Three mainstay Off-Broadway companies are closing out the week with debuts of their next online offerings this Thursday-Saturday, March 11-13. One is a reunion reading by the original cast of a previous production, one an international Fringe circuit hit, and the third a theatrical adaptation of a touching autobiographical account of dealing with loss.
Manhattan Theatre Club, Three Days of Rain – Originally produced in its 1997-98 season, the latest presentation in MTC’s virtual Curtain Call series is a new reading of Richard Greenberg’s sophisticated and romantic Pulitzer-Prize-nominated play, reuniting its original stars. Evan Yionoulis directs two-time Emmy Award winner Patricia Clarkson (Six Feet Under), four-time Emmy Award nominee John Slattery (Mad Men), and three-time Emmy Award winner Bradley Whitford (The West Wing) for a fresh look at the go-back story, set in New York, of a brother and sister reconnecting with an old childhood friend. When they return home to settle their father’s estate, they discover a diary that brings them back to the ‘60s, and the true legacy that connects the generations. The reading streams on demand from Thursday, March 11-Sunday, March 21; closed captioning is available. Tickets are free and can be reserved online.
SoHo Playhouse, Edgar Allan – NYC’s home for international Fringe shows opens its new SoHo Streaming Series with a darkly comedic two-person musical inspired by the childhood and short stories of the legendary American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809-49), as the eleven year old heads off to his first year at English boarding school. His goal, to attain academic ascendancy over the other students, goes awry when another boy of the same name arrives in class. Created and performed by Katie Hartman and Nick Ryan, the “manic lullaby,” considering the obsessed, disturbed, and haunted psyche that defined Poe’s life and work, premiered at the 2013 Twin Cities Horror Festival and was a hit on the North American Fringe circuit before playing in the 2017 SoHo Playhouse Encore Series. It then went on to be featured at Richmond, Virginia’s Poe Museum for the author’s 211th Birthday Bash in 2020. The current SoHo revival will be live-streamed for three nights only, Friday, March 12-Sunday, March 14, at 8 pm, with a talk-back directly following the show. Tickets are $25; to purchase, go online. As with live in-house productions, you can only watch the performance you select.
Keen Company, The Year of Magical Thinking – The award-winning Off-Broadway company returns for the next installment in its series of all-star benefit broadcasts in support of its programming and outreach initiatives on Saturday, March 13, with a 90-minute adaptation of author Joan Didion’s poignant 2005 best-selling memoir. Starring the highly acclaimed stage, screen, and television actress Kathleen Chalfant (Angels in America; For Peter Pan on Her 70th Birthday), the one-woman tour-de-force performance, directed by Jonathan Silverstein, explores the writer’s resonant personal journey of grief and mourning in the year following the death of her husband and the serious illness and injury of her daughter. Written with Didion’s signature combination of cool observation and wit, the affecting and inspiring work underscores the extraordinary resilience of the human heart. Keen’s live-streamed video performance premieres on Saturday, March 13, at 7 pm, and includes a post-show talk-back with the artists. All viewers will have access to the show through Wednesday, March 17, 7 pm. To register for tickets, priced at $25, click here.
