2020

‘Twelve Days of Watchmas’ from #WeSeeYou is a blunt and raw must-read

Revolution is rooted in protest. And in revolutionary ways, protest theater promotes social change. The ubiquitous We See You, White American Theater movement courageously flips the script using the...

Celebrate New Year’s Eve with the stars of Broadway

Though Times Square will be closed to crowds for New Year’s Eve and you won’t be able to watch the iconic ball drop in person this year, you can still celebrate the arrival of 2021 in New York style,...

The year that COVID canceled live theater and a revolution came to life

Theater history will long remember that 2020 was the year that COVID canceled live performance. It canceled lots else, of course, including, tragically, hundreds of thousands of lifetimes. But it is...

Register now for Artistic Stamp’s second season of plays-by-mail

After the success of Artistic Stamp’s sold-out inaugural season, the plays-by-mail theater company will return with its second round of original interactive narrative adventures in the form of...

Shakina Nayfack’s ‘Chonburi International Hotel & Butterfly Club’ on Audible offers a transformative experience for everyone

Presented as part of the virtual 2020 Williamstown Theatre Festival, the world-premiere audio-play release of transgender writer, performer, and activist Shakina Nayfack’s Chonburi International Hotel...

Long-awaited government relief package includes $15 billion to Save Our Stages

Following a full week of complaints, delay, and criticism of the 5,593-page $2.3 trillion omnibus US fiscal bill, the President at last signed it into law on Sunday night, December 27, in time to...

A tribute to Lorraine Treanor, Washington theater’s booster-in-chief

In June 2005 Lorraine Treanor, a relatively new theater-maker transplant from Chicago, who had followed her husband’s work to settle in the Greater Washington area, joined with Walter “Ronnie” Ruff to...

The Boy Band Project sings in the New Year

On January 1, 2021, The Boy Band Project – NYC’s Broadway World Award-winning “Best Group” of 2019 (and currently honored with eight nominations in the 2020 BWW Awards, for which voting is still open)...

Annapolis Shakespeare Company captures the magic of ‘A Christmas Carol’

Annapolis Shakespeare Company’s production of A Christmas Carol is a moving, faithful adaptation of Charles Dickens’ beloved holiday tale, now playing virtually for stay-at-home audiences. Adapted by...

How the pandemic got music educators to think outside the box

In a typical year, Sound Impact reaches some 8,000 students throughout the United States and Central America. But typical, 2020 is not. The upheaval brought on by the pandemic left this collective of...

‘Signature Vinyl’ spins first-rate versions of turntable classics

Directed and conceived by Matthew Gardiner, Signature Vinyl delivers a filmed concert of songs performed by an excellent cast of singers and musicians, captured live at several DC-area outdoor...

A new virtual installment of ‘Sondheim Unplugged’ from Feinstein’s/54 Below

For the latest edition of its ongoing offerings of new streamed concerts in 54 Below Premieres, Feinstein’s/54 Below presents the first virtual iteration of one of the nightclub’s longest-running...

Make December merry and bright with local holiday arts offerings

When the holiday season approaches, we tend to turn to things that give us joy and comfort. The arts always seem to take center stage during these darker months – providing togetherness, light, and...

A beautiful winter rose blooms in ‘A Christmas Carol’ at ASC

One of my family’s most cherished traditions this time of year has been to visit family down south (of course), but also to stop off in Staunton, Virginia, for a few days. It is a great time of year...

‘A Protest in Eight’ at Theater Alliance packs a social-justice punch

No doubt about it, in just fifteen minutes, protest theater can pack a powerful punch. Theater Alliance’s creatively ambitious A Protest in Eight, with its lineup of eight fierce young playwrights,...

Joe Iconis and Lauren Marcus rally support for a virtual Christmas telethon to save the West Bank Cafe and Laurie Beechman Theatre

As is the case with so many of New York’s favorite restaurants and venues, the West Bank Cafe and Laurie Beechman Theatre are in danger of closing permanently due to losses suffered during the...

