Ralph Fiennes in ‘Antony & Cleopatra’: Your free quarantine must-watch of the day
Boy meets girl. Battles and betrayals ensue. Boy kills himself and then girl does likewise in Shakespeare’s “Antony & Cleopatra.â€
Ralph Fiennes portrayed the Roman general opposite “Hotel Rwanda†Oscar nominee Sophie Okonedo as the queen of Egypt in a 2018-19 staging at Britain’s National Theatre directed by Simon Godwin. Guardian critic Michael Billington called Okenedo fiery and funny and said Fiennes ultimately delivers “an unforgettable image of a man confronting his own desolation.â€
You can stream the performance, for free, for one week beginning at 11 a.m. Thursday at youtube.com/ntdiscovertheatre.
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 Thursday’s list, all times Pacific.
American Youth Symphony Virtual Gala
The program includes socially distanced student musicians performing AYS Music Director Carlos Izcaray’s new work, “Geometric Unity,†plus pieces by Debussy, Piazzolla and others. 4 p.m. Thursday. Free. facebook.com/aysymphony, youtube.com/aysymphony and aysymphony.org
“Novemberâ€
John Malkovich, Patti LuPone and Dylan Baker star in a live, one-night-only reading of David Mamet’s political satire to help launch the series Broadway’s Best Shows. 5 p.m. Thursday. Free, with donations going to benefit the Actors Fund. facebook.com/bwaysbestshows, youtube.com and youtube.com/actorsfundorg
Sound Investment
Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra presents a live salon featuring composers Sarah Gibson, Juan Pablo Contreras, Peter Shin and Pulitzer Prize winner Ellen Reid. 7 p.m. Thursday. Free. facebook.com/LAChamberOrchestra
“The Oedipus Projectâ€
Frances McDormand, John Turturro, Oscar Isaac and Jeffrey Wright perform readings from Sophocles’ tragedy “Oedipus Rex†in this online Zoom webinar from Theater of War Productions. It also includes a discussion of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. 4 p.m. Thursday. Free. RSVP at theaterofwar.com
“Falsettos†cast reunion
Christian Borle, Andrew Rannells and the company of the 2016 production of James Lapine and William Finn’s musical share songs and stories and respond to viewers’ questions in this Zoom webinar. 5 p.m. Thursday. $40, with proceeds going to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS’ COVID-19 Emergency Assistance Fund and BroadwayEvolved programming. Register at BroadwayEvolved.com
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“The Hollywood Red Scare and the Shifting of American Cultureâ€
The Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust hosts a discussion of the Hollywood blacklist of the 1940s and ’50s. Former L.A. Times staff writer Susan King moderates. 10 a.m. Thursday. Free. facebook.com/Los-Angeles-Museum-of-the-Holocaust
“54 Celebrates Mel Brooksâ€
Manhattan supper club Feinstein’s/54 Below resurfaces this musical salute to the veteran funny man and his hit Broadway shows. “Spin City†star Richard Kind hosts. 3:30 p.m. Thursday. Free. youtube.com/54Below
“The Clemency of Titusâ€
Los Angeles Opera’s From the Vault series streams an audio recording of this 2019 staging of Mozart’s musical drama set in ancient Rome. Tenor Russell Thomas stars. Available anytime. Free. laopera.org
“Skylight Liveâ€
This new play series from Skylight Theatre Company continues with Tom Lavagnino’s “The Professor of Social Distancing†performed by Gregg T. Daniel. 3 p.m. Thursday. Free. facebook.com/skylighttheatre and youtube.com
Each day’s recommendations are indexed in the same place where our regular event listings (sigh) used to post.
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