Today’s Highlights:
* Guards at the Taj benefit reading, by Rajiv Joseph, directed by Amy Morton, featuring Omar Metwally and Arian Moayed, begins streaming for FREE at 7 PM ET at Off-Broadway’s Atlantic Theatre Company.
* Christopher Sieber Live from Birdland concert, with special guest Billy Stritch, streams at 7 PM ET here.
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Video: “Stars in the House” presents De-stress with Sierra Boggess and Montego Glover. (1:04:55)
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Laura Benanti will join the cast of the upcoming “Gossip Girl” reboot sequel on HBO Max (release date TBA).
Adam Chanler-Berat, Tavi Gevinson, Jason Gotay, Thomas Doherty, Zion Moreno, Whitney Peak, Eli Brown, Emily Alyn Lind and Johnathan Fernandez.
Character details are being kept under wraps.
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Video: Paul Harvey, an 80-year-old former music teacher and composer living with dementia, has captured the heart of England after a video of Harvey improvising a sweeping, romantic piece of music at the piano posted by son Nick went viral. Following a radio broadcast of the tune—titled “Four Notes”—on BBC Radio 4, BBC Philharmonic Orchestra’s Daniel Whibley gave it a full orchestral arrangement, which was ultimately recorded by the full orchestra remotely.
The BBC ultimately surprised Harvey with the recording and a special message from his favorite composer, Stephen Sondheim, in which the theatre luminary thanks Harvey for the “wonderful” tune he invented “which I can’t wait to steal.” See Harvey hear the orchestral version of his tune for the first time and Sondheim’s surprise message above.
The full single of “Four Notes – Paul’s Tune” is now available on major streaming services, with all proceeds benefiting Alzheimer’s Society and Music for Dementia.
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* One Man, Two Guvnors (Nov. 6), starring James Corden, on PBS. Details.
* Being Shakespeare (through Nov. 8), by Jonathan Bates, starring Simon Callow. Details
* Conflict (Nov. 8), by Miles Malleson. A political love story. Details.
* Adding Machine (through Nov. 12), by Joshua Schmidt & Jason Loewith, a musical adaptation of Elmer Rice’s play. Details.
* Until the Flood (begins Nov. 15), written by & starring Dael Orlandersmith, based on interviews she conducted with the residents of Ferguson, Missouri, in the months following the shooting of Michael Brown. Details
* My Beautiful Launderette (available until London’s Curve re-opens), by Hanif Kureishi, starring Omar Malik and Jonny Fines. Details
* Romeo and Juliet (available until mid-February, 2021), starring Nathan Welsh and Charlotte Beaumont. A 90-minute adaptation, created to introduce young people to Shakespeare. Details
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Video: Ep. 4 of New York Theatre Barn‘s “New Works Series, which highlights songs from Ramona (by Nevada Lozano) and Johnny and the Devil’s Box (by Douglas Waterbury-Tieman).
Ramona — the story of an orphan girl growing up on a Mexican hacienda in Southern California in the 1850s. She falls in love with a Native American ranchero, and together they journey across the new U.S. state in search of a place to call home.
Johnny and the Devil’s Box — the musical follows the best fiddler that’s ever been, until his boasting attracts the attention of another fiddler—the Devil himself—who shows up with a plan for Johnny’s destruction. With fame, fortune, and love tempting him at every turn, Johnny must find his true path and the strength to win a battle of the bows with the highest possible stakes.
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Two virtual, invitation-only readings of Mark Governor’s shAme will take place Nov. 18 & 19, directed by Kathleen Marshall.
Adam Pascal, James Snyder, and Lilli Cooper, with Jessica Jaunich, Jaygee Macapugay, Kevin McAllister, Kevyn Morrow, Andrew Polec, Aurelia Williams, and Samantha Williams.
The musical is based on “The Scarlet Letter.”
