Bon Voyage!
Happenstance Theater
$10 rental fee gives 30 day access
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The lighthearted troupe known as Happenstance Theater brings back their 2017 production of Bon Voyage!. Masterfully filmed and brilliantly conceived – here a ladder believably stands in for the Eiffel Tower and clever contraptions add to the fun and folly. If what you need is a return to a childlike sense of wonder, then Bon Voyage! is your restorative. – Lorraine Treanor
Into the Woods
Broadway, 1987
Amazon ($0.99-$7.99 to rent/buy)
Ongoing
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The movie has its moments, but to me, the original Broadway cast production of Into the Woods will always be the iconic version, and one I watched countless times growing up (my babysitter introduced it to us, and my dad eventually recorded it off of PBS onto a VHS tape, if I’m looking to date myself). I streamed it again this weekend to introduce my husband to this production, which has a powerhouse cast featuring everyone from the iconic Bernadette Peters as the witch to the comedically-gifted Joanna Gleason as the Baker’s Wife. As a child, I was entranced by the first act, which cleverly and whimsically weaves together several fairy tales, including Cinderella and Rapunzel, into a united quest. But as an adult facing uncertainty, even dread, on a near-daily basis, it’s the second act, which chronicles what happens when the happy ending wears off, that speaks most to me.
The Sondheim musical doesn’t shy away from harsh truths, but its ultimate message, that “No One is Alone” (one Peters herself communicated to audiences during the riveting Sondheim 90th birthday special a few weeks ago), is ultimately uplifting, not to mention timeless. – Recommended by Missy Frederick
Our Lady of 121st Street
LAByrinth Theater
Free reading with Lawrence Fishburne, Bobby Cannavale, and 8 original cast members
Saturday, May 23, 8pm – Sunday, 24, 8pm
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“What kinda f—in’ world is this?”
It is a common question these days, and also the first line in the first scene of Our Lady of 121st Street, asked by a man in his underwear, ranting to a detective at the Ortiz Funeral Home in Harlem, where the funeral for Sister Rose is supposed to take place, except that somebody has stolen the dead nun’s body. The same thief has stolen the agitated man’s pants.
Our Lady is an early play by Stephen Adly Guirgis, who went on to write the 2011 The Motherfucker with a Hat, for which he was nominated for a Tony, and the 2014 Between Riverside and Crazy, for which he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Our Lady is a series of darkly comic vignettes involving 12 interrelated present and former residents of a street in Harlem, and if it is not as well-known, nor as accomplished, as his later work, it exhibits some of Guirgis’s familiar street energy, full of harsh, foul-mouthed humor; it even touches on some of his usual themes (living with sorrow and regret; betrayal; spiritual redemption.) It marks one of his earliest collaborations with the streetwise, inventive LAByrinth Theater Company – Jonathan Mandell
Bombshell in Concert
People TV
Free – benefit for Actors Fund
Closes May 27
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Did you miss Wednesday night’s live streaming event, a special concert version of Bombshell, the fictitious musical about the life of Marilyn Monroe that was the centerpiece for the gleefully gloppy NBC-TV series Smash, which was must-scream TV for every Broadway fanboy and girl? Smash only lasted two campy seasons, folding up its tent and stealing off to the boulevard of broken dreams in 2013. But the music lives on, especially in the swoonful “Let Me Be Your Star,” as do the show’s stars, Katharine McPhee and Megan Hilty, cast as rivals competing for the primo role of Marilyn. The show was a vicarious delight for the Broadway bewitched, featuring cameos by Liza Minnelli, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Leslie Odom, Jr.. The free streaming event benefits the Actors Fund, so don’t forget to give. – Jayne Blanchard
Asters
A new opera by Akira Nishimura
National Theatre of Tokyo (NNTT)
Cast: Tomohiro Takada, Toru Onuma, Kasumi Shimzu
Closes May 29
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Now that we have the time and means to view beyond our geography, the world indeed is our oyster. What might we find “out there” that is remarkable and new? The New National Theatre of Tokyo has reconstituted itself, promising to build cutting-edge new productions and often featuring works of Japanese creative artists. Asters is a stunning visual production of a new opera with stage direction by Yoshi, long-collaborating member of Peter Brook’s ensemble lab in Paris. An almost perfect synthesis of east and west techniques and musical languages. Sung in Japanese with English surtitles. – Susan Galbraith
As you enjoy these, remember that most are done as benefits and return your appreciation by donating whatever you can.