20 Stage Performances to Watch January 25-26
Monday, January 25
Origin 1st Irish Theatre Festival: Under the Albert Clock
On Monday at 3 p.m. ET, since 2008, Origin Theatre Company has presented the annual Origin 1st Irish Festival featuring readings, productions and panels. Today, The Lyric Theatre presents Under the Albert Clock, a quintet of new audio playlets penned by five Irish playwrights, each inspired by a different Belfast landmark and set in the year 2050. Tickets are $10.
Red Bull Theater: The Woman Hater
On Monday at 7:30 p.m. ET, NYC’s Red Bull Theater, known for reinvigorating forgotten classics, presents a live reading of The Woman Hater, a rarely seen proto-feminist satire by Frances Burney centering on the jilted Sir Roderick, who really hates ladies. Although Burney wrote the play at the turn of the 19th century, it remained unpublished and unperformed until 2007, when it was finally mounted in London. A comedy of manners and misogyny, the performance is directed by Everett Quinton and stars Bill Army, Arnie Burton, Veanne Cox, Rebecca S’Manga Frank, Cherie Corinne Rice, Matthew Saldivar, Jenne Vath and Nick Westrate. Watch for free on Red Bull’s YouTube channel though a $25 donation is suggested. A recording will be viewable until Friday at 7 p.m. ET.
The Metropolitan Opera: Don Giovanni
On Monday at 7:30 p.m. ET, the Metropolitan Opera presents Don Giovanni, featuring Simon Keenlyside in the title role of the world’s most notorious lover. The production was filmed for the company’s Live in HD series in 2016 and costars Hibla Gerzmava, Malin Byström, Serena Malfi, Paul Appleby and Adam Plachetka. Watch for free for 23 hours after the start time on the Metropolitan Opera’s website. You can still stream yesterday’s opera, Die Walküre, until 6:30 p.m. ET today.
Consequences: Asè
On Monday at 8 p.m. ET, three lauded NYC theatre organizations—Harlem Stage, Harlem 9 and the Lucille Lortel Theatre—launch Consequences, a series of playlets by Black writers in response to systemic racism and the 2020 presidential election. The first premiere is York Walker‘s Asè exploring the dynamic between a white executive who recently completed diversity training and her Black assistant. Watch for free on YouTube.
Jim Caruso’s Pajama Cast Party
On Monday at 8 p.m. ET, cabaret maven Jim Caruso welcomes renowned singers and up-and-comers at Pajama Cast Party, a live-streamed version of his popular weekly Cast Party gatherings that have taken place at Birdland for years. Tonight’s lineup includes 2021 Grammy nominee Thana Alexa, singer-guitarist Bill Brooks, Tony-winning Drowsy Chaperone book writer Lisa Lambert and vocal group RESOLVE!. Watch for free on YouTube though tips via the Venmo app are appreciated.
Bindlestiff Family Cirkus: Open Stage Variety Show: Quarantine Edition
On Monday at 8 p.m. ET, the Bindlestiff Family Cirkus continues its live weekly variety show hosted by adorkable ringmaster Keith Nelson. Tonight’s awe-inspiring lineup includes acrobats Mugwanya Najib and Busulwa Yasin, contortionist Elena Sanders, juggler Zak McAllister and sword swallower Wendy Blades. Watch for free on Bindlestiff’s YouTube channel though donations are encouraged.
Tuesday, January 26
Round House Theatre: The Catastrophist
On Tuesday at noon ET, prolific and popular playwright Lauren Gunderson turns her perceptive pen on her husband, famed virologist Nathan Wolfe, who helped track Ebola, swine flu and now COVID-19. Gunderson has written many plays about historical figures in science but this is the first time she’s explored the life and career of her spouse, who’s portrayed by William DeMeritt in this one-man play, which was recorded at California’s Marin Theatre Company and is co-presented by Maryland’s Round House Theatre. Don’t worry if stats and data make your head spin—as always, Gunderson is more interested in what makes her characters tick personally rather than professionally. Tickets are $32.50 and the recording is viewable until Sunday, February 28.
Origin 1st Irish Theatre Festival: Stay Home and Stay Safe and Transatlantic Tales
Since 2008, Origin Theatre Company has presented the annual Origin 1st Irish Festival featuring readings, productions and panels. This year the event goes virtual with daily offerings through the end of the month. This Tuesday, you can catch:
- At 3 p.m. ET, Stay Home and Stay Safe, a quartet of brand-new playlets exploring domestic violence during the pandemic written by Irish dramatists Geraldine Aron, Honor Molloy, Derek Murphy and Ursula Rani Sarma. Tickets are free but required to receive the viewing link.
- At 8 p.m. ET, Transatlantic Tales, a series of eight new playlets performed live on Zoom. The international cast includes many NYC stage actors, including Irish Rep regulars John Keating, Orlagh Cassidy and Kevin Collins, and Drama Desk Award winner Richard Topol. Tickets are free but required to receive the viewing link.
Irish Repertory Theatre: Molly Sweeney
On Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET, this winter, the venerable Irish Rep is presenting encore streams of its entire digital season. First up is Molly Sweeney, Brian Friel’s popular drama about a woman blind since infancy whose sight is restored with unexpected consequences. Geraldine Hughes and Ciarán O’Reilly reprise their performances as Molly and her husband from the theatre’s hit 2011 production, alongside newcomer Paul O’Brien as the surgeon who changes the title character’s life. Told in series of monologues, this Molly Sweeney was filmed remotely last May. Tickets are free but required to receive the viewing link; donations are encouraged.
The Metropolitan Opera: Le Comte Ory
On Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. ET, the Metropolitan Opera presents Rossini’s rarely staged comedy Le Comte Ory. Tony-winning director Bartlett Sher helmed this charming 2011 production starring Juan Diego Flórez as the title character, a philandering count whose lust life is complicated by Diana Damrau‘s virtuous Countess Adèle and his page, played by Joyce DiDonato. Watch for free for 23 hours after the start time on the Metropolitan Opera’s website. You can still stream yesterday’s opera, Don Giovanni, until 6:30 p.m. ET today.
Marisa Tomei and Bobby Cannavale in Three Hotels
On Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET, Tectonic Theater Project presents Three Hotels, Jon Robin Baitz‘s celebrated 1993 play about a superficially successful couple masking their moral and emotional decay. Told via monologues set in hotel rooms in Morocco, the Virgin Islands and Mexico, the production stars two-time Tony nominee Bobby Cannavale as an unethical international businessman and Oscar winner Marisa Tomei as his wife. Moisés Kaufman directs this digital performance. Watch for free until Saturday though donations are encouraged.
Stars in the House: Disney Legends Party
On Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET, it’s guest host week on Stars in the House! First up is RuPaul’s Drag Race alum Nina West and she’s throwing a fierce and fabulous Disney Legends Party with powerhouse princess vocalists Lea Salonga (Mulan and Jasmine!), Jodi Benson (Ariel!) and Paige O’Hara (Belle!), along with the composer who wrote their anthems, Alan Menken. Watch for free on YouTube though donations to The Actors Fund are encouraged.
Available to Watch Both Days
Metropolitan Opera Stars Live in Concert: Piotr Beczala and Sondra Radvanovsky
On Saturday, the Metropolitan Opera presented Piotr Beczala and Sondra Radvanovsky performing from Germany’s Historische Stadthalle Wuppertal and you can watch a recording all week. This is the first time the duo has sung together for Met audiences since 2015, and the lineup includes beloved arias and duets from Giordano’s Andrea Chénier, Dvorák’s Rusalka and Verdi’s La Forza del Destino. Tickets are $20 and the recording is viewable until Friday, February 5.
St. Ann’s Warehouse: The Approach
Last week, Brooklyn’s St. Ann’s Warehouse streamed a live performance of The Approach from Dublin’s Project Arts Centre and you can watch a recording all week. Mark O’Rowe‘s enigmatic play centers on three women (Cathy Belton, Derbhle Crotty and Aisling O’Sullivan) telling different but interconnected tales. Tickets start at €15, approximately $18, and the recording is viewable until Sunday.
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Top image: Marisa Tomei, who costars with Bobby Cannavale in a performance of Three Hotels on Tuesday evening.
RAVEN SNOOK