Taylor Mac puts on the glitz in ‘Holiday Sauce’ on demand

Taylor Mac is an acquired bad taste, and fans who remember fondly Taylor Mac’s over-the-top Holiday Sauce—which played live one-night-only last year at The Kennedy Center—will be gladdened to know a...

Tennessee Williams’s ‘Lady from the Village of Falling Flowers’ returns

Spooky Action Theater’s utterly charming production of The Lady from the Village of Falling Flowers—a recently discovered early work by Tennessee Williams directed for puppets and people by Natsu...

The charms of ‘Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley’ from Strand Theater

Strand Theater Company’s production of Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley is a delightfully theatrical sequel to Jane Austen’s classic novel Pride and Prejudice. Written by Lauren Gunderson and...

Mark your calendar for three virtual holiday events airing on Monday

With three special holiday shows for children and adults all streaming on Monday (the night when theaters traditionally were dark), it will be hard to decide which one to watch. Fortunately, you won’t...

Three world premieres from wild project and Audible

This week will see the debut of three original new works, all redesigned for digital presentation during the continuing coronavirus pandemic. One is part of Audible’s collaboration with the 2020...

In Audrey Cefaly’s wistful ‘Story of Walter,’ a lonely dad and his daughter

Social media once again proves invaluable to connect theatergoers with performance. This instance is courtesy of Signature Theatre’s SigWorks: Monday Night Play Readings. Not only was there a reading...

NBC-TV special raises over $3 million to aid the Broadway community

NBC’s One Night Only: The Best of Broadway was not only a dazzling celebration of the hottest shows and stars from the New York stage, it was also a smashing success in raising $3,051,297 in donations...

Update: Mosaic’s #ENOUGH plays against gun violence now available on Vimeo

Mosaic Theater Company will participate in the nationwide reading of #ENOUGH: Plays to End Gun Violence, seven winning short plays in a nationwide competition for middle and high school students. On...

12-hour marathon to mark Beethoven’s birthday and seek world peace

Yael Weiss can remember the exact moment it all began. It was the summer of 2017, and the Israeli-American pianist was reading newspaper headlines in her New York apartment. Each story was more...

A virtual revival of Kim David Smith’s ‘A Wery Weimar Christmas’ at Club Cumming

A recurrent act on the NYC cabaret scene, Australian-born New York-based actor and singer Kim David Smith makes a virtual return with his holiday hit A Wery Weimar Christmas for two nights this week...

#WeSeeYou activist-authors to observe ‘Twelve Days of Watchmas’

The influential Black, Indigenous, and People of Color working group We See You, White American Theater — which collectively authored and issued the BIPOC Demands — has rolled out a new action it...

What to watch this week

With the holidays upon us, digital events are in full swing, offering a variety of seasonal productions to suit every taste. These five picks for the week present a wide range of themes, styles, and...

Three queer yeshiva grads defy “ex-gay” therapy in ‘Abomination’ at Theater J

Sure, we theatergoers miss live productions. But then again, for the adventuresome, there is a veritable taster’s menu of virtual theatrical events. No need to leave home, no need for Metro or...

A new digital production of the old-fashioned ‘Meet Me in St. Louis’ from Irish Repertory Theatre

Off-Broadway’s Irish Repertory Theatre continues its 2020 online season with a new digital production of Meet Me in St. Louis, a show last presented on stage by the company in 2007. The familiar piece...

Studio’s bold and smart ‘I Hate It Here’ is a seismic theatrical experience

Ike Holter is a trickster playwright so right for our quicksand-ridden times. In his new audio play commissioned by Studio Theatre (he also directed), Holter creates a grand hall of mirrors full of...

A Stellar concert event with the cast of ‘Jagged Little Pill’ goes live online this Sunday

After a ten-month pandemic hiatus of live performances at the Broadhurst Theatre, the stars and team of the fifteen-time Tony-nominated musical Jagged Little Pill (recently featured in the televised...

Using Zoom in a new way to create theater that transforms how we see

By Neal Davidson “Dramatic Betweenness”: A new theatrical experience Here’s an incredibly simple idea: a play written and performed as a video call. Nothing more. Not a streamed live production, a...

