'Starry Night'
Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor has announced that its 29th annual summer benefit, A Starry Night, will be streamed online on its website and other platforms on July 22 at 8 p.m., with a red-carpet pre-show beginning at 7:30. Richard Kind, the actor and comedian, will host.
The broadcast will include a telethon, testimonials from actors and contributors, and performances by performing arts notables, among them Raul Esparza, Ben Vereen, Melissa Errico, Betty Buckley, Andre De Shields, and many others. In addition to the solos, an ensemble cast of some 25 performers will sing a closing number.
The evening will celebrate the Broadway musicals of the 1970s and pay comedic homage to the celebrity telethons popular during that decade. Numbers from "A Chorus Line," "Jesus Christ Superstar," "Evita," "Godspell," "Pippin," "Sweeney Todd," "Pacific Overtures," "A Little Night Music," and "The Wiz" will be performed under the musical direction of Andy Einhorn. The actor and director Bob Balaban will make a special appearance.
Proceeds from the evening will support the theater's education and theatrical programs. In addition, 10 percent of all donations will benefit the JBJ Soul Kitchen food bank in Wainscott.
Bay Street has also announced Backstage With MMD, an eight-session program of productions directed and choreographed at the theater by Marcia Milgrom Dodge, a Tony and Drama Desk Award nominee. Each episode will include personal stories by theater luminaries, among them Julie Andrews, Randy Graff, Mark Shanahan, Terry Lavell, and Aurelia Williams.
The weekly programs will be streamed on Monday evenings from 7 to 8, starting July 13. The cost is $100 for the series, $12.50 for individual sessions. Registration is via the theater's website.
DocFest Favorites
Every week since March, Hampton DocFest's Festival Favorite series has made available a film from its archive of celebrated documentaries, usually in tandem with an interview with the filmmaker.
The most recent addition is "Jane Fonda in Five Acts," an HBO documentary by Susan Lacy that traces the life and career of the Oscar-winning actress and activist. Featuring interviews with Robert Redford, Lily Tomlin, and Ms. Fonda's former spouses Tom Hayden and Ted Turner, among others, the first four acts are named after the men who shared and influenced her ambitions. The final act is named after Fonda herself, as she resumes a successful career as both an actress and advocate.
Other available titles, which can be accessed from the festival's website, include "Free Solo," "Spielberg," "The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution," "In Search of Israeli Cuisine," "Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise," "Marvin Booker Was Murdered," and "Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am."
