17 Stage Performances to Watch Today, October 13

Rattlestick Playwrights Theater: Why Would I Dare?: The Trial of Crystal Mason
At 7 p.m. ET, Rattlestick Playwrights Theater presents Why Would I Dare?, a virtual reading of the court transcript from the trial of Crystal Mason, a Black woman convicted of trying to cast an illegal vote during the 2016 presidential election. Conceived by actors Marin Ireland, Peter Mark Kendall and Reggie D. White and director Tyler Thomas (the same group behind the Vineyard Theatre’s documentary-style series Lessons in Survival), this timely performance features Crystal Dickinson, Peter Gerety, Shane McRae and creators Kendall and Ireland. Watch for free until Monday, November 2, aka Election Day eve, on Rattlestick’s YouTube channel though donations are encouraged.

Bedlam: The Price
At 7 p.m. ET, Bedlam, a NYC theatre company lauded for its reinventions of classics (Sense & Sensibility, The Crucible), presents a live reading of Arthur Miller’s The Price, a family tragedy about two brothers at odds about what to do with their late parents’ estate. Rajesh Bose, Arash Mokhtar, Michael Twain and Annabel Capper star. The evening kicks off with a half hour of live music at 6:30 p.m. ET. Watch for free on the company’s Facebook page though donations to The Okra Project are encouraged.

The Metropolitan Opera: La Fille du Régiment
At 7:30 p.m. ET, the Metropolitan Opera‘s week of Donizetti favorites continues with La Fille du Régiment, a beloved romantic comedy about an orphan girl raised by a regiment of French soldiers who ends up falling for a rebel. This 2008 production stars Natalie Dessay and Juan Diego Flórez as the quirky couple, alongside Felicity Palmer, Alessandro Corbelli and late stage icon Marian Seldes in a cameo. Watch for free for 23 hours after the start time on the Metropolitan Opera’s website. You can still stream yesterday’s opera, Lucia di Lammermoor, until 6:30 p.m. ET today.

Berkeley Repertory Theatre: It Can’t Happen Here
At 8 p.m. ET, four years ago, just before the last presidential election, California’s acclaimed Berkeley Rep presented a new stage adaptation of Sinclair Lewis’ 1935 satirical novel It Can’t Happen Here, about a totalitarian U.S. presidential candidate and the journalist who opposes his regime. The company is remounting that production as a four-part radio play, with weekly episodes through Election Day. The first installment debuts this evening and stars West Coast stage actor David Kelly as the demagogue and Oscar nominee David Strathairn as a liberal determined to take him down. Lisa Peterson directs. Listen for free on Berkley Rep’s YouTube channel.

Stars in the House: Regional Theatre Spotlight on L.A. Theatre Works
At 8 p.m. ET, Stars in the House spotlights L.A. Theatre Works, one of the leading producers of audio theatre. Producing director Susan Albert Loewenberg hosts this episode and welcomes well-known performers Charlayne Woodard, Matthew Rhys, Sarah Drew and Seamus Dever, who have all acted in the company’s productions. Learn more about this venerable institution for free on YouTube.

the cell: Tolerance Party: #2 “Roll Call”
At 8 p.m. ET, cutting-edge downtown theatre the cell continues Joseph Hendel‘s serialized dark comedy Tolerance Party, about a half dozen people brought together in a video chat by a mysterious stranger. In this episode titled “Role Call,” they’re goaded into performing a play, and the audience helps decide their fates for the next installment. Tickets start at $5.

Latino Theater Co.: A Mexican Trilogy, Part 2: Hope
At 10 p.m. ET, Los Angeles’ Latino Theater Co. presents a recording of part 2 of Evelina Fernández‘s epic A Mexican Trilogy, chronicling the lives of the Mexican-American Morales family over multiple decades of the 20th century. This second installment is titled “Hope” and set in the clan’s Phoenix home during the Cuban Missile Crisis. José Luis Valenzuela directed this 2012 production, which stars Esperanza America, Robert Beltran, Evelina Fernández, Sam Golzari, Kenneth Lopez, Sal Lopez, Julio Macias, Xavi Moreno, Geoffrey Rivas, Lucy Rodriguez, Elia Saldana and Olivia Delgado Young. Watch part 2 for free until Thursday, October 22 on the company’s YouTube channel. If you missed part 1 last week, it’s streaming until Thursday.

Available to Watch All Day

St. Ann’s Warehouse: Julius Caesar
Throughout October, Brooklyn’s St. Ann’s Warehouse presents director Phyllida Lloyd‘s acclaimed Donmar Warehouse Shakespeare Trilogy, starring Tony nominee Harriet Walter and an all-female ensemble as inmates mounting the Bard’s plays in prison, a framing that provides a fresh perspective on familiar works. All three productions were filmed in front of live audiences in 2016, with handheld and GoPro footage edited in to give them a kinetic feel. The series kicks off with Julius Caesar featuring Walter as Brutus. Watch for free until Thursday on St. Ann’s website though donations are encouraged.

Top image: New York City Ballet’s Erica Pereira with Spartak Hoxha, Troy Schumacher and Ralph Ippolito in George Balanchine’s Symphony in C. Photo by Rosalie O’Connor.

RAVEN SNOOK