Save Our Stages Act part of amended stimulus bill
The theater community is continuing to rally around the Save Our Stages Act, which would provide $10 billion in grants to live entertainment businesses and practitioners. At present, it is part of the updated Heroes Act, a $2.2 trillion COVID relief bill proposed by Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives. Although the Stage Our Stages Act was proposed in bipartisan fashion by Republican Senator John Cornyn and Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar, its fate is likely tied to the overall stimulus bill, which faces fierce resistance in the Senate. At a recent press conference held by the Broadway League, Senator Chuck Schumer suggested that its eventual passage may depend upon the Democrats winning the presidency and control of the Senate.
Fall for Dance Festival to be filmed at City Center
The 17-year-old annual Fall for Dance Festival will be filmed live at City Center and broadcast digitally on Oct. 21 and 26. The program will include world premiere commissions from artists including Christopher Wheeldon (“An American in Paris”) and Camille A. Brown (“Once On This Island”). Featured companies will include Ballet Hispánico, Martha Graham Dance Company and Lar Lubobitch Dance Company. “With rigorous health and safety protocols in place, we are thrilled to have more than 20 artists back in our building where they belong,” City Center president Arlene Shuler said in a statement.
Paper Mill unveils reimagined annual season
Once upon a time, the 2020-21 season at Paper Mill Playhouse was going to include crowd-pleasers like “The Sound of Music,” “Clue” and “Aida.” On Tuesday, the large New Jersey venue revealed a “reimagined” digital season for the current times that includes solo diva concerts (with Patti LuPone, Laura Benanti and Vanessa Williams), a Rodgers & Hammerstein revue filmed at Paper Mill and two small Off-Broadway musicals (“Pete ‘n’ Keely,” “Beehive: the ‘60s Musical”) that the company hopes it will be able to perform at the theater in front of a limited number of subscribers by the late spring or early summer.
Moliere in the Park to present all-female ‘School for Wives’
Molière in the Park, which produced livestreamed readings of the Molière comedies “The Misanthrope” and “Tartuffe” a few months ago to much acclaim, will now tackle the satire “The School for Wives” with an all-female cast led by Tony winner Tonya Pinkins (“Caroline, Or Change”). It will premiere on Sat., Oct. 24 and remain available for viewing through Oct. 28. “We are looking forward to telling this classic 17th century French tale through the lens of a contemporary aesthetic and an all-women cast to further bring into focus the inherent power of justice and equality over racism and sexism.”
This week’s streaming recommendations…
“Viva Broadway! Hear Our Voices!” (concert featuring Latinx theater artists including original cast members of “In the Heights” and Antonio Banderas), Thurs. Oct. 1 at 8 p.m., playbill.com…”Title and Deed” (based on Signature Theatre’s 2012 Off-Broadway production of Will Eno’s cryptic solo drama), Sat. Oct. 3 at 3 p.m., play-perview.com…”Le Nozze di Figaro” (the Met’s weeklong tribute to Mozart continues with a 1998 Jonathan Miller production starring Sir Bryn Terfel and Renée Fleming, Sat. Oct. 3 at 7:30 p.m., metopera.org.
