NEW YORK CITY: A new theatre streaming service has been launched to support artists and uplift audiences during the COVID-19 outbreak and the subsequent closing of theatres nationwide. Play-PerView, co-founded by producer Jeremy Wein and actor-producer Mirirai Sithole, promises to deliver “unique, one-time-only, live-streamed theatrical events and original series into the homes of theatre fans around the globe,” said Wein and Sithole in a statement. Virtual tickets start at $5, and all proceeds will be directed to arts organizations impacted by the COVID-19 virus.
The initiative kicks off today, March 26, at 7 p.m. with a live reading of Lucas Hnath’s A Doll’s House, Part 2 featuring Tony nominee Maria Dizzia, Linda Powell, Stuart Zagnit, and Mirirai Sithole. Tonight’s reading will benefit Actors Theatre of Louisville and Vineyard Theatre.
Tomorrow at 8 p.m., audiences can watch “Family Friday,” an original non-scripted weekly series focusing on families in the theatre community. The first episode will feature check-ins, interviews, and performances from notable theatrical families, beginning with those of Tony nominee Lauren Worsham and her songwriter husband, Kyle Jarrow, as well as Adrienne Campbell-Holt and Brian Wiles. This episode of “Family Friday” will directly benefit Colt Coeur, a Brooklyn-based theater company, and the Civilians.
Elise Forier Edie’s The Pink Unicorn will be reprised in a reading with its original star, Tony winner Alice Ripley, on March 29 at 7 p.m. This solo performance will benefit the Actors Fund, along with Out of the Box Theatrics, the original presenters of the The Pink Unicorn, with whom this event is co-produced.
Future events will feature works by Bess Wohl, Tori Sampson, Micah Stock, Sharr White, Johnathan Caren, Martyna Majok, and others to be announced in the coming weeks.
