Today’s Highlights:
Bad Dates filmed production, by Theresa Rebeck, directed by Peter Flynn, starring Andréa Burns, begins streaming at NJ’s George Street Playhouse.
Reimagining FREE benefit, with special guests Robert Falls, Liesel Tommy, Willa J. Taylor, Zoraida Sambolin, Loretta Cooney, Jacquelyn Robinson, and Carol Wood, streams at 6 PM CT at Chicago’s Goodman Theatre.
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Video: Jim Caruso’s Cast Party variety show, with special guests Maggie Rose, Randy Taylor, Michael Mather, Nick Ziobro, and Brandi Chavonne Massey. (1:29:32)
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The U.K. Department for Digital Culture, Media and Sport has announced a new timeline for the re-opening of theaters, which should have theaters operating at full capacity by the end of June. Of course, the reality will be based on the success of the vaccine distributions.
The suggested timeline has indoor arts venues opening at 50% capacity as of May 17, and those opening at 100% capacity is currently set for June. 21.
Continued precautions, such as COVID-19 status certification and enhanced testing may be implemented.
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Justin Butcher’s Scaramouche Jones or the Seven White Masks will stream Mar. 26 – Apr. 1 here, directed by Ian Talbot.
Shane Richie
The play recounts a life shaped by extraordinary misfortunes, from the shores of Trinidad to England by way of slave ships, Italian royalty, and Croation concentration camps. A witness to pivotal moments of the 20th century, Scaramouche finds himself at the day of a new millennium, marking his own centenary and preparing for death.
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NYC’s Metropolitan Opera has announced this week’s free streaming operas, all at 7:30 PM ET, and available for 23 hours:
Feb. 22: Il Trovatore (available through tonight at 6:30 PM ET), by Verdi, starring Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Sondra Radvanovsky, Dolora Zajick, and Marcelo Álvarez, conducted by Marco Armiliato.
Feb. 23: The Queen of Spades, by Tchaikovsky, starring Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Galina Gorchakova, Elisabeth Söderström, Plácido Domingo, and Nikolai Putilin, conducted by Valery Gergiev.
Feb. 24: Eugene Onegin, by Tchaikovsky, starring Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Renée Fleming and Ramón Vargas, conducted by Valery Gergiev.
Feb. 25: Ernani, by Verdi, starring Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Angela Meade, Marcello Giordani, and Ferruccio Furlanetto, conducted by Marco Armiliato.
Feb. 26: La Traviata, by Verdi, starring Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Natalie Dessay and Matthew Polenzani, conducted by Fabio Luisi.
Feb. 27: Un Ballo in Maschera, by Verdi, starring Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Sondra Radvanovsky, Kathleen Kim, Stephanie Blythe, and Marcelo Álvarez, conducted by Fabio Luisi.
Feb. 28: Il Trovatore, by Verdi, starring Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Anna Netrebko, Dolora Zajick, and Yonghoon Lee.
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In celebration of World Theatre Day, the global variety show Rise Up With Stars , in support of the U.K. charity Theatre Support Fund+ and The Actors Fund, will livestream Sat. Mar. 27 at 3:30 PM ET here.
Kerry Ellis, Matt Croke, Aaron Tveit, Robyn Hurder, John Logan, Don Black, and dancers Pasha Kovaley & Anya Garnis.
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New York City movie theaters will soon be open again. Venues can reopen starting Mar. 5 at 25% capacity, and a maximum of 50 people per screeen.
Socially distanced assigned seats and masks will be mandatory. Testing will not be required.
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A filmed production of Beckett’s First Love will stream Feb. 25 – Mar. 1 here, directed by JoAnne Akalaitis.
Bill Camp
The story of a man’s obsession with a woman who, against his will, “once inflamed his desire and brought him in from the cold.” The staging includes the full text of Beckett’s piece, at the request of his estate.
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In honor of Black History Month, Playing on Air & Playbill will release short audio plays by Black creatives, every Monday. This week’s play is Cori Thomas’ Waking Up.
Lynnette R. Freeman and Amy Staats
Two women, an American urbanite and a Nigerian villager, both discover lumps in their breasts. From opposite sides of the world, they each recount their story in juxtaposition. The details differ greatly, but their experiences of care, community, and their own tenacity make clear the universality of women’s challenges and spirit.
Listen to other short plays that have been released:
Third Grade here.
G.O.A.T. here.
Cell here.
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Hadestown Cast Reunion will livestream Wed. Feb. 24 at 8 PM ET here, offering an evening of unscripted stories and gossip.
Anais Mitchell, Rachel Chavkin, Reeve Carney, Eva Noblezada, Amber Gray, and Patrick Page.
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Off-Broadway’s MCC Theater presents a reading of Susan Soon He Stanton’s The Things Are Against Us on Thurs. Feb. 25 at 6:30 PM ET (and available through Feb. 28), directed by Ellie Heyman.
Juan Castano, Emily Davis, Susannah Flood, Babak Tafti, and Danny Wolohan.