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Houston Grand Opera has made the decision that arts organizations around the country have rolled out over the past few months: to officially cancel its entire 2020-21 season, with plans to resume performances in fall 2021. Some of the rescheduled productions will now be available virtually.
* Songs for Murdered Sisters (released Feb. 19, 2021), by Jake Heggie (set to poems by Margaret Atwood), directed by James Niebuhr, featuring Joshua Hopkins. A musical response to grief after his sister Nathalie and two other women were murdered. Details here.
* The Snowy Day Project (Dec. 10 – Jan. 9, 2021), by Joel Thompson, Andrew David Pinkney & Annalise Ophelian.
* Hansel and Gretl (May 2021), directed by Lileana Blain-Cruz. The production will blend live performances with animation by Hannah Wasilieski.
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Video: Sing Out for Freedom benefit concert, in support of The ACLU and the New York Civil Liberties Union, directed by Liesl Tommy, featuring Lea DeLaria, André De Shields, Adrienne Warren, Rachel Brosnahan, Laura Benanti, Kelly McCreary, Katrina Lenk, Heidi Schreck, Celia Keenan-Bolger, Phillipa Soo, Brandon Victor Dixon, Daniel J. Watts, Ephraim Sykes, Keala Settle, Eisa Davis, Aneesh Sheth, Amber Iman, Jo Lampert, George Salazar, Rebecca Naomi Jones, Jelani Alladin, Mykal Kilgore, Treshelle Edmond, Raymond Lee, Larry Owens, Shaina Taub, Sasha Allen, Williams, Ty Defoe, L Morgan Lee, Jomama Jones, Gaelynn Lea, Mary Kathryn Nagle, Liana Stampur), and Broadway Inspirational Voices. (1:30:33)
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“iHeart Radio Broadway Salutes The 2020 Tony Nominees” will take place Sat. Nov. 7 at 2 PM ET (and rebroadcast Nov. 9 at 7 PM ET,) here, featuring songs from the Best Musical nominees, as well as interviews with the cast and creators from each show, hosted by Howard Hoffman. The broadcast also celebrates the Best Play and acting categories with interviews and editorial commentary
Adrienne Warren, Aaron Tveit, Celia Rose Gooding, Daniel J. Watts, John Benjamin Hickey, Danny Burstein, Audra McDonald, Blair Underwood, Karen Olivo, Bess Wohl, and Katori Hall.
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Video: “But I Was Cool,” Lilli Cooper’s new music video, also with Chuck Cooper.
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Musical Theatre West presents Madison Claire Parks in a streamed concert on Fri. Nov. 6 at 7 PM PT (and again on Wed. Nov. 11 at 3 PM PT).
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Video: Jocelyn Bioh’s The Chaos Twins, starring Sasha Hutchings and Nik Walker. (58:28)
Enter The Chaos Twins. Join us, two Broadway artists/goofballs, as we break through the noise and break down current events, with our unique brand of humor and insight. A talk show filled with special guests, non-sequiturs, stories, trivia and more, all aimed to help us find our true north again… by any means necessary.
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LA Opera presents free digital tickets to The Anonymous Lover, an unjustly neglected 1780 chamber opera by Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges (a Black composer who was a contemporary of Mozart), which will premiere Sat. Nov. 14 at 5 PM PT, and remain available for 2 weeks, conducted by James Conlon, and directed by Bruce Lemon Jr.
Tiffany Townsend (Léontine), Robert Stahley (Valcour), Alaysha Fox (Dorothée), Michael J. Hawk (Ophémon), Gabriela Flores (Jeannette), and Jacob Ingbar (Colin).
The comic romance tells the story of Leontine, a beautiful young widow who has become disillusioned with love. Much to her surprise, she receives a steady stream of letters and gifts from an unknown man professing his undying passion. This amuses her friend Valcour, who also claims to have no interest in romance. But now, after hiding his true feelings for years, Valcour works up the courage to reveal that he himself is the devoted secret admirer. Will his (inevitably awakward) confession sway a woman sworn to resist all affairs of the hearts?