Quarantine watch: Stephen Sondheim's 90th birthday celebration - Los Angeles Times
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How to watch Stephen Sondheim’s 90th birthday party with Streep, Patinkin and LuPone

Stephen Sondheim and Bernadette Peters
Stephen Sondheim with Bernadette Peters in 1987.
(Los Angeles Times)
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A man is known by the company he keeps, and what stellar company Stephen Sondheim will be keeping at “Take Me to the World: A Sondheim 90th Birthday Celebration.â€

The concert’s socially distanced galaxy of stars includes — deep breath — Tony nominee Meryl Streep and Tony winners Lin-Manuel Miranda, Neil Patrick Harris, Bernadette Peters, Patti LuPone, Audra McDonald, Mandy Patinkin, Christine Baranski, Kristin Chenoweth, Sutton Foster, Katrina Lenk, Michael Cerveris and Brian Stokes Mitchell, all giving their regards to the legendary Broadway composer.

The festivities commence at 5 p.m. Sunday at broadway.com, facebook.com/Broadway and youtube.com. It’s free to stream but it’s also a fundraiser for Artists Striving to End Poverty, so donations are appreciated.

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There are other ways to engage with a little culture during your coronavirus quarantine. We’ll keep sharing picks for streaming concerts, online musicals, virtual art exhibitions and more. Here’s this weekend’s list, all times Pacific.

Our L.A. Voices: A Pop-up Arts + Culture Fest
A virtual version of Grand Park’s family-friendly spring fling includes live music and dance, poetry readings, a cooking demonstration, and arts and crafts for the kids. 9 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Saturday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. Free. grandparkla.org, facebook.com/grandparklosangeles and on Instagram @grandpark_la

At-Home Gala
Star sopranos Renee Fleming and Anna Netrebko are among the myriad artists in a virtual edition of the Metropolitan Opera’s annual fete. 10 a.m. Saturday; available to stream until 3:30 p.m. Sunday. Free. metopera.org

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Happy Birthday, Mr. Shakespeare!
This annual family celebration at San Diego’s Old Globe Theater moves online and includes arts and crafts, a makeup and character workshop and a reading from “Henry V.†11 a.m. Saturday. Free. facebook.com/TOGArtsEngagement

The (Virtual) Universe in Verse 2020
Punk rock icon Patti Smith, “Sandman†author Neil Gaiman and “Fun Home†cartoonist Alison Bechdel are among the famous faces taking part in this annual celebration featuring the poetry of Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson, Pablo Neruda and others. 1:30 p.m. Saturday. Free; donations accepted for the nonprofit Pioneer Works. brainpickings.org/the-universe-in-verse

BritWeek in House
BritWeek, the annual cultural celebration cofounded by “So You Think You Can Dance†producer and judge Nigel Lythgoe, moves online for its latest iteration. At 7 p.m. Saturday, you can catch a program that includes Stephen Rea in David Ireland’s drama “Cyprus Avenue†at the Royal Court Theatre London. At 7 p.m. Sunday, dance company BalletBoyz takes the stage. Free; donations accepted. britweek.org and facebook.com/BritWeek

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“breaking protocolsâ€
Using Zoom, L.A.-based theatre dybbuk presents selections from this work in progress that explores a notorious anti-Semitic text. 8 p.m. Saturday. Free; reservations at eventbrite.com

Breakfast Club Cruise-in
L.A.’s Petersen Automotive Museum hosts a video version of its monthly Sunday morning meet-ups for car enthusiasts. The museum asked people to submit clips of their cars for a 90-minute video that will be posted at 8 a.m. Sunday. Free. youtube.com

Dance Sundays
Choreographer and “Grey’s Anatomy†actress Debbie Allen leads a salsa class in a virtual edition of the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts’ free and family-friendly series. Live at 1 p.m. Sunday; streaming afterward. On Instagram @therealdebbieallen

“The Other Placeâ€
Allen’s former “Grey’s Anatomy†costar Kate Walsh and “Heroes†cast member Sendhil Ramamurthy are among the stars taking part in a live Zoom reading of Sharr White’s drama about a neurologist, wife and mother whose life begins to unravel. 4 p.m. Sunday. $5-$50. play-perview.com

SoCal Sunday Night
Classical KUSC broadcasts Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s season-opening concert from October that featured pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet and soprano Julia Bullock and works by Barber, Gershwin, Previn and Copland. 7 p.m. Sunday. Free. KUSC at 91.5 FM; available to stream for one week afterward at kusc.org

Each day’s recommendations are indexed in the same place where our regular event listings (sigh) used to post.

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