Broadway Skating Party

Support Bay Street Theater Sunday March 7 at Buckskill Winter Club in East Hampton 6:30-8pm.

March 5, 2021: Bay Street Theater’s Family Skating Party will take place on Sunday at Buckskill Winter Club, 178 Buckskill Road, to benefit Bay Street Theater & Sag Harbor Center for the Arts. The event billed as a Broadway Skating Party is a fun filled family happening for the young at heart. Calling all parents, grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles, and friends! Bring your family or “Social Pod” to Buckskill Winter Club on Sunday, March 7, for a closed ice-skating party from 6:30 to 8 p.m.

BroadwayHD

Exciting Spring titles form BroadwayHD begin streaming March

March 5, 2021: Exciting new Spring productions from BroadwayHD this month. The premiere streaming service for theater fans, brings a fresh new lineup to its platform. On March 1, madness ensues when fan favorite The Goes Wrong Show season 1, based on the BBC The Play That Goes Wrong specials and the popular Broadway and West End production that started it all expands into Canada and Australia.

Critics Choice Awards

March 4, 2021: The winners of the 26th annual Critics Choice Awards will be revealed on Sunday, March 7, 2021 from 7-10pm ET/PT, on the CW with acclaimed film, television, and stage star Taye Diggs returning to host for his 3d time, and SeeHer Award Winner Zendaya.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 26th annual Critics Choice Awards show will be an in-person/virtual hybrid, with Diggs and some of the evening’s presenters live on stage in Los Angeles, and nominees appearing live remotely from various locations around the world.

Love Letter To Liza

Liza Minnelli Photo: Barry Gordin

Ring Them Bells and Celebrate! Liza Minnelli on her 75th Birthday, Friday, March 12 at 8:00 PM

February 22, 2021: In honor of the legendary Liza Minnelli on her 75th Birthday, a star-studded cast will take part in a special virtual celebration, Love Letter to Liza: A 75th Birthday Tribute Celebration, Friday, March 12 at 8:00 PM EST on the streaming platform Stellar.

Gone But Not Forgotten

Jamie deRoy & friends is presenting Gone But Not Forgotten Part 5 this Sunday, February 28^th at 7:30pm

February 24, 2021: An episode of Jamie deRoy & friends dips into the archives for some rare performances by several entertainment legends. None of them are living, giving the segment an extra dollop of nostalgia. The peak into the past is presented in loving memory of these glorious talents and features Margaret Whiting (1924 – 2010), Alice Playten (1947 – 2011), Ray Jessel (1929 – 2015), Celeste Holm (1917– 2012), Polly Bergen (1930 – 2014), Eric Hansen (1956 – 2017), Claiborne Cary (1932 – 2010), Kitty Carlilse Hart (1910 – 2007), and Doreen Montalvo (1963- 2020).

On This Day In New York Theater: February 24 in the 1930’s

By: Samuel L. Leiter

(No. 23 in the series)

February 24, 2021: Three Broadway plays opened on February 24 in the 1930s, two of them significant, the other quickly over and done with. All three became movies that can still be seen. Their titles are Hangman’s Whip, Dodsworth, and Love on the Dole. The first, Hangman’s Whip, was one of the frequent plays of those days set in tropical climes where sexual desire among white expats kindled melodramatic heat, while restless natives kept raising the temperature in the background. This one, by Norman Reilly Raine and Frank Butler, is set on the deck and saloon of the “Dei Gratia,” a jungle riverboat in the Congo. It sweated through eleven performances at the St. James Theatre in 1933.

Now Streaming

In Case You Hadn’t Heard: A Conversation Between America’s Past and Its Promise, is now streaming until February 28 @ 11:59pm at baystreet.org

February 24, 2021: Following its online World Premiere this past Monday In Case You Hadn’t Heard, a provocative view of race in America, adapted and directed by Reggie D. White, is now streaming at baystreet.org, by demand, for five more days until February 28 @ 11:59 pm. For more information CLICK HERE

A Black Perspective

ACA Galleries group exhibition of prominent African American artists extended through March 20, 2021

February 16, 2021: ACA Galleries, located at 529 West 20^th Street in the gallery district, is pleased to announce their current exhibition, A BLACK PERSPECTIVE, will be extended through March 20. The show is a group exhibition of artworks by prominent African American artists created between 1945 and 2015. Since its inception, ACA Galleries has been committed to showing work by black artists, giving Aaron Douglas, Ernie Crichlow, Barkley Hendricks and Charles White some of their first shows and later representing Benny Andrews, Romare Bearden estate, Richard Mayhew, Faith Ringgold, Aminah Robinson and others.

Jamie deRoy & friends Valentine

Jamie deRoy, Haley Swindal

Jamie deRoy & friends Valentine’s Day Special: More From the Archives on Sunday, February 14 at 7:30 PM

February 14, 2021: To celebrate Valentine Day Jamie deRoy & friends Valentine’s Day Special: More From the Archives will air on Sunday, February 14 at 7:30 PM an Spectrum channel 56,RCN Channel 83, and Verizon FIOS Channel 34, as well as on East Hampton LTV Channel 20 on multiple dates. (see below for complete shedule. Appearing on this episode are Jamie deRoy and Taffy (The Huber Marionettes), LaLa Brooks (The Crystals), Haley Swindal (Chicago), E. Clayton Cornelius (Ain’t Too Proud), Grammy Award Winner Melissa Manchester and Alison Blackwell (Pretty Woman).

On This Day in New York Theater: February 12 in the 1940’s

By: Samuel L. Leiter

(No. 22 in the series)

February 12, 2020: For today’s installment of On This Day in New York Theater we look at five shows that opened on February 12 in the 1940s. The one hit was Claudia (1941), produced early in the year that ended with the attack on Pearl Harbor. A year later came Heart of a City (1942), which opened two months after we entered World War II, and dealt with a situation directly inspired by the conflict, although in England, not the U.S. The only other offerings on this date during the decade were 1945’s The Stranger,a mystery set in Victorian England; a 1947 revival of 1925’s Pulitzer-winning Craig’s Wife; and a 1948 religious drama, Lady of Fatima.

BroadwayHD Valentine

Simon Lipkin and Samantha Barks in “First Date”

The Broadway hit, First Date: The Musical, comes to BroadwayHD with a star-studded cast of Broadway and West End performers, exclusively, on February 12.

February 9, 2021: A Valentine’s Day treat from BroadwayHD, the premier streaming service for live theater, was announced today. The Broadway hit First Date: The Musical, will arrive exclusively on the platform February 12th. The production, directed by Dean Johnson and produced by Lambert Jackson productions, was live streamed for a limited time in October 2020 from the world renowned Crazy Coqs, a music venue in London. The musical stars Broadway’s Pretty Woman star Samantha Barks (Les Misérables, Disney’s upcoming West End Frozen) as Casey and West End performer Simon Lipkin (Avenue Q, Ghost Stories) as Aaron This is the first time the production will be available to fans since the limited engagement this past fall.

BroadwayHD Becomes Streaming Home for RSC

The iconic works of The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) will now stream on BroadwayHD beginning today.

January 25, 2021: BroadwayHD, the premier streaming service for live theater, announced today that their platform will become home to the renowned works of the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC). Beginning today, fans of Shakespeare will be able to enjoy the likes of Hamlet, directed by Simon Godwin and starring Paapa Essiedu (I May Destroy You); King Lear, directed by RSC Artistic Director, Gregory Doran and starring Olivier Award-winner Antony Sher; and The Merry Wives of Windsor directed by Fiona Laird, among others. Nine titles will debut on the service this month, with additional productions set to arrive on BroadwayHD in February and March.

Donate to Broadway Cares

View Les Miserables parody, “One More Day of Trump,” created to raise funds for Broadway Cares.

January 20, 2021: The theater community has been hit hard by the global pandemic. If you would like to donate to Broadway Cares/Equity fights AIDS’ COVID-19 Emergency Assistance Fund you can do so here: Donate.BroawayCares.org

Trump, Trump, Trump Along The Broadway: Part 2

Julius Caesar: Tina Benko, Gregg Henry, Teagle F. Bougere, Elizabeth Marvel (Photo: Joan Marcus)

By: Samuel L. Leiter

January 21, 2021: (This is the second of a two-part essay on the presence of ex-President Trump in New York theatre during his tenure. It picks up where the other left off after discussing 1984.)

Not long after, that reality became less metaphorical and distinctly more palpable when the above-mentioned provocateur Michael Moore took up residence at the Belasco in a production I saw on September 6, 2017.

Trump, Trump, Trump Along The Broadway: Part 1

Me the People: Mia Weinberger, Richard Spitaletta (Photo: Joan Marcus)

By: Samuel L. Leiter

Part 1

January 20, 2021: Ever since the presidential election of 2016, the media have been unable to resist the temptation to satirically eviscerate the winner, Donald J. Trump. TV, of course, has been relentless in its barrage of comical treatments, including shows like “The President Show” and “Our Cartoon President.” And who can forget the frequent appearances of Alec Baldwin pursing his lips beneath a teased blond wig on SNL. Nor can we ignore the many Trumpian imitators and lip-synchers amusing us on TikTok and Instagram, among other platforms. Sarah Cooper’s huge success mouthing Trump’s words catapulted her to stardom. And, of course, any stable genius can predict that Trump’s visage, voice, and mannerisms (as well as those of his family and enablers) will prove a perpetual source of material for writers and performers in the years to come. Love him or hate him, he’ll be circulating like the coronavirus in the media bloodstream forever. Just think: has the Fuhrer ever gone away?