WHAT’S ON THIS WEEK? Doing this peculiar job – writing a weekly arts blog about what to watch on the Internet – can disconnect a person from real life. Which is not necessarily a bad thing in these parlous times. But sometimes it can turn a normally ordered life upside down. Yesterday morning, for example, I found myself watching Macbeth at 8am. While I do want you to sample this production from the Royal Shakespeare Company, I recommend that you do it in the evening, with a glass of wine in your hand. 8am is no time to be considering bloody murders and a forest that moves. Which all led me on to wonder if there is a good time to be watching certain shows. Yes, the features about art and travel are fine in the morning and a play about the origins of women’s suffrage would certainly fill an afternoon gap, but somehow the soul music, and the jazz and cabaret seem to me evening activities which might somehow lose some of their pizzazz when ingested with elevenses. Or am I wrong? Answers, please. Back to Macbeth..... Macbeth RSC https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l--64kD5ZvU&feature=youtu.be&utm_source=Master+List&utm_campaign=a57636099c-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_5_25_2018_20_58_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_087289d63a-a57636099c-202441125 This Royal Shakespeare Company’s rather odd but compelling 2018 modern dress production of Macbeth stars Christopher Eccleston as the ambitious but unhinged Thane and Niamh Cusack as an ingratiating Lady Macbeth, directed by Polly Findlay. Main oddity? The witches are little girls carrying their dollies. Vermeer’s Officer and Laughing Girl https://www.frick.org/interact/miniseries/cocktails_curator/vermeer_officer_laughing_girl The Frick is one of my first stops when I arrive in New York and I usually make a beeline for their three Vermeers because, unlike in other museums and big galleries, they are displayed in a way that makes it easy to get up close and appreciate them. There, nobody bothers you and you can take your time looking at the luminous domestic artistry of the great Delft master. Aimee Ng, curator at the Frick, this week is in charge of their smashing Cocktails with a Curator series. She examines in detail Vermeer’s dazzling Officer and Laughing Girl. I have spent hours in front of this painting and in a scant 20 minutes she illuminates all the details I’ve missed. That’s what a real expert can do. Simple and amazing. Radio Free Birdland - Monty Alexander https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?tab=wm&ogbl#inbox/FMfcgxwJXVDZjtkJnLQNVwzvnfwDkLKn On Tuesday, at 7pm EST which is midnight UK time but subsequently available on Birdland’s YouTube channel and that of Broadway World, is a rare solo performance for Radio Free Birdland by great jazz pianist Monty Alexander. I remember falling in love with his music when I first went to the US in the 60s. He plays songs from his 60 year career, combining, effortlessly, American jazz, popular song, and the music of his native Jamaica. and he has good stories to share. Tickets are $20, available from https://events.broadwayworld.com/checkout-2/ There is also a $3.50 “service charge”. This “service charge” is becoming increasingly prevalent for pay-per-view events, and, while I don’t mind paying for the entertainment, I do rather resent paying an invisible ‘service’ person to do nothing but take more money from me. Ronnie Scotts Live Streams – Soul Family https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/FMfcgxwJXVGsZhKcQkVkTxFKmdsdpfdM Fans of soul music won’t want to miss this one. Tonight at 7pm, Ronnie Scott’s livestream is Natalie Williams Soul Family. This is a terrific band who used to play regularly at Ronnie’s, supplemented by some of the best R&B, soul and jazz musicians in the UK. It’s on Ronnie Scott’s website but also on their Facebook and YouTube pages. Watching Rosie – Original Theatre Online https://originaltheatreonline.com/productions/3/watching-rosie?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=SOLT Miriam Margolyes, Louise Coulthard and Amit Shah team up for a touching and funny short play in support of Dementia UK. Alice and her granddaughter Rosie were a team. Until lockdown forced them apart. The play highlights the incredible bond between Alice and Rosie as they face change, confusion and an unexpected arrival from Tesco. Definitely worth your time, it’s free to watch but you have to sign up in advance at https://originaltheatreonline.com/dashboard/checkout/464/watching-rosie. Why? No idea, but do it anyway. Jim Caruso's Pyjama Cast Party www.youtube/watch?v=KVuObMMQki4 Jim Caruso, unable to host Cast Party, his weekly extravaganza at Birdland because, of course, that legendary music venue is closed at the moment, has lost no time in recreating the mother of all open mics online every Monday evening. Now known as Pyjama Cast Party, it’s live at 8pm NY time but then available on the Birdland YouTube channel and on Jim Caruso’s own Facebook page, as are some very enjoyable previous shows in the same series. This week's, Aug 17th, will feature country star Pam Tillis, television’s Eve Plumb, Ain’t Too Proud star Jelani Remy, R&B/pop singer Marty Thomas, cabaret boy-wonder Liam Forde and Broadway singer/dancer Robert Creighton. Pyjama Cast Party is always good fun, the talent is always worth watching, and Caruso does a fine job of corralling the singers and getting the best out of them. And, hey, it’s live cabaret and aren’t we missing that? Finish the Fight – A virtual play celebrating the unsung heroes of suffrage. https://timesevents.nytimes.com/finishthefight/dnl?utm_source=dnl&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=suffrage&utm_content=finishthefight804 Starting on Tuesday, Aug 18th, the New York Times is dipping its rather large big toe into the waters of drama production. With a very good cast of professional actors, Ming Peiffer’s play tells the story of the heroes of the suffrage movement (theirs, of course, not ours) and their struggle for the right to vote. These were truly remarkable women, tireless organizers, tenacious fighters and some were shrewd political operators. This is a chance to hear their stories which have rarely been told. Until now. Roulston and Young – Live on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/roulstonandyoung My favourite funny clever musical duo – Michael Roulston and Sarah-Louise Young – have a new special which they’re playing next Sunday, Aug 23rd, live at 6pm UK time (that's 1pm EDT) on their Facebook channel and subsequently. As they say themselves, they sing “Smart, Funny, Original Songs”. I can tell you, from some years of loving what they do, it’s all true. Don’t miss it. Barbara Cook, John Raitt, Salute to Broadway.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBMesCFDYHc&feature=youtu.be The reaction to the Barbara Cook in Melbourne special I featured last week was so overwhelming that the same friend has dug out another for you. As he says, it’s a bit cheesy, but that’s the stuff between the songs. The performances of the songs are great. This one is a Broadway salute, a Mike Douglas television show, shot in 1981, also starring the great John Raitt, who, older readers may remember, starred in Oklahoma!, Carousel, The Pyjama Game, and many more. One of the more long lasting of Broadway stars, he was the go-to leading man for most of my childhood. The voice was a silky lyric baritone. He didn’t have the high notes for the tenor repertoire but the sound was simply beautiful and his breath control came from his early opera training. Speed through the commercials, ignore Mike Douglas’ inane comments, just listen to the beauty and pin-point accuracy of Cook and Raitt’s singing. Emmet Cohen and Veronica Swift https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VD0T9bg3dys&feature=youtu.be And to finish, some really good straight-ahead jazz, shot in July in Aspen (where I usually am at this time of the year) performed by the splendid jazz singer Veronica Swift with pianist Emmet Cohen’s trio. It’s a wonder that there haven’t been more infections up there in the mountains. Almost nobody is wearing a mask and those who are, are wearing them over their mouths, not their noses. But the music is too good not to include.
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AuthorRuth Leon is a writer and critic specialising in music and theatre. Archives
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