Today’s Highlights:
A Letter to Harvey Milk newly filmed performance, by Laura I. Kramer, Ellen M. Schwartz, Cheryl Stern & Jerry James, directed by Evan Pappas, reuniting the original cast — Adam Heller, Julia Knitel, Cheryl Stern, Michael Bartoli, Jeremy Greenbaum, Aury Krebs, and Ravi Roth — begins streaming here.
Crescendo 2021: Voices Rising benefit concert, with special guests Rita Moreno, Leann Rimes, and Terrance Kelly, streams at 6 PM PT at Gay Men’s Chorus of San Francisco.
Alan & Marilyn Bergman conversation & concert, hosted by Harvey Granat, with special guest Alan Bergman, and featuring Christine Andreas and Ann Hampton Callaway, streams at 12 PM ET at NYC’s 92Y.
The ShowBiz Quiz game show, featuring Derek Klena, Diana DeGarmo, Orfeh, and Andy Karl, livestreams at 8 PM ET here.
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Video: Stars in the House, a Tik Tok event, with special guest Christine Baranski, and TikTok stars Emily Bear, Abigail Barrow, and Kevin Chamberlin. (1:23:11)
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NAATCO will present a reading of Our Town to stream Wed. May 19 at 8 PM ET, with an all-Asian cast (in celebration of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month), directed by Mia Katigbak.
Amy Hill (Stage Manager), Yumi Iwama (Mrs. Webb), and Midori Francis Iwama (Emily), with Cindy Cheung, Kassandra Cordova, Autumn Domingo, Connor Domingo, Ron Domingo, John D. Haggerty, Midori Francis Iwama, Yumi Iwama, Paul Juhn, Peter Kim, Glenn Kubota, Clara Haru Mulligan, Olivia Oguma, Trevor Salter, Jon Norman Schneider, Alok Tewari, CJ Uy, Izaac Wang, and Rita Wolf.
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Robin Gerber’s The Shot will livestream Sat. Apr. 24 at 5 PM PT at LA’s Skylight Theatre Company, directed by Michelle Joyner.
Sharon Lawrence
The story reveals the well-kept secrets of American icon Katherine Graham who, before becoming the publisher of The Washington Post, endured the physical and emotional abuse of Phil Graham, the husband she loved and admired.
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For The Record: The Brat Pack Reunion Concert will stream May 21-23 at Beverly Hills’ The Wallis.
James Byous, Emily Lopez, Parissa Koo, Patrick Ortiz, Doug Kreeger, and Kenton Chen.
The concert will showcase the music and legacy of legendary ’80s “Brat Pack” films.
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Project 9, Glory Crampton’s 15-min. homage to Nine, which will include an all-star Broadway cast and full orchestra, filmed and recorded separately from quarantined homes, will begin streaming Wed. Apr. 28 at 7 PM ET here (scroll down), with music direction by Jeremy Franklin Goodman.
Robert Cuccioli, Glory Crampton, Dana Moore, Jesmille Darbouze-Smith, Lauren Blackman, and more.
Trailer (scroll down)
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Joel Horwood’s The Ocean at the End of the Lane will transfer from the National Theatre to the West End’s Duke of York’s Theatre, to run Oct. 26 – Feb. 12, 2022, directed by Katy Rudd.
Casting TBA
Returning to his childhood home, a man finds himself standing beside the pond of the old Sussex farmhouse where he used to play. He’s transported to his 12th birthday when his friend Lettie claimed it wasn’t a pond, but an ocean… Plunged into a magical world, their survival depends on their ability to reckon with ancient forces that threaten to destroy everything around them.
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“How I Met Your Father,” a sequel to “How I Met Your Mother,” has been ordered by Hulu, starring Hilary Duff. Stay tuned for further details.
In the near future, Sophie (Hilary Duff) is telling her son the story of how she met his father: a story that catapults us back to 2021 where Sophie and her close-knit group of friends are in the midst of figuring out who they are, what they want out of life, and how to fall in love in the age of dating apps and limitless options. Note: It is not clear at this time whether the new show will tie into the original.
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Off-Broadway’s Irish Rep has announced The Indomitable Irishry: An Online Celebration, to stream Mon. June 14 at 7:30 PM, directed by Charlotte Moore, with a full orchestra conducted by John Bell.
Bill Irwin, and Mary Lou & Joe Quinlan.
TBA
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The co-world premiere of Hershey Felder’s Anna & Sergei will stream May 16-23 at Chicago’s Porchlight Theatre (live from Florence).
Hershey Felder (Sergei Rachmaninoff), Ekaterina Siurina (Natalia Alexandrovna Rachmaninoff), and Igor Polesitsky (Dr. Golitzin).
Taking place as a memory play in the house in which Rachmaninoff died in Beverly Hills, this is the story of a very strange and little-known real-life meeting between the famed Russian composer and pianist and Anna Anderson, the woman who claimed to be the Grand Duchess Anastasia Nicholaievna Romanov, the sole surviving member of the Romanov Dynasty. The piece features many of Rachmaninoff’s most beloved melodies and music.
