewart, Laurel Harris, Javier Muñoz, Susan Egan, Laura Osnes, Courtney Reed, Jewelle Blackman, Yvette Gonzalez-Nacer, and Kay Trinidad.
A musical comedy about the untold story of Mr. Finch, the Grinch’s disgruntled cousin. Eager to make the holiday season all about him, Mr. Finch learns what it really means to have a green and sustainable holiday.
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Video: Jason Graae performs “Kitchen Built for 20,” from Scrooge in Love, by Larry Grossman, Kellen Blair & Duane Poole. Gorgeous!
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The St. Louis Muny will present Muny Holiday Magic, offering a 4-day video series, featuring pre-recorded performances from across the country.
December 21: “Underneath the Tree,” performed by The Muny Kids and Teens
December 22: “The Chanukah Song (We Are Lights),” performed by The Muny Kids and Teens.
December 23: A medley of “The 12 Days of Quarantine” (lyrics by Gordon Greenberg & Steve Rosen), featuring Jason Gotay, Mamie Parris, Nasia Thomas, May Bowles, Stephen Buntrock & Erin Dailly (with their family), and many more…. and “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” featuring Leah Berry, Patrick Blindauer, Duane Martin Foster, Zoe Vonder Haar, Julie Hanson, and many more.
December 24: “The Night Before Christmas,” read by Ken Page.
December 25: A compilation of the above 4 shows will air as a complete package (available through Dec. 31).
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Nicolas Cage will host the new Netflix series, “History of Swear Words,” which premieres on Jan. 5.
The new series is exactly what it sounds like.
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Holiday Variety Hour, written & directed by Billy Recce, will stream Dec. 15 (at 6:30 PM ET) – Dec. 22 at Off-Broadway’s Keen Company.
Kate Baldwin & Graham Rowat, Whitney Bashor & Jared Zirilli, Nick Blaemire, Kathleen Chalfant, Jasminn Johnson, Ted Koch & Leenya Rideout, Marsha Mason, and Brenda Pressley.
Heidi Armbruster, Marc delaCruz, Chris Dwan, Kevin Kilner, Jodie Markell, Jay Mazyck, Lauren Molina, Paul Niebanck, Pamela Sabaugh, George Salazar, and Sheldon Woodley.
A festive fundraising event paying loving homage to ’70s TV variety shows, featuring a full roster of Keen alumni and Broadway stars singing songs, telling stories, and sharing holiday recipes.
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“ShowBiz Stories,” founded Marion J. Caffey, has just launched, featuring personal and moving stories submitted via video by dozens of artists from across multiple disciplines, from theatre and music, to television and film.
Video: Watch all the posted stories.
Upload your story here.
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The world premiere of John Caird & Paul Gordon’s Estella Scrooge: A Christmas Carol with a Twist continues through Jan. 3 at Beverly Hills’ The Wallis. This is the first digital theater piece filmed entirely during the pandemic, utilizing cutting-edge technology — tracked green-screen techniques, with 3-D surreal digital environments created in post-production, merged with the actors’ actual footage to bring the story to life in a brand new way.
Betsy Wolfe (Estella), Clifton Duncan (Philip ‘Pip’ Nickleby), Lauren Patten (Dawkins), Patrick Page (Mr. Merdle), Carolee Carmello (Marla Havisham), and Danny Burstein (Ebenezer Scrooge).
Estella Scrooge is a modern-day Wall Street tycoon with a penchant for foreclosing. A hotelier in her hometown of Pickwick, Ohio has defaulted on his mortgage, and Estella fancies the idea of lowering the boom personally. Arriving at Harthouse on Christmas Eve, Estella discovers that the defaulting party is her childhood friend Pip Nickleby). A good and generous soul, Pip has transformed the property into a refuge for the sick, dispossessed and homeless. A freak snowstorm forces Estella to take refuge. That night, just as it happened to her ancestor Ebenezer, she is haunted by three visitations…
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Tom Mula’s Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol continues through Dec. 24 at Milwaukee Rep, directed by Mark Clements.
Lee E. Ernst
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Video: Teaser for the live-action adaptation of “Pinocchio,” directed by Robert Zemeckis, starring Tom Hanks, to premiere on Disney+ in 2021 (premiere date TBA).
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Maria Ciampi, Tim Janis & Angelo Natalie’s Kris Kringle The Musical, directed by Jaimie Selke, with music direction by Randy Glass, is now available to stream here for FREE here, in support of The Actors Fund.
Amy Coelho (Evelyn Noel), Kim Crosby (Mrs. Claus), Matt Densky (Sky), Robert Anthony Jones (Elmer), Chase Kamata (Ms. Horn), Aveena Sawyer (Tinselle), Kyle Sherman (Kris Kringle), Christopher Shyer (Roy G. Reedy), Jason Simon (Santa), Mary Stout (Auntie Sugarplum), Lilly Tobin (Garland), and Elizabeth Ward Land (Grandma Kringle), with Quentin Avery Browan, Angie Cocuzza, Holden Hagelberger, Reese Lores, Jose Luaces, Patrick Scott McDermott, and Meg Supina.
The tale of a starry-eyed toymaker, Kris Kringle, who sees toys in the stars and crosses paths with an evil toy company CEO who schemes to destroy Christmas. Kris Kringle teams up with Santa and Mrs. Claus, to beautiful Evelyn Noel, a band of hilarious apprentices and elves, and magical toys to remind us what Christmas is really about. You’ll be led through an Advent Calendar door to enjoy a new part of the story each day, with bonus videos, including a Spanish version of one of the show’s mor popular songs, “My North Star.”