15 Questions in 15 Minutes with Broadway’s Norm Lewis

Norm Lewis, who can currently be seen starring in the Netflix film Da 5 Bloods by Spike Lee and the Hulu miniseries Mrs. America, has smashed the clock on Andy Warhol’s proverbial fifteen minutes of...

An enchanting stream of the annual ‘Broadway Princess Holiday Party’ from Feinstein’s/54 Below

Although fans of Broadway’s favorite musical princesses can’t attend their annual concert at Feinstein’s/54 Below in person this year, everyone around the world can watch them in the 2020 virtual...

Special shows to stream this week

As the holidays approach, the internet is lighting up with a selection of special shows to stream this week. Among them are a medievalizing experimental Off-Off-Broadway mainstay, a naughty...

Solas Nua’s latest is one time only and off the wall

Virtual connections have become a life force in these days without live performance as the pandemic is reaching its ninth month with us. What was once considered off-putting, if not cold, is now a way...

New releases from the 2020 Williamstown Theatre Festival on Audible

Instead of cancelling its 2020 season, as many were compelled to do by the coronavirus pandemic, the Williamstown Theatre Festival – renowned for bringing top playwrights, actors, directors, and...

Some personal insights from Grace McLean on ‘In the Green’ and her December livestream concert

In everything singer-actress-writer-educator Grace McLean does, she brings her unique blend of creativity, passion, introspection, intelligence, and talent; she is a true original, with historical...

Adrienne Kennedy festival replays a painful drama from her own life

When Ohio State University invites the distinguished author Suzanne Alexander back to her alma mater, she is asked specifically to lecture on the theme of violence in her works. Brace yourself, Ohio...

National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene celebrates Chanukah with a global star-studded event

To usher in this year’s Festival of Lights, National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene presents its Folksbiene Chanukah Spectacular – a virtual evening of music, comedy, celebration, and community, with more...

A hauntingly lovely ‘Christmas Carol’ from PG County Shakespeare in the Parks

A Christmas Carol, produced by PG County Shakespeare in the Parks and set in Victorian England, is a hauntingly lovely radio drama. It’s free and family-friendly, and a welcome reminder of the value...

Broadway stars coming to NBC-TV this week

After its popular holiday broadcasts of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, the lighting of the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree, and The Christmas Spectacular Starring the Radio City Rockettes – At...

Signature Theatre heralds five-show cinematic season

Signature Theatre has announced the full lineup for its 2021 Signature Features season, and it will be all online: five fully staged plays and musicals, made exclusively for the screen and...

The joys of watching actors in virtual ‘Lobby Hero’ at Silver Spring Stage

Silver Spring Stage’s streaming production of Lobby Hero is a pleasure to watch. Filmed on the theater’s stage, it combines the joys of seeing actors physically interacting together with some of...

A chat with The Doo Wop Project, streaming ‘Live In Your Home For The Holidays’ on December 12

After the sensational success of The Doo Wop Project: Live In Your Living Room – a knockout virtual concert livestreamed from New World Stages in October – the super-popular vocal group brings its...

1st Stage joins nationwide reading of plays against gun violence Dec. 14

1st Stage is proud to be participating in the #ENOUGH: Plays to End Gun Violence project, working with visionary teenage playwrights across the country who have come together to speak out against gun...

John Lloyd Young’s holiday concert and the new ‘Theality TV’ series are streaming this weekend

If you’re wondering what to watch this weekend, here are two very different picks you can stream at home that will keep you entertained with songs and themes from the New York stage. John Lloyd...

An immersive production and livestream of ‘The Nutcracker at Wethersfield’ by BalletCollective

A Christmas tradition has been reimagined for our time of social distancing by NYC’s BalletCollective (BC), with an exclusive safety-compliant live engagement of The Nutcracker at Wethersfield from...

Elegies for empty stages, by Whitney White and Psalmayene 24

Remembering The Amen Corner at Shakespeare Theatre Company By Whitney White with Daniel Soule Working on James Baldwin’s The Amen Corner was one of the most fulfilling artistic experiences I have ever...