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Sutton Foster: Bring Me to Light will stream Apr. 28 – May 31 at NY’s City Center, directed by Leigh Silverman, with music direction by Michael Rafter.
Kelli O’Hara, Wren Rivera, Raúl Esparza, Joaquina Kalukango, and more.
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NJ’s George Street Playhouse will stream its 2021 Virtual Gala on Thurs. Apr. 19 at 7:30 PM ET.
Lewis Black, Chris Bohjalian, Felicia Boswell, David Bryan, Jackie Burns, Karen Burthright, Bobby Conte Thornton, Andre De Shields, Joe DiPietro, Ann Dowd, Rachel Dratch, Steve Guttenberg, Jeremy Jordan, Laiona Michelle, Nancy Opel, Maulik Pancholy, David Hyde Pierce, Renee Taylor, Mary Testa, Marlo Thomas, and a special surprise guest.
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“To Catch a Spy!,” starring Patti Murin and Colin Donnell, will premiere June 20 on The Hallmark Channel.
When the newly renovated Hotel Optima in Malta has a grand opening, Chloe and her team from Destination Traveler Magazine, head over to Malta. On her first night there, Chloe overhears an altercation happening through the air vent of her hotel room and then sees someone fall to their death. Chloe assists the FBI agent working the case, but will they catch the killer before the killer finds them?
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The Breast Cancer Research Foundation will stream a Virtual Hot Pink Evening on Thurs. May 20 at 6:45 PM ET, hosted by Elizabeth Hurley.
Sir Elton John, Neil Patrick Harris & David Burtka, Edie Falco, Gayle King, Sebastian Arcelus, Will Chase, Wilson Cruz, Edie Falco, Kathryn Gallagher, Mandy Gonzalez, Jenna Leigh Green, Carly Hughes, Orfeh & Andy Karl, Karlie Kloss, Laura Osnes, Adam Pascal, Paul Shaffer, Anthony Rapp, Krysta Rodriguez, Daphne Rubin-Vega, Tracie Thoms, and more.
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David Burnham Live will take place Sun. Apr. 24 at 7:30 PM PT at Long Beach’s The Grand.
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RIP: Arthur T. Birsh, during whose 50-year publishing career a half-billion Playbills were graciously handed out by Broadway’s ranks of ushers, died Apr. 14 at his home in Key Largo, Florida. He was 88.
In his long tenure at the company, Arthur T. Birsh’s job titles included publisher, president, chairman, and chairman emeritus. He started work for Playbill in 1961 as manager of the magazine’s printing plant in Manhattan, a few avenues west of the Broadway theatres, and upheld the reputation of Playbill, established around 1884, for never missing a performance. Not long after his hiring, the company’s owner promoted Mr. Birsh to overseeing all the aspects of publishing Playbill.
Although his own theatre career was limited to summer-stock operettas in his youth, at Playbill he became a respected and beloved citizen of the theatre community, not least for his generous, witty, diplomatic way of doing business and his tenacious belief that Playbill could be available to serve all shows and audiences, some of the proof being that press-shy stars on Broadway, including Elizabeth Taylor, would happily consent to an interview for Playbill.
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LA’s Impro Theatre and Company of Angels have joined forces for “Eastside Noir,” an improvised Film Noir, to livestream Sat. May 1 at 8:15 PM PT, co-directed by Robert Covarrubias and Brian Lohmann.
Eric Carthen, Corinne Chooey, Kari Coleman. Robert Covarrubias, Leanna Dindal, Joseph Limbaugh, Nakasha Norwood, Julianna Stephanie Ojeda, and Leah Zhang.
Like Impro Theatre’s other performances, “Eastside Noir” will start with audience suggestions. No one knows what the story will be, or who will interact with whom.
“Eastside Noir” is Film Noir reimagined in one of the cities where it originated. The show takes place in three different time periods: today, the 1940’s L.A. of classic Film Noir, and an imagined futuristic fantasy noir. The cast of 9 has created 27 set characters – 3 for each era – that range from Noir staples including a power mad businessman, a Japanese nurse, a retired Mexican American boxer and an eviction android who smiles while she throws you out your door.
“Eastside Noir” is a new cross-media experiment that uses improv comedy to bring history and place to life through story. This performance is a pilot that aims to connect creative artists to the places they live. By using social media to roll out the project, the audience gets to share their own stories about Boyle Heights as well as watch new stories emerge behind the scenes and in front of the camera while they join in the fun.
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Video: Ruthie Ann Miles, Judy Kuhn, Phillip Boykin, Donald Webber Jr., and Todd Almond perform Stephen Sondheim’s “No More” as part of the final installment of the Encores! Inside the Revival video series. (10:52)
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The world premiere of Melinda Lopez & Joel Perez’s Black Beans Project will stream May 11-20 at Boston’s Huntington Theatre, directed by Jaime Castañeda.
Melinda Lopez & Joel Perez
A sister and brother meet virtually to share a secret family recipe that forces them to reveal secrets of their own. They share memories and make plans, transforming their pandemic panic to renewal in this tender comedy about family, food, and finding the strength to move on. Black Beans Project invites audiences to open a bottle of wine, chop some garlic, and savor the possibility of connecting with family after a long time apart.