Plum Viewing
Welcome to the latest edition of Plum Viewing, my weekly roundup of arts and culture to view online. Happy viewing!
Well dear readers, I started Plum Viewing five months ago and I can’t lie, I did think there would be a shelf life to the amount of content available to us online. Five months and 22 editions later we’re still going strong! I continue to be amazed and impressed by just how many wonderful things there are for us to enjoy and this week’s picks are no exception. In fact, it’s the perfect excuse to stay in (we can all pretend together that we have a choice).
Let’s start with this powerhouse of both a play and a performance: Death of a Salesman starring Brian Dennehy. This production of the Arthur Miller masterpiece was filmed in 2000 at New York’s Eugene O’Neill Theatre under the direction of Chicago’s Goodman Theatre’s artistic director and Tony Award winner Robert Falls. The play won four Tony Awards, including Best Revival of a Play, Best Actor in a Play (Brian Dennehy), Best Featured Actress in a Play (Elizabeth Franz), and Best Direction of a Play (Robert Falls). It goes without saying that Brian Dennehy is a force as Willy Loman; fanatical, frizzled and achingly heartbreaking and he is supported by a cast and set to match this wonderful performance. It is now streaming via Playbill (thank you!) until Sunday, Oct 25. I don’t know about you but I know what I shall be doing this Sunday. Get the kleenex ready!!
The national treasure that is Stratford Festival Theatre has just launched StratFest@home, a subscription that lets us enjoy their world class performances from the comfort of our homes. For $10 per month, we can access the Festival’s incredible performances, exclusive content and their ever-expanding library of videos, interviews and behind the scenes footage. It’s a small price to pay for a front seat view of many of Canada (and the world’s) very best talent. Bravo Stratford! The first performance is Twelfth Night, which is currently available and free.
I was lucky enough to see Ghost Quartet live last year when it first premiered at Toronto’s Crow’s Theatre and what a privilege it was! The show, which runs for 80 minutes, can best be described as a weird and wonderful musical journey that you truly hope never ends. It was amazing and I absolutely loved every minute of it. So, imagine how thrilled I was to see that the wonderful Crow’s team are bringing this gem of a musical back, with the original cast. It runs from Oct 27 to Oct 31 and you can get your ticket here.
Mr Fairs and I were trying to remember the name of a fabulous band we first saw in Chicago a couple of years ago. We were both having a bit of a memory block (there MIGHT have been wine involved but I digress). Anyway, we finally remembered that we first saw them at Chicago’s legendary Green Mill. Once a haunt of Al Capone, it is the oldest jazz club in the U.S. (it opened in 1907) and it still has all of its original charm and some of the best jazz and blues you will ever hear. And, our merry little stumble led us to discover that the Green Mill is in fact doing live streaming!! Who says nothing good comes from alcohol :) The full calendar of upcoming performances is here and for our Chicago readers, you are very lucky indeed because the Green Mill has set up a tent where you can enjoy these performances live. For the rest of us, we can stream to our hearts content. Oh, and for those interested, the mystery band was Mama Digdown’s Brass Band and they are incredible!!
In 1965, James Baldwin and William F. Buckley Jr. engaged in what became an historic debate at Cambridge University on race in America. The question, “Is the American Dream at the expense of the American Negro?” is just as powerful and prominent now as it was then. This debate has been restaged live for broadcast by BRIC on YOUTUBE as we come up to the 2020 Presidential election. It is available, for free, until Oct 24. And, of course, you can (and should) revisit the actual debate between Mr. Baldwin and Mr. Buckley here.
Let’s end with this beautiful piece, shared by a reader (thank you Martha!). Filmed at Bing Concert Hall, Kronos Quartet and Meklit pay homage to the moment Barack Obama sang Amazing Grace during the funeral of state senator and pastor Clementa Pinckney on June 24, 2015 in Charleston, South Carolina. It’s five minutes of pure beauty and grace that is truly good for the soul.
Enjoy!!
And, an ask: While we’re enjoying these wonderful performances, let’s remember that for the arts organizations producing this incredible content, this is their livelihood; not a hobby. If we can, now is our time to continue to support our incredible arts community!
And, if you’d like to receive Plum Viewing weekly, send me a note at maggiefairs@gmail.com and I will add you to my mailing list.