#WhatsHappening for April 13, 2020

Does anyone else get home from work and fix themselves an adult beverage along with a cup of coffee, or is that just me?

I mean, I could totally see that being just some weird habit that I have.

Anyway...

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For those of you far more cultured than I am, 38 stars from 13 nations will be performing during the Metropolitan Opera's At-Home gala on April 25th. 

The show, happening a week from this Saturday, will kick off at 1pm, across and feature Renée Fleming, Anna Netrebko, Jonas Kaufmann, Roberto Alagna, Bryn Terfel and many other operatic luminaries performing live in their homes during the show- designed to be a fundraiser for the Met. It will air on the Met's website and be available for replay until 6:30 pm Sunday, April 26.

The Met has be shuttered since March 11 and has canceled the rest of its season. They also stopped paying unionized workers on March 31- including the orchestra and chorus- and has cut the pay of administrative staff.

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I got bored Friday night and did a "dance party", except all I really did was post music videos of songs I like. I still haven't figured out a way for us to do an online karaoke night. I mean, I have the music, but I can't figure a legal way to play it for you online.
If you have any ideas, let me know.

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DJ Khaled, Charlie Wilson, Chance the Rapper, Kirk Franklin, Fantasia and Melvin Crispell III among those who'll be performing for BET's Saving Our Selves: A BET COVID-19 Relief Effort fundraiser to assist people of color in dealing with the coronavirus.

The special will be hosted by Kelly Rowland, Terrence J, and Regina Hall and include up-to-date information and resource referrals. It airs on the network on April 22 at 8pm.

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Broadway's producers have agreed to extend the suspension of Great White Way shows, saying the footlights will remain dark through June 7. When shows were first shut down last month, they aimed for a return this week.

"Our top priority continues to be the health and well-being of Broadway theatergoers and the thousands of people who work in the theater industry every day, including actors, musicians, stagehands, ushers and many other dedicated professionals" said Charlotte St. Martin, president of the Broadway League.

Some shows scheduled to open this spring have abandoned plans of returning, including a revival of Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Others have been moved to the fall.

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Halsey has donated 100,000 face masks to four California medical facilities, saying she was "in awe of the medical workers on the frontlines." The singer said she worked with Orange International Inc. to source the FDA-certified three-ply masks from a factory in Guangzhou, China to provide masks to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Providence Saint Joseph, LAC+USC Medical Center, and Martin Luther King Jr. Community Hospital.

"Please continue to stay home, if you can. If you are on the frontlines, my heart is with you," Halsey posted to her Instagram.

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A special prime-time Sesame Street tomorrow night will aim to help children and their families cope with the coronavirus pandemic.

Anne Hathaway, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Tracee Ellis Ross will be among those who join the regular cast to discuss new ways to play and learn together, and "celebrate the medical personnel fighting the disease," producers said.

The show premieres tomorrow night at 7 on HBO, HBO Latino, TBS, Cartoon Network, Boomerang, and truTV, as well as the PBS Kids channel and streaming platforms.

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Birthdays today include: Lester Chambers of The Chambers Brothers (80); Jack Casady of Jefferson Airplane (76); the Reverend Al Green (74); Peabo Bryson (69); E-Street Band drummer Max Weinberg (69); Soundgarden co-founder Hiro Yamamoto (59); Marc Ford of the Black Crowes (54); Olga Tañón (53); Aaron Lewis of Staind (48); and Lou Bega (45). #MusicalBirthdays