The play is set in a mysterious house with a mind of its own. Lorca. One claw-foot bathtub, two sisters, and a young man’s journey to unearth the dark secrets of his grandfather’s past. All roads lead to a mysterious house with a mind of its own. Are there bones in the basement and passive-aggressive shadows in the corners? The Spreckle house invites you to spend the night.
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The world premiere of Hershey Felder, PUCCINI will stream Mar. 14- 21 at Beverly Hills’ The Wallis, directed by Stefano D. Caril. The production was filmed on location in Lucca Italy, in the very home where Puccini was born.
Nathan Gunn, Gianna Corbisiero, and Charles Castronovo.
The story of a young musician in love with the world of opera, and in particular, Puccini’s La Bohème, Tosca, and Madama Butterfly. When, through a series of unusual circumstances, the young musician meets the musical master himself, secrets are revealed that send the young man soaring.
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Broadway Smashes COVID will stream Thurs. Feb. 25 at 8 PM ET here, in support of Health Care Without Walls (which provides medical care to homeless women and children in Greater Boston).
Renée Fleming, Heather Headley, Laura Benanti, Orfeh, Alisan Porter, Cheyenne Jackson, John Lloyd Young, Adam Pascal, and Barrett Foa.
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Manhattan Theatre Club has announced the world premiere of the 2018 filmed production of Donja R. Love’s Sugar In Our Wounds on Thurs. Feb. 25 at 12 PM ET, directed by Saheeem Ali.
Stephanie Berry (Aunt Mama).
On a plantation somewhere down south, a mystical tree reaches up toward heaven. Generations of slaves have been hanged on this tree. But James is going to be different, as long as he keeps his head down and practices his reading. Moreover, as the Civil War rages on, the possibility of freedom looms closer than ever. When a stranger arrives on the plantation, a striking romance emerges, inviting the couple and those around them into uncharted territory.
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New cast members have been announced for Season 2 of Amazon’s “Modern Love.” The season will premiere later this year (date TBA)/
New cast members: Nikki M. James, Kathryn Gallagher, Larry Owens, Isaac Powell, Susan Blackwell, Maria Dizzia, and Ben Rappaport.
They join the existing cast, which includes Kit Harington, Anna Paquin, Dominique Fishback, Minnie Driver, Garrett Hedlund, Jack Reynor, Miranda Richardson, Gbenga Akinnagbe, Lucy Boynton, Tom Burke, Zoe Chao, Grace Edwards, Telci Huynh, Aparna Nancherla, Zane Pais, Milan Ray, Marquis Rodriguez, James Scully, Zuzanna Szadkowski, Lulu Wilson, Don Wycherley, and Jeena Yi.
Additionally, Tony nominee Andrew Rannells is slated to direct an episode, based on an essay he wrote for the column.
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Linnie Reedman & Joe Evans’ Gatsby A Musical will stream Feb. 26-28 at London’s Cadogan Hall, directed by Reedman.
Jodie Steele (Daisy Buchanan), Liam Doyle (Tom Buchanan), Liam Doyle (Jay Gatsby), Joe Frost (George Wilson), Blake Patrick Anderson (Nick Carraway), Robert Grose (Theodore Woolfe), Lauren Chinery (Jordan Baker0), Oliver Mawdsley (Owl Eyes), Chanice Alexander-Burnett (Catherine), Tristan Pegg (Reporter), and Emma Williams (Myrtle Wilson).
When Daisy Buchanan revisits Jay Gatsby’s mansion seven years after leaving that world behind, she is trying to confront her past by reliving the dream she shared with Gatsby. But where is he? “You can’t repeat the past.”
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This year’s Tony nominated plays (all except one):
Slave Play, by Jeremy O. Harris. 
Order here.
Grand Horizons, by Bess Wohl. Order here.
The Inheritance, by Matthew Lopez. Order here.
The Sound Inside, by Adam Rapp. Order here.
Sea Wall/A Life, by Simon Stephens (Sea Wall) & Nick Payne (A Life).
Order here.
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& 
Forestburgh Playhouse has announced its Diamond Delirium party & fundraiser, to stream Wed. Feb. 24 at 6:30 PM ET, directed by Steven Cuevas, and hosted by Tom Hewitt & Ed Staudenmayer.
Alice Ripley, Jack O’Brien, Marc Shaiman, Sally Struthers, Kate Baldwin, Morgan James, Graham Rowat, Christina Bianco, Kyle Taylor Parker, Kerstin Anderson, Belinda Allyn, Paige Turner, and more.
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Joshua Henry‘s new EP, “Guarantee,” will be released Mar. 4. 
here.
1. “Guarantee”
2. “Hold Me”
3. “Possible”
4. “Stand Up”
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Showtime has announced new information for its anthology series, “The First Lady.” Additional casting, release date, and more information TBA.
Gillian Anderson will star as Eleanor Roosevelt in her episode. Other episodes will star Viola Davis (Michelle Obama) and Michelle Pfeiffer (Betty Ford).