If the cold and rainy weather has put a damper on your outdoor Memorial Day weekend plans and you’re looking for something memorable to do, you can enjoy the holiday inside with online shows from two top stars. Broadway sensation George Salazar and ballet legend Mikhail Baryshnikov are both streaming today, with brand new offerings that are sure to keep you entertained and make you forget about the cloudy skies.
The new installment of The Seth Concert Series, presented by Mark Cortale and sponsored by BroadwayWorld and StreamYard, goes live at 3 pm today, Sunday, March 30, with special guest George Salazar, joining host and music director Seth Rudetsky in concert and conversation. Best known for his award-winning portrayal of Michael Mell in the regional, Off-Broadway, and Broadway productions of Be More Chill and his stellar rendition of its song “Michael in the Bathroom” – which became a social-media phenomenon, garnering millions and millions of hits from adoring fans – Salazar was most recently seen on stage as Seymour in the critically-acclaimed Pasadena Playhouse production of Little Shop of Horrors and on the NBC TV sit-com Superstore.
In addition to listening to Salazar share inside stories and a selection of his favorite songs, ten lucky viewers will have the chance to win a place in the virtual post-show meet-and-greet with the star. To participate in the Q&A session, you’ll need Zoom installed on your digital device. If you can’t make it to the 3:00 livestream, you can watch the one-time-only replay at 8 pm. For tickets, go online.
Also streaming today at 11 am, and on assorted dates through June 24, is chekhovOS, a multi-media experimental game and interactive theatrical experience from Arlekin’s Zero Gravity Virtual Theater Lab (zero-G). Inspired by Anton Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard and drawing from recordings of his letters and dreams, the innovative work, conceived and directed by founder and director Igor Golyak, portrays all of Chekhov’s characters as they are trapped inside the author’s psyche, worldview, and operating system. Audiences receive email messages and texts from the characters before the play begins online, leading them to a secret video, in a fusion of theater, film, video game technology, and live interactivity with the performers.
Co-presented by local, national, and international partners from the worlds of theater and gaming, including NYC’s Cherry Orchard Festival Foundation, the visionary production constitutes Phase One of a larger live/virtual hybrid chekhovOS project on track for a production in New York in 2022. The cast features Tony nominee Jessica Hecht, who performs the iconic role of Ranevskaya, along with Anna Baryshnikov, Darya Denisova, Anna Bortnick, Jeffrey Hayenga, Melanie Moore, Mark Nelson, Nael Nacer, and a special appearance by Mikhail Baryshnikov (Founder and Artistic Director of the Baryshnikov Arts Center in NYC, where the work was developed and filmed, in part, in January 2021) in the titular role of Anton Chekhov.
If you miss it this morning, the performance livestreams again on Sunday, June 6, at 8 pm, Sunday, June 13, at 8 pm, Sunday, June 20, at 8 pm, and Thursday, June 24, at 8 pm. Tickets are free and must be reserved. Donations to Arlekin’s Resilience Fund or special charities are encouraged.
