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    Anything Can Happen, and Usually Does, on ‘Watch What Happens Live’

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    Two miniature horses, Aidan and Pearl, stood on the terrace of a tiny TV studio in SoHo earlier this month on a sweltering evening, one more equine guest than the producers of “Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen” anticipated. They were part of a bit for taping the late-night talk show’s 15th anniversary special and, apparently, booking a horse requires also booking it an emotional support horse.Andy Cohen, the show’s host and creator, brought his two children Ben, 5, and Lucy, 2, to meet the mini horses as producers whispered questions about the surplus. He soon headed back inside to provide emotional support of a different kind for the show’s humans. Gliding effortlessly between posing for photos with guests, including Sonja Morgan, a mainstay of “The Real Housewives of New York” who arrived in a diamond-studded (she said they’re fake) tiara, Cohen listened to instructions from his producers while also recording behind-the-scenes footage for social media.It was a lot of wrangling, even for Cohen — the core moderator and pot-stirrer of “W.W.H.L.,” the recap show that somehow manages to lure A-list celebrities like Oprah Winfrey and Jennifer Lawrence to marvel at the antics of the stars in Bravo’s ever-expanding reality universe. Five nights a week, viewers can see Oscar-winners re-enact scenes from “Real Housewives of Salt Lake City”; so-called Bravo-lebrities dish about just-aired dirty laundry; or Cohen and Hillary Clinton drink from a shotski, a ski with shot glasses glued to it that allows multiple people to simultaneously knock one back.Cohen backstage with Bravo cast members (and Jerry O’Connell).Hunter Abrams for The New York TimesThe show, and the reality TV universe it obsesses over, delight in outrageous behavior that is under scrutiny as Bravo currently faces multiple lawsuits. Former cast members from several series accused the network and producers of racial discrimination, running an alcohol-fueled workplace and failing to respond properly to reports of harassment and assault. After an internal investigation, the network said it cleared Cohen of claims made against him by two former Housewives, including those detailed in a lawsuit from a former cast member who said the show’s producers had encouraged her to relapse to boost ratings. Cohen also apologized for sending one former cast member a video message that she said constituted sexual harassment.Many of the regular bits on “W.W.H.L.” are related to alcohol: Each episode begins with Cohen revealing a word of the night for viewers to drink to every time it’s uttered; each ends with him encouraging the audience to drink responsibly. Regardless, Cohen and his team maintained that drinking on set was optional and not essential to the show.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      in Theater

      Andy Cohen, Fran Lebowitz and Others Gather for Little Island Performance

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      “It’s a miracle on the water,” the actress Candice Bergen said, gazing at a grove of trees on Thursday evening as she took shelter from the sun beneath a canopy.It was the opening night of the summer performance season at Little Island, the three-year-old floating park built on a reconstructed pier in the Hudson River.Despite thunderstorms earlier in the afternoon, around 700 actors, designers and media moguls turned up under a smattering of canopies near the island’s amphitheater, among them Andy Cohen, the Bravo host and executive producer; Annie Leibovitz, the photographer; Fran Lebowitz, the writer; Natasha Lyonne, the actress; Bryan Lourd, the chief executive of the talent agency CAA; and Jason Blum, the film producer.As waiters ferried watermelon spears and cartons of boxed water on silver platters, attendees trickled into the glade over twin gangways on the north and south sides of the island.The writer Fran Lebowitz.Rebecca Smeyne for The New York TimesAnnie Leibovitz, right, with her daughter, Sam Leibovitz.Rebecca Smeyne for The New York TimesBryan Lourd, the chief executive of the talent agency CAA, and Natasha Lyonne, the actress.Rebecca Smeyne for The New York TimesWe are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      in Television

      Is Tom Sandoval of ‘Vanderpump Rules’ the Most Hated Man in America?

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      Valley Village is a Los Angeles neighborhood just across the freeway from Studio City, near the southern edge of the area locally referred to with both affection and derision as the Valley. There, at the end of a quiet, leafy street of ranch-style homes stands what real estate agents have come to describe as a “modern farmhouse,” which its current occupant, the reality-TV star Tom Sandoval, has outfitted with landscaping lights that rotate in a spectrum of colors, mimicking the dance floor of a nightclub. The home is both his private residence and an occasional TV set for the Bravo reality show “Vanderpump Rules.” After a series of events that came to be known as “Scandoval,” paparazzi had been camped outside, but by the new year it was just one or two guys, and now they have mostly gone, too.Listen to this article, read by Julia WhelanOpen this article in the New York Times Audio app on iOS.“Scandoval” is the nickname for Sandoval’s affair with another cast member, which he had behind the backs of the show’s producers and his girlfriend of nine years. This wouldn’t be interesting or noteworthy except that in 2023, after being on the air for 10 seasons, “Vanderpump” was nominated for an Emmy for outstanding unstructured reality program, an honor that has never been bestowed on any of the network’s “Housewives” shows. It also became, by a key metric, the most-watched cable series in the advertiser-beloved demographic of 18-to-49-year-olds and brought in over 12.2 million viewers. This happened last spring, when Hollywood’s TV writers went on strike and cable TV was declared dead and our culture had already become so fractured that it was rare for anything — let alone an episode of television — to become a national event. And yet you probably heard about “Scandoval” even if you couldn’t care less about who these people are, exactly.The story has continued offscreen. After the season aired, Raquel Leviss, with whom Sandoval had the affair, entered a mental-health facility in Arizona and started going by a different name. Ariana Madix, Sandoval’s now-ex-girlfriend, garnered so much national sympathy that she has had the most prosperous year of her career. In addition to being invited to the White House Correspondents’ Dinner and to compete on “Dancing With the Stars,” she landed ads with Duracell batteries, Bic razors, Uber Eats and Lay’s chips, as well as a starring role in “Chicago” on Broadway this winter. Sandoval, meanwhile, became the most reviled man in America and the butt of a million jokes. Jennifer Lawrence made fun of his skin. Amy Schumer called him a narcissist. One of the hosts of “The View” called him “the Donald Trump of ex-boyfriends.” And Sandoval has just been here, in the Valley, trying to process it all. “I feel like I got more hate than Danny Masterson,” he told me, “and he’s a convicted rapist.”When I arrived at his house late last year, Sandoval, who is 41, had just finished working out. He wore a black muscle shirt and a wide headband. His assistant, Miles, was at the dining-room table sorting through Sandoval’s utility bills on two laptops. “He basically does anything I don’t personally have to do,” Sandoval explained. We were also joined by Rylie, who’s on Sandoval’s new publicity team, which has a background in crisis P.R. I assumed Rylie would be an impediment, but my fears were put to rest when she didn’t flinch at the Danny Masterson comment. Rylie is 23, has watched “Vanderpump” since she was in middle school and seemed as interested in Sandoval’s life as I was. When Sandoval described how, despite their gnarly, nationally televised split, he and Madix have continued living together, sequestered in separate parts of the five-bedroom home and communicating via assistants, Rylie was curious to hear more. “So all of her stuff is still here?” Rylie asked. Sandoval wasn’t sure, but he thought Madix might have finally rented a place. “She took the dog and the cat, and I know she wouldn’t do that if she was staying somewhere temporary,” he said. Sandoval wanted to buy out her share of the home, but interest rates are so crazy right now. He was considering getting a roommate to help with the mortgage. At least he thought Madix was finally open to the idea. “It took her a while to not be spiteful about the house,” he said. (A month after we met, Madix sued Sandoval in Los Angeles County to force him to sell the home and divide the proceeds.) We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      in Television

      How the Networks Will Fill Airtime on a Quiet New Year’s Eve

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      #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }The Best of 2020Best ComedyBest TV ShowsBest BooksBest MoviesBest AlbumsAdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyHow the Networks Will Fill Airtime on a Quiet New Year’s EveIn a typical year, shots of raucous parties from around the world dominate news programming. This year, the networks had to get more creative.Times Square will be emptier than usual for New Year’s Eve this year, but TV networks are doing their best to fill the gaps with extra live performances and creative thinking.Credit…Michael M. Santiago/Getty ImagesDec. 30, 2020[Follow our New Year’s Eve live coverageWhat becomes of Times Square when you take away hundreds of thousands of cheering, shivering New Year’s Eve revelers?It may no longer be the “biggest, most exciting New Year’s Eve party on Earth.” But it may still be the night’s biggest TV production set.For this year’s pandemic New Year’s Eve, many television traditions will be scrapped, including the scenes of raucous celebrations across the world and impromptu interviews with exuberant party goers at bars and clubs, eager to say hello to their mothers and grandmothers back home.Instead, networks are doubling down on the segments that they can safely pull off. They’ve increased the number of performers and interview guests, decreased the number of crew members and brainstormed creative — and socially distant — locations to send their reporters to. (Instead of reporting from a crowd of partyers, for example, one CNN correspondent will report from a crowd of puppies, which are not known to spread the coronavirus.)So while the type of people who enjoy cramming themselves into crowds of strangers to watch the ball drop may be disappointed this year, the type that prefers to curl up and celebrate from their sofas will find their tradition largely intact.“In some respects it’s going to feel very similar to previous years,” said Meredith McGinn, an executive producer of NBC’s New Year’s Eve program, which is hosted by Carson Daly. “You will see the same confetti fly at midnight; you will see the ball drop.”But, like most things in 2020, there were some necessary adjustments.“Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve” on ABC will send Ryan Seacrest roaming around a much emptier Times Square with a camera crew in tow — wearing a mask except when standing in designated areas. And CNN’s hosts, Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen, will reunite in Times Square for an evening of interviews and cheeky ad-libbing. (The hosts are close friends who have been in each other’s social “bubbles” during the pandemic.)This year, the Times Square camera crews and riggings are confined to a space between 45th and 47th Streets. It usually stretches from 41st to 59th.Credit…Carlo Allegri/ReutersIn a typical year, Cooper and Cohen invite interview guests up to their riser overlooking the crowds; this year, the network will superimpose images of the guests’ full bodies beside the hosts in a technique that they will jokingly call “teleportation.” On NBC, rather than cutting to raging parties, the network will broadcast small family gatherings from inside their homes. Even the Times Square production set is smaller: While it typically stretches from 41st Street to 59th Street; this year it is limited to a space between 45th Street and 47th Street.“We had to reinvent Times Square,” said Jeff Straus, the president of Countdown Entertainment, which co-produces the event with Times Square Alliance. He described the set up as a theater in the round, with two stages at the center. Three huge screens will provide close-ups of what’s happening onstage for the small number of guests.Emergency medical workers, frontline workers and essential workers were invited to bring their families to sit in specially designated areas in Times Square and watch the array of performances. In total, somewhere between 100 and 160 guests are expected to be present for the 11 scheduled musical acts, including a seven-minute show by Jennifer Lopez leading up to the final countdown. Those guests will be the subjects of the on-camera interviews, rather than the partyers among dense crowds of people, some of whom wait in Times Square for a dozen or more hours to ensure good spots.To pull off the broadcast, networks must follow state guidelines on pandemic television production, as well as protocols set by the various unions representing the crews and performers. They’ve devised plans for testing production staffers for Covid-19 before New Year’s Eve and for feeding production staffers without letting them get too close to one another. (NBC rented additional space in Times Square to make sure crew members could eat and maintain proper distance.)On Thursday, network employees will work from separate locations when possible. The director of “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve,” Glenn Weiss, is overseeing the broadcast from his office on 46th Street instead of in the “Good Morning America” studio at Broadway and 44th Street. And NBC cameras are stationed on the third floor of the Renaissance New York Times Square Hotel, where the network had to remove some of the hotel’s windows so that bird’s-eye-views of the event would not be hindered by glare.All of the acts at Times Square will be live, including performances by Lopez, Gloria Gaynor, Billy Porter, Cyndi Lauper and Pitbull. Many other performances will occur on stages outside of New York — including those by Brandy, Megan Thee Stallion and Miley Cyrus, all from Los Angeles, for ABC.The networks have lined up more pretaped material than usual, however. (Most have not said which of the performances were filmed in advance.)Highlights of PBS’s prerecorded New Year’s Eve programming include an opening performance of “Lady Marmalade” by Patti LaBelle.Credit…Dan Chung/Mount Vernon Ladies’ AssociationOn PBS, a New Year’s Eve program, called “United in Song,” was filmed in November at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and in September at George Washington’s Virginia estate in Mount Vernon, where about 120 audience members watched from a distance and masked violinists were separated from unmasked brass players with plexiglass. NBC is showing a new Blake Shelton music video. Spectrum News NY1 will roll a highlight reel of its reporter Dean Meminger’s flashy New Year’s Eve suits over the years.And networks are getting creative in other ways to fill the holes formerly filled by crowd shots and partyers. CNN will have one correspondent getting a tattoo, another skiing down an Oregon slope wearing a GoPro and an appearance from Carole Baskin of “Tiger King” fame.With the pandemic driving people away from bars and restaurants and toward their living rooms, executives say it’s possible that there will be more viewers than ever before. ABC, which tends to have the highest viewership on the holiday, peaked last year at about 21 million viewers, according to news reports.“I can never predict what the Nielsen gods will bring,” said Mark Bracco, an executive producer on ABC’s program, “but we’re hopeful that most Americans will be home on their couches.”In a year in which more than 338,000 Americans have died from the coronavirus, viewers may notice a tonal shift compared with the goofy — and sometimes tipsy — coverage of years past. The Champagne popping and 2021 eyeglasses will be interspersed with appreciations of health care workers and emergency medical workers, as well as reflections on the lives lost and the economic hardship.On ABC, Seacrest will interview President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. and his wife, Jill Biden, a rare political interview of someone other than the New York City mayor.And on PBS, an opening performance of “Lady Marmalade” by Patti LaBelle in a gleaming white suit opens the hour-and-a-half program that includes more serious notes, including a monologue from the actress Audra McDonald about trailblazing women throughout history and from the playwright and actress Anna Deavere Smith about the history of the slave cemetery at Mount Vernon as she walks through those grounds. On CNN, John Mayer is slated to perform a tribute to lives lost this year out of Los Angeles.“We’re all going to be celebrating the end of this horrific year,” said Eric Hall, the executive producer of CNN’s program, “and we’re also going to be celebrating the beginning of what looks to be a hopeful year.”AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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      in Music

      How to Stream New Year’s Eve: 25 Shows From Pop, Jazz and Beyond

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      #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }The Best of 2020Best ComedyBest TV ShowsBest BooksBest MoviesBest AlbumsAdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyHow to Stream New Year’s Eve: 25 Shows From Pop, Jazz and BeyondIt isn’t too late to make (cheap!) plans to welcome 2021 with music. A host of concerts will be streaming around the globe and major stars will take the stage on TV.Jennifer Lopez will headline “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve With Ryan Seacrest” on ABC.Credit…Kevin Winter/Getty ImagesOlivia Horn, Elysa Gardner and Dec. 30, 2020THE AVETT BROTHERS If your appetite for sentimentality hasn’t been sated by holiday films, this may be the livestream for you. In their strummy folk-rock vernacular and tidy close harmonies, the brothers Scott and Seth Avett sing earnest songs about love and family. A slew of special guests — including Willie Nelson, Brandi Carlile, Norah Jones and Loudon Wainwright III — will bolster the star power of this New Year’s Eve performance (the 17th edition of an annual Avett tradition). At 8 p.m. Eastern, nugs.tv. Tickets start at $40. (Olivia Horn)THE BEST OF RADIO FREE BIRDLAND The pay-per-view virtual concert series has brought live-to-tape performances to pandemic-weary cabaret fans since April. To finally welcome a new year, it will present a compilation of them — all captured on the Birdland Theater stage with three cameras and no audience members — featuring Broadway and cabaret favorites such as Sierra Boggess, Reeve Carney, Nikki Renée Daniels, Darius de Haas, Telly Leung, Eva Noblezada, Laura Osnes, Christopher Sieber and Billy Stritch. Streaming on demand from Dec. 31 to Jan. 3; tickets are $10 at events.BroadwayWorld.com. (Elysa Gardner)Justin Bieber will take the stage to perform a full concert for the first time in more than three years.Credit…ABC, via Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesJUSTIN BIEBER For a pop star, Justin Bieber has become a reluctant performer — often withdrawn when he does appear onstage, and prone to canceling shows altogether. With the pandemic (so far) sparing him the obligation of touring in support of his latest album, “Changes,” this livestreamed show is Bieber’s first full concert in more than three years. The sultry R&B of “Changes” trends mellower than much of his earlier work, making it a suitable soundtrack for an evening in. At 11 p.m. Eastern, justinbiebernye.com. Tickets are $25 (free for T-Mobile customers). (Horn)BIG HIT LABELS’ 2021 NEW YEAR’S EVE LIVE Owing to the success of their crown jewel, BTS, Big Hit has contributed substantially to K-pop’s growing global footprint. Their artist roster, which includes lesser-known (in the U.S., anyway) groups like Gfriend and Nu’est, will join forces for this concert, live from Korea. BTS’s past collaborators Halsey, Lauv and Steve Aoki have been tapped to expand the program’s international reach with a collaboration on the so-called “Global Connect Stage.” At 7:30 a.m. Eastern, on the Weverse shop app. The basic ticket option is sold out, but multiview packages are available for about $48. (Horn)BUD LIGHT SELTZER SESSIONS PRESENTS NEW YEAR’S EVE 2021 Post Malone’s ubiquitous, post-genre pop songs can be bacchanalian (for the New Year’s that we want) or brooding (for the New Year’s that we’re getting). At this virtual shindig, streaming live from Las Vegas, he’ll perform a selection with support from Saweetie, the cheeky rapper whose popularity has surged on the back of consecutive TikTok hits. The comedian Lilly Singh will host, with additional performances from Jack Harlow and Steve Aoki. At 10:30 p.m. Eastern, budlight.com/nye and on Bud Light’s Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. (Horn)BTS will cap a big year by performing at its label Big Hit’s New Year’s extravaganza. Credit…Agence France-Presse/Mtv, via Getty Images‘DICK CLARK’S NEW YEAR’S ROCKIN’ EVE WITH RYAN SEACREST 2021’ If the ball drops in Times Square and no one is around to see it, does 2020 actually end? Despite the absence of the usual crowds, Ryan Seacrest and his fellow hosts, the actors Lucy Hale and Billy Porter, will be on hand to capture the ball’s descent from One Times Square, with Ciara hosting a sister celebration in Los Angeles. Machine Gun Kelly, Miley Cyrus, Megan Thee Stallion, Cyndi Lauper and more will perform; Jennifer Lopez is the evening’s headliner. At 8 p.m. Eastern, on ABC. (Horn)‘CNN’S NEW YEAR’S EVE’ Andy Cohen, who co-hosts this broadcast with Anderson Cooper, described it as “an authentic experience” (a year ago, that authenticity manifested with a peer-pressured Cooper struggling through tequila shots on air). This holiday, the pair will be freewheeling masters of ceremony for a lineup of performers and special guests that includes John Mayer, Patti LaBelle, Kylie Minogue, the Goo Goo Dolls, Jon Bon Jovi and Carole Baskin, of “Tiger King” fame. At 8 p.m. Eastern, on CNN. (Horn)CLUB CUMMING’S NYE BLOWOUT For those willing to brave the elements for a live experience, the East Village night spot is offering an outdoor celebration in a socially distanced setting, hosted by Kareem McJagger. The 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. seatings will include a light dinner, with entertainment provided by the burlesque queen Dirty Martini; Emma Craig, channeling Dolly Parton; and Michael T channeling David Bowie; along with the singers Antony Cherry and Militia Vox, the Richard Cortez Trio, “boylesquer” Richard JMV, the drag squad the Covid Destroyers and the Club Cumming Band. At Club Cumming, Manhattan; clubcummingnyc.com, $80. (Gardner)Saweetie will join Post Malone and other pop stars for a Bud Light Seltzer Sessions event.Credit…Vivien Killilea/Getty Images for Boohooman#DANCEAWAY2020 Clear some floor space and consider carb-loading before tuning into this marathon livestream, a 20-plus-hour dance party bringing together an intercontinental lineup of electronic D.J.s. From Melbourne, the longtime techno kingpin Carl Cox will book end the show with sets at 7 a.m. Eastern on Thursday and 3 a.m. on Friday. Other notables on the bill include Honey Dijon (live in Berlin), Tokimonsta (in Los Angeles) and Nicole Moudaber (in Barbados). At 7 a.m. Eastern, on Beatport’s Twitch, YouTube and Facebook. (Horn)NATALIE DOUGLAS The 12-time Manhattan Association of Cabarets Award winner will once again use her supple wit and soulful warmth to kiss today goodbye, this time with an assist from technology. For “A Virtually Natalie New Year 2020,” kicking off at 9 p.m., Douglas and her longtime music director Brian Nash will offer songs old and new, and take requests via Facebook and YouTube. In lieu of a cover charge, viewers are asked to simply pay what they can, at Venmo or PayPal. Streaming live at facebook.com/natalie.douglas.nyc and youtube.com/nataliedouglasmusic. (Gardner)ESCHATON NYE: THE DISSOLUTION The vibe of this interactive theater piece should hover somewhere between spooky cabaret and escape room. Originally conceived as an in-person experience, the Eschaton project nimbly pivoted to digital in the spring, maximizing Zoom rooms’ functionality by presenting a suite of interconnected virtual performance spaces, through which guests can meander. The organizers encourage festive attire. At 11 p.m. Eastern, tickettailor.com. Tickets start at $25. (Horn)Tokimonsta will play music from Los Angeles as part of the 20-plus-hour dance party #DanceAway2020.Credit…Timothy Norris/Getty ImagesHIROMI Among jazz musicians, pianists were among the best equipped to handle the doldrums of isolation this year — there’s a lot you can do with 88 keys, and the piano is the rare instrument that’s often performed solo in a jazz context. Over the past two decades, Hiromi has honed her own relationship to the instrument’s vast possibilities. Last year she released a redoubtable solo album, “Spectrum,” and she had just finished a tour promoting it when the coronavirus struck. She’s likely to draw from that material this week, as she does a run of solo shows at the Blue Note Tokyo; on New Year’s Eve, in a nod to her North American audiences, she will perform a livestream from there at 11 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. Passes are $20 at bluenotelive.com. (Giovanni Russonello)JASON ISBELL AND THE 400 UNIT Widely regarded as one of Music City’s great storytellers, Jason Isbell writes deftly about world-weary, embattled characters; his songs strike a tone befitting a year that has left many worse for wear. In May, Isbell celebrated the release of his new album with a livestreamed show at an empty Brooklyn Bowl in Nashville, with accompaniment from his wife, the singer-violinist Amanda Shires. For the holiday, the pair will return, this time with the full band in tow. At 9 p.m. Eastern, fans.live. Ticket packages start at $25; day of, they jump to $30. (Horn)THE JUNGLE SHOW This blues supergroup, anchored by ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons, convenes annually for a New Year’s show at Antone’s Nightclub in Austin, Tex. Gibbons and his compatriots — including the singer-guitarists Jimmie Vaughan and Sue Foley — will forgo an in-person audience to keep the tradition alive this year, delivering rollicking guitar riffs from the empty club via livestream. At 8 p.m. Eastern, jungleshow.tv. Ticket packages start at $25. (Horn)KISS Never ones to skimp on the theatrics, the glam rock titans are plotting to break world records with the pyrotechnics display that will accompany their show at the Atlantis in Dubai. Tune in for hedonistic guitar anthems and, inevitably, a glimpse of Gene Simmons’s tongue. At 12 p.m. Eastern, kiss2020goodbye.com. Ticket packages start at $40. (Horn)The cabaret star Natalie Douglas is asking patrons only to pay what they can for her New Year’s show.Credit…Walter McBride/Getty ImagesMET STARS LIVE IN CONCERT: NEW YEAR’S EVE GALA After scraping together an ambitious at-home gala just weeks into the pandemic — quite the achievement, with only a couple of mishaps — the Met Opera has leveled up the production value on their digital programs. Their year-end celebration is set to broadcast on location at a neo-Baroque theater in Augsburg, Germany, with performances by the sopranos Pretty Yende and Angel Blue and the tenors Javier Camarena and Matthew Polenzani. At 4 p.m. Eastern, metopera.org. Tickets are $20. (Horn)‘NBC’S NEW YEAR’S EVE 2020’ Carson Daly hosts NBC’s addition to the crowded New Year’s prime time market, welcoming musical guests including Chloe x Halle, Gwen Stefani, Blake Shelton, Sting, Bebe Rexha and Doja Cat. At 10 p.m. Eastern, on NBC. (Horn)NEW YEAR’S QUEENS: GOODBYE 2020! Sixteen alumnae of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” comprise the lineup for this New Year’s glitterfest, with hosting duties split between Alaska, Bob the Drag Queen, Katya, Miz Cracker, Peppermint and Trixie Mattel. Can’t get enough? Season 13 of “Drag Race” premiers on New Year’s Day. At 6 p.m. Eastern, sessionslive.com/NewYearsQueens. Ticket packages start at $49. (Horn)PINK MARTINI’S ‘GOOD RIDDANCE 2020’ For most people not named Kardashian, long-distance trips became an untenable risk this year; lucky for Pink Martini, globe-trotting through music — and traveling back to supposedly simpler times — has always been its stock in trade. A little big band that achieved worldwide renown in the late 1990s, its wide repertoire consists of old show tunes, cabaret fare, romantic songs from around the world and original compositions that sound like all of the above. On New Year’s Eve, Pink Martini will present a streaming holiday concert, filmed in its hometown Portland, Ore., that will be broadcast twice: once at 9 p.m. Paris time, and again at 9 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. Streaming passes can be purchased for $15 at ourconcerts.live, and can be used to watch the show at any point for the next 48 hours. (Russonello)The pianist Hiromi will perform a livestreamed show from Blue Note Tokyo.Credit…David Wolff/Patrick, via RedfernsCHRIS POTