Today’s Highlights:
* Simply Sondheim virtual concert, created by Eric Schaeffer & David Loud, and directed & choregraphed by Matthew Gardiner. featuring Norm Lewis, Solea Pfeiffer, Conrad Ricamora, Emily Skinner, Nicholas McDonough, Donna Migliaccio, Christopher Mueller, Katie Mariko Murray, Tracy Lynn Olivera, Paul Scanlan, Awa Sal Secka, and Bobby Smith, begins streaming at VA’s Signature Theatre (available through Mar. 26).
* A Little New Music’s An Evening with Composer/Lyricist Rob Rokicki FREE concert & conversation, streams at 7 PM PT here.
* Amazon’s “One Night in Miami” FREE screening & discussion, featuring Regina King (director), Kemp Powers (writer), and cast members Kingsley Ben-Adir, Eli Goree, Aldis Hodge, and Leslie Odom Jr., streams at 5 PM ET here.
* Anjou: The Musical Horror Tale virtual FREE benefit performance, by Guillermo Mendez M., Guadalupe Sandoval & Javier Vilalta, directed by Roberto Araujo, featuring Javier Muñoz, Eden Espinosa, Shereen Pimentel, Bianca Marroquín, Julia Murney, Kristie Dale Sanders, Caroline Bowman, Eva Tavares, Austin Colby, Nathan Cockfroft, Kevin Curtis, Gabriel Hayman, and Michael Perrie Jr. concludes streaming here.
**********************
Video: Jim Caruso’s Cast Party variety show, a “Saturday Night Live” tribute. (1:29:26)
**********************
The Al Hirschfeld Foundation celebrates Black History Month with its newest online exhibition, “Amplified Dignity: Black Dancers Drawn by Hirschfeld,” which is currently available through Mar. 13.
The exhibition features Hirschfeld’s reflections of legendary 20th Century artists including Sammy Davis Jr., Josephine Baker, Nicholas Brothers, Bunny Briggs, Judith Jamison, Hinton Battle, Maurice Hines, and Honi Coles, as well as a mix of well and lesser-known artists, and nameless groups of dancers, who have contributed to the history of dance in America. The images demonstrate reverence for the people and art of New York, especially during the Harlem Renaissance era. The intent is to place these dancers at the center of the cannon, not on the margins. A rightful place, as the foundation and evolution of dance in America is intertwined and indebted to innovation and performances by Black people in America.
**********************
An additional 10 performances have been added to “Movie Night In,” from Feb. 5-21 here., livestreamed from their emergency comedy bunker. Casting TBA.
The remaining performances include a “Sequel Sunday” special double bill on Feb. 7 and a “Valentine’s Day Rom-Com” special on Feb. 14.
Viewers set the genre, the location, and the title, and the Mischief team improvises the movie live-streamed straight to your sofa. Each movie includes additional content as suggested via social media — so follow along with the fun on Twitter (#MischiefMovieNightIn). Every performance is its own first and last night.
**********************
RIP: Hal Holbrook died on Jan. 23 at the age of 95.
In addition to an impressive acting career on stage, as well as in film and TV, Hal achieved his widest acclaim onstage, embodying Mark Twain in all his craggy splendor and vinegary wit in a one-man show seen around the world, which he directed himself. He won a Tony Award for his performance in Mark Twain Tonight in 1966 (also receiving an Emmy nomination for the 1967 television adaptation).
Additional Broadway appearances include Incident at Vichy (1964) and Man of La Mancha (1968).
Hal received an Oscar nomination for “Into the Wild.” He was 82 at the time, and was the oldest performer to ever receive a Supporting Actor nomination at the time.
Other notable performances include “Lincoln” (as Abraham Lincoln – 1976 Emmy Award), a role which he reprised in 1985’s “North and South” and its sequel the following year. He won his first Emmy for “The Bold Ones: The Senator,” and also appeared in “The Kidnapping of the President,” “The Star Chamber,” as John Adams in the 1984 miniseries “George Washington,” “The West Wing,” “Savannah,” “That Certain Summer” (1972), and “The Sopranos.”
Film credits include “All the President’s Men (1976), “Into the Wild” (2007 Oscar nomination), and “Lincoln” (2012).
Hal was also a series regular on “Designing Women,” and appeared on TV in “Death of a Saleman,” “King Lear,” and “Our Town.”
Holbrook’s memoir “Harold: The Boy Who Became Mark Twain” was published in 2011.
**********************
The Susan Smith Blackburn Prize has announced 10 Finalists for 2021 for its playwrighting award awarded to women+ playwrights. The winner will be announced in early April.
Glace Chase, Triple X
Erika Dickerson-Despenza, culled wattah
Miranda Rose Hall, A Play for the Living in the Time of Extinction
Dawn King, US Trials
Kimber Lee, The Water Palace
Janice Okoh, The Gift
Ife Olujobi, Jordans
Frances Poet, Maggie May
Jiehae Park, The Aves
Beth Steel, The House of Shades
**********************
FEBRUARY 
AMAZON PRIME
“Mercy Street” (now available), starring Norbert Leo Butz, Donna Murphy, Josh Radnor, Patina Miller, Brían F. O’Byrne, and more. Set during the American Civil War, this 2-season series follows a pair of volunteer nurses—one Union and one Confederate—working together at a hospital in Virginia.
“Moulin Rouge!” (now available), film, starring Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor.
“Notes on a Scandal (now available), starring Judi Dench and Cate Blanchett. A psychological thriller, based on Zoë Heller’s 2003 novel. Dench plays a veteran teacher who befriends Blanchett, the school’s new art teacher, but an explosive secret threatens everything.
DISNEY+
“The Muppet Show” (Feb. 19). All five seasons. Guest stars include Ethel Merman, Bernadette Peters, Pearl Bailey, Elton John, Leslie Uggams, Joel Grey, and Carol Channing.
HBO MAX
“Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory” (now available), starring Gene Wilder.
HULU
“9 to 5” (now available), starring Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, and Dolly Parton.
“You’ve Got Mail” (now available), starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan.
“Nomadland” (Feb. 19), starring Frances McDormand. Fern has lost all of her savings during the 2009 economic crisis. Now living in a van, she travels across the American West working job-job and encountering new friends along the way.
“Florence Foster Jenkins” (Feb. 26), starring Meryl Streep and Hugh Grant. A vocally challenged heiress with a devout love of music and singing, with the means to make a career on the stage, but not really the voice to, Jenkins is determined to make it to the big time.
“The United States vs. Billie Holiday” (Feb. 26), starring Andra Day. The biopic follows Holiday’s career as fans adore her — but the authorities do not.
NETFLIX
“My Best Friend’s Wedding” (now available), starring Julia Roberts.
“Middle of Nowhere” (Feb. 11), starring David Oyelowo, Lorraine Toussaint, and Sharon Lawrence. A nurse struggles to understand the complicated life of her husband, who is currently in prison trying to make parole, and assert the independence she once had.
“I Care a Lot” (Feb. 19), starring Dianne Wiest, Peter Dinklage, and Rosamund Pike.. A crime thriller. A professional court-appointed guardian swindles elderly clients out of their assets in what essentially mounts to a legal form of racketeering. When she and her business-partner/lover stumble across their latest victim, it becomes clear that the pair have messed with the wrong senior citizen.
**********************
Video: Bonnie Milligan sings “Fool for You” from the “Bridgerton” Tik Tok musical.
Click here for more songs from the musical.
**********************
In honor of Black History Month, Playing on Air will release a short audio play by a Black creative every Monday.
Listen to this week’s play here: Third Grade, by Dominique Morisseau, featuring J. Alphonse Nicholson and Dominique Morisseau. Following the performance, the artists join host Claudia Catania to discuss their own third grade experiences. (31:32)
Elementary school teacher Kai is dedicated to helping her students thrive. But when one of her third-graders is brutally bullied, Kai must unexpectedly go to battle with the boy’s father over how best to protect his son.
**********************
Upon These Shoulders, in support of Black Theatre United, will stream Sat. Feb. 27 at 8 PM ET. Ticket information TBA.
Daniel J. Watts, Brandon Victor Dixon, Amber Iman, Carly Hughes, Bebe Winans, and more TBA.
Using performances, interviews, and video messages from Broadway stars and arts workers, the show will highlight the history of Black artistry, magnify the work of today’s Black creatives, and shed a light on the future of Broadway and theatres across America. The concert will also highlight the work of the Black Theatre Coalition, emphasizing its leadership as the community moves the needle towards equity.
**********************
In response to the pandemic, Milwaukee Rep has cancelled all live performances through April. Stay tuned for further updates.
**********************
The 11th annual Hollywood Fringe Festival will now run Aug. 12-22. By pushing back the timeline this year, the festival can ensure a digitally-driven, community-focused event.
Click here for more information.
**********************
A Valentine’s Day-themed contest, Measure in Love: Broadway Celebrates Valentine’s Day, has been announced. Submit a video of yourself singing any love long from the Broadway Records catalog (either by yourself or as part of a duet), and submit it here by midnight ET on Feb. 14, using the hashtag #MeasueInLove to be considered.
A solo and duet winner will each be chosen by Jackie Burns, Kevin Chamberlin, Telly Leung, Lesli Margherita, Stephanie Lynne Masoon, and Drew Seigla.
Winners will receive a Valentine’s Day care package with goodies from Broadway Records, Broadway Wine Club, and the Playbill Store.
Winners will receive a Valentine’s Day care package with goodies from Broadway Records and contest sponsors Broadway Wine Club and the Playbill Store.
Click here for official rules and to enter.
**********************
Musical Theatre West presents Celebrate Black Broadway Artists through February.
The celebration will include a series of programs honoring Black Broadway Artists, the event will feature three complementary components and a Spotify playlist, as this month-long tribute takes audiences on a virtual tour of some of the most important moments in Black Musical Theatre History, as well as introducing audiences to the talents that helped create the Broadway Musical as we know it.
**********************
Judy Collins has re-created her 1964 NYC concert hall debut, filmed at NYC’s Town Hall, which will stream Fri. Feb. 12 at 8 PM EST here,
**********************
Long Beach’s International City Theatre will present Yasmina Reza’s Art Feb. 18 – Mar. 7 (Thursdays – Sundays only), directed by caryn desai.
Brent Schindele, Michael Uribes, and Brian Stanton.