The Bay Area’s summer theater season is certainly different this year. For one thing, you can put away the down parkas and scarves. All of the shows are online.
And yes, the offerings are a little leaner than in past years. But several productions that were eyed as live theater presentations before the coronavirus pandemic kicked in are now being offered as streaming shows. Here’s a look.
“Pieces of the Moon”: This new play by Nick Flint was intended to debut in August in a co-production by the One Year Lease and Stages theater companies in Texas. It’s been repurposed as a “radio play” and was released this week to commemorate the July 20 anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon mission. It blends the music, poetry and philosophy of groundbreaking singer-songwriter Gil Scott-Heron with original transcripts from the 1969 NASA space flight that put a man on the Moon. Heron’s music — a blend of jazz, R&B and spoken word delivery that is considered a forerunner of hip-hop — and his wide-ranging views on science and technology, racism and social unrest and the Black Arts Movement seem especially relevant nowadays, and it will be fascinating to see how they are melded with the Apollo 11 footage. San Jose’s Hammer Theatre website will stream “Pieces of the Moon” at 7 p.m. July 23 and 3 p.m. July 26.
Details: The content is free but you must register to access the production, and donations are encouraged; https://hammertheatre.com.
“King Lear”: England was dealing with a plague and political strife when Shakespeare wrote “King Lear,” about an ineffectual and unfit ruler whose demands for absolute loyalty led to disaster (sound familiar?). San Francisco Shakespeare Fest’s annual free touring show has moved online with a streaming version of this classic drama that opens Saturday.
Details: Free, but donations encouraged; see schedule and access directions at www.sfshakes.org.
“Shakespeare in Vegas”: Tony Award winner Karen Ziemba and Tony nominee Patrick Page star in this new comedy getting an online staged reading this week that will be carried by TheatreWorks Silicon Valley. The show is about a Vegas huckster teaming with a desperate actor to bring a Bard show to Sin City.
Details: Available 6 p.m. July 23 through 6 p.m. July 27; free; TheatreWorks.org.
S.F. Mime Troupe: The Tony-winning outfit has scrapped its annual summer touring show but is offering a series of radio plays online into October.
Details: Free; www.sfmt.org.
