NEW YORK CITY: The New York Times has announced “Offstage: Opening Night,” an event celebrating the 2019-20 Broadway season. The virtual event will take place on Thursday, June 11 at 7 p.m. ET and feature performances and discussions, as well as conversations among critics and journalists. Viewers can RSVP here.
“The shutdown has challenged us to be more creative in how we cover theatre’s past and future, as well as the largely digital present,” said Scott Heller, the New York Times theatre editor in a statement. “The Offstage series, opening with performances from a harshly interrupted Broadway season, is one of many ways we plan to keep stage artists front and center.”
The event will include Katrina Lenk, Patti LuPone, and the cast of Company performing the musical’s title song in an exclusive video; Elizabeth Stanley, introduced by critic-at-large Wesley Morris, will sing from Jagged Little Pill; SIX writers Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss will participate in a conversation with theatre reporter Michael Paulson and will share a special lockdown collaboration from cast members and fans all over the globe; Moulin Rouge! The Musical choreographer Sonya Tayeh will speak with weekend arts editor Nicole Herrington, and dancers Khori Petinaud and Fred Odgaard will perform; Mary-Louise Parker will perform a scene from The Sound Inside, directed by David Cromer, and discuss the work with co-chief theatre critic Jesse Green; Adrienne Warren will perform a song from Tina: The Tina Turner Musical and speak with critic-at-large Amanda Hess about the show; Jeremy O. Harris will discuss Slave Play with writer and editor Aisha Harris; and Mare Winningham will perform a song from Girl from the North Country, introduced by co-chief theatre critic Ben Brantley.
The event inaugurates “Offstage,” a new series of digital events that will explore how theatre artists are staying creative and developing new works during this pause. As part of the series, theatre critics and journalists will introduce audiences to groundbreaking artists onstage and behind the scenes.
