by Sandi Durell
Do you realize you could be busy nearly 24/7 what with all the virtual events and shows scheduled! Lots to choose from and here are some more in our daily effort to keep you apprised of what’s happening, along with essential theater information.
Sing Your Hallelujah, a holiday concert event filmed live at the Apollo Theater premiering on Saturday, December 12 9PM EST. Joining Broadway star and Billboard #1 recording artist Shoshana Bean will be Tony and Olivier Award winner Gavin Creel, tap dance phenom Jared Grimes; Broadway, TV and film star Jeremy Jordan; recording artist Shayna Steele; “Britain’s Got Talent” and #1 Billboard recording artist Connie Talbot; and 2020 Tony Award nominee Daniel J. Watts. Sing Your Hallelujah is directed by Amy Segal who directed the documentary “Schitt’s Creek: Best Wishes, Warmest Regards.” Tickets now available www.singyourhallelujah.com
Journey Around My Bedroom – New Ohio Theatre, Theatre for Young Minds, Dec. 26 – Jan 10. Written by Dianne Nora/lyrics: Dianne Nora & Hyeyoung Kim/Songs & Music Hyeyoung Kim, Directed by Jaclyn Biskup. A live streamed interactive event also available on demand beginning Jan. 11. The story of Xavi a little girl with a big imagination! www.newohiotheatre.org
Totally-free-to-access taped conversation with award winning playwright Lauren Gunderson! Our Founder and Artistic Director Teri Black and Lauren discuss Lauren’s history with Break-A-Leg Productions, the arc of Lauren’s career, and what it’s like writing intersectional feminist plays that teach the audience more about science along the way. www.balproductions.org
Broadway On Demand, the theater-focused streaming platform, in association with the Actors Theatre of Louisville, is proud to present The Keep Going Song from critically acclaimed indie-folk duo Abigail and Shaun Bengson Bengson (Hundred Days) BroadwayOnDemand.com. In The Keep Going Song, Indie-folk duo Abigail and Shaun Bengson create an intimate evening of storytelling through song. In dark times, people have long found solace in the sound of their shared voices around a small light, and The Bengsons invite you to lean into the glow of your screen as they explore living fully even in moments of fear, choosing to love fiercely, and cultivating joy as a form of personal activism. The Keep Going Song is available for a 48-hour rental for a $15 donation at
www.broadwayondemand.com/series/F0zc9mwcvd85-the-keep-going-song.
Emmy-winner Sarah Jessica Parker, Tony-winner Matthew Broderick, 4-time Oscar-nominee Annette Bening, and Oscar-winner Eva Marie Saint (On the Waterfront, North by Northwest) are joining an online spoken word performance series benefitting The Actors Fund & Feeding America. Launched this summer, The Pack Podcast features star-studded casts performing short comedies by Emmy-nominated & Drama Desk-winner Eugene Pack in the style of classic radio plays. New episodes are posted every Thursday at www.ThePackPodcast.org. Sarah Jessica Parker & Eva Marie Saint will star in Jenny and Mrs. Brown available 12/17; Annette Bening, Matthew Broderick & Eva Marie Saint will star together in a special holiday episode The Christmas Letter available Wednesday 12/23. The most recent episode Sky High features the hilarious Margaret Cho, Jackie Hoffman and Maggie Wheeler.
Take a Virtual Sleigh Ride with Shana Farr and Steve Ross through the Great American Songbook beginning December 14 at 7:30 and watch indefinitely. Filled with holiday songs like It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year, Sleigh Ride, White Christmas, Silver Bells and much more. . . and a nod to Noel Coward. Tickets HERE.
New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players (NYGASP) announces the grand finale of their 2020 Virtual Season, a premiere cinematic experience of Sir Arthur Sullivan and F.C. Burnand’s comic operetta, Cox and Box. This all-new original film, available for stream December 27 – January 2 was shot and fully staged at South Orange Performing Arts Center with an Actors Equity Association-approved COVID-19 safety plan. The 50-minute film, produced in 1080p HD resolution with multiple cameras, transports the audience into the action of this hilarious one-act farce. Join Mr. Cox and Mr. Box as they dig in their heels when they discover the mischievous scheme of their landlord, Sgt. Bouncer. Victorian formality is thrown to the wind in this entertaining and beautifully shot musical film! www.nygasp.org
Playwright Jeremy O. Harris has announced The Golden Collection, composed of 15 plays by prominent Black playwrights including Slave Play, which has received a historic 12 Tony Award® nominations, more than any other play in Broadway history. The collection was launched in partnership with the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) civil rights organization.
The collection is named in honor of Harris’ grandfather Golden Harris who passed away two weeks before Jeremy learned that Slave Play would play Broadway’s Golden Theatre. In lieu of sending scripts to Tony Award voters, Slave Play will donate The Golden Collection, totaling 800 individual scripts, to libraries and community centers in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, and Guam. Many of these libraries and community centers spotlight historic sites of racial progress, sites of continued racial violence and inequity, and serve predominantly Black communities. Ultimately, this collection was donated to libraries that were passionate about bringing these plays into their communities. The donated scripts were purchased from Sister’s Uptown Bookstore, the oldest Black-owned bookstore in Manhattan and a community resource center.
To encourage individuals to purchase, gift, or donate the collection, Slave Play has also partnered with Books and Crannies, a Black woman-owned independent bookstore, located in Harris’s hometown of Martinsville, VA. For every purchase of the full collection, Books and Crannies will make a $10 donation to the National Black Theatre. To buy, gift, or donate The Golden Collection, please visit the Books & Crannies website.