Virtual Theatre Today: Friday, July 3- It’s HAMILTON Day!
Today July 3 in live streaming Hamilton arrives on Disney, the cast reunites on Sirius XM and so much more
What to Stream Over 4th of July Weekend (Including Hamilton)
Hamilton is available to stream beginning today, but don’t throw away your shot at these streams happening over the holiday weekend, including two TV specials for the Fourth of July, a monologue from across the Atlantic, and an in-home concert from Melissa Errico.
These are just some of the virtual offerings July 3–5. For more, check out Playbill’s Streaming Calendar, presented in partnership with Broadway Podcast Network.
Friday, July 3
3 PM ET: Jam Session With Wayne Kirkpatrick
The Mrs. Doubtfire co-composer is the latest participant in BMI’s video concert series. During the performance, he’ll showcase a few songs from the new musical, which had just started previews prior to the Broadway shutdown.
4 PM: A Concert From a Disco Duo
Stephen Trask and Peter Yanowitz, co-creators of the musical This Ain’t No Disco, will offer a virtual concert of new and old tunes for Atlantic Theater Company. RSVP here.
8 PM: Rule of 7×7
The Tank continues its online programming with its playwriting challenge series, in which seven writers each come up with one rule (e.g. a backhanded compliment and 10 seconds of silence on the first page, “this reminds of the time I…”) and all seven writers must write a 10-minute play using all seven rules. Participating in the July edition Friday and Saturday are writers Serena Berman, AJ Ditty, Tanya Everett, Cary Gitter, Grant Harrison, Jess Honovich, and Jermey O’Brian. To attend, RSVP here.
Saturday, July 4
8 PM: A Capitol Fourth With Kelli O’Hara, Brian Stokes Mitchell, More
Vanessa Williams and John Stamos will co-host the 40th anniversary PBS special. In lieu of the traditional live concert, performances were pre-taped without a live audience. Among those on the lineup are Tony winners Kelli O’Hara and Brian Stokes Mitchell, Renée Fleming, Mandy Gonzalez, and Patti LaBelle. Watch on the network or at PBS.org.
8 PM: The Fourth in America
In addition to PBS, CNN will air a Broadway-laden Independence Day celebration, featuring the casts of The Girl From the North Country and Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of The Temptations. Watch on the network or at CNN.com.
Sunday, July 5
2 PM: The Greatest Wealth With Sharon D. Clarke
The Olivier Award winner, who was to make her Broadway debut this spring in the now-delayed revival of Caroline, or Change, is the latest performer to take part in the Old Vic’s monologue series. She’ll perform First, Do No Harm, penned by Bernadine Evaristo. Each performance in the series, marking the 70th anniversary of the NHS, will premiere on the venue’s YouTube channel.
8 PM: Melissa Errico Joins Seth Rudetsky
The Tony Award nominee (Amour, My Fair Lady) is the latest Broadway favorite to sing out in The Seth Concert Series. Though Rudetsky’s series traditionally take place at the Art House in Provincetown, Massachusetts, over the summer, he’s now connecting with artists virtually from their respective homes. Click here for tickets. An encore screening will stream July 6 at 3 PM.
More Streaming Options
- This weekend on the Metropolitan Opera’s Nightly Met Streams lineup: Mozart’s Don Giovanni (July 3), Donizetti’s Don Pasquale (July 4), and Rossini’s La Donna del Lago (July 5).
- Les Blancs, Lorraine Hansberry’s final play, is available to stream on the National Theatre’s YouTube channel through July 9. Yaël Farber directed the 2016 production.
VIDEO: On This Day, July 2- Remembering Michael Bennett
On this day, we celebrate the life and legacy of legendary Broadway choreographer and director, Michael Bennett, who passed away from complications from AIDS on this day in 1987.
Look Back at the Original Production of Singin’ in the Rain on Broadway
Singin’ in the Rain, the musical based on the 1952 MGM film, opened at the Gershwin Theatre on Broadway July 2, 1985. The production, directed and choreographed by Twyla Tharpe, played 38 previews and 367 performances before closing May 18, 1986, earning two Tony Award nominations.
Singin’ in the Rain tells the story of a 1920s silent-screen romantic duo preparing for the arrival of motion-picture sound and the events that occur when the leading man falls for the girl called in to dub over the screechy voice of his onscreen partner. Betty Comden and Adolph Green adapted their screenplay for the stage with music by Nacio Herb Brown and Arthur Freed.
Look Back at the Original Broadway Production of Singin’ in The Rain
The musical starred Don Correia, Mary D’Arcy, Ricahrd Fancy, Faye Grant, Peter Slutsker, Ray Benson, Austin Colyer, Jacque Dean, Diane Duncan, Craig Frawley, Melinda Gilb, Mary Ann Kellogg, Alison Mann, Barbara Moroz, Robert Radford, Hansford Rowe, Gene Sager, John Spalla, Cynthia Thole, Martin Van Treuren, John Carrafa, Richard Colton, Yvonne Dutton, Katie Glasner, Barbara Hoon, David-Michael Johnson, Raymond Kurshals, Kevin O’Day, Tom Rawe, Amy Spencer, Shellehy Washington, and Laurie Williamson.
Singin’ in the Rain featured original choreography by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen, scenic design by Santo Loquasto, costume design by Ann Roth, Lighting design by Jennifer Tipton, and sound design by Sound Associates, Inc. with stage management by Steven Zweigbaum, Arturo E. Porazzi, and Amy Pell. For the complete cast and creative team, visit PlaybillVault.com/SinginInTheRain.
Asmeret Ghebremichael, Gerard Canonico & More to Take Part in Virtual Reading of MILLENNIALS ARE KILLING MUSICALS
Millennials Are Killing Musicals, an entirely original, irreverently funny, and heartfelt 90-minute show will be seen in an online staged reading in mid-July. The new musical features book, music lyrics by Nico Juber - millennial mother-of-two who was raised in the worlds of both music and comedy.
Aleshea Harris, Whitney White, and The Movement Theatre Company Launch Resilience
The team behind the critically acclaimed What to Send Up When it Goes Down—playwright Aleshea Harris, director Whitney White, and The Movement Theatre Company—have reunited to launch Resilience. Created in response to the current moment, the digital initiative consists of an online love letter drive, featuring messages of love, recognition, and solidarity to the Black community, and a short film titled soft light.
A meditation on the joys and challenges of Black remembrance, soft light is written and narrated by Harris, directed by White and produced by TMTC. The short film can be viewed above, and is freely available on YouTube.
“What I recall most vividly about the summer Trayvon Martin was killed was the desire to hold and be held by people who felt as I did,” says Harris. “The despair so many are experiencing now is reminiscent of that time, with its challenges to accessing community and the overwhelming images of Black death. My hope for this moment is that we’ll find ways to reach for one another across distance, that we’ll stand in the truth of our belonging and refuse to abandon joy.”
READ: How The Movement Theatre Company Went From Grassroots Troupe to Off-Broadway Force
Soft light features Jozben Barrett, Keelay Gipson, Kenard Jackson, Andy Jean, Daniel Alexander Jones, Cheri L. Miller, Ashton Muñiz, Lynn Nottage, Shaina Lynn Simmons, John Sweet, and Kara Young. Collaborators include sound designer Sinan Zafar, editors Tarik Smith and Matthew Russell, and visual artist Byron McCray. Digital design is by Yu-Hsuan Chen.
Resilience also features an Instagram love letter campaign via the @loveletterstoblackpeople account, where audiences can view—and send—loving messages from far and wide. To contribute with a message, email whattosendup@gmail.com.
Harris’ website, bagofbeans.net/wtsu-resources also has resources related to communal healing and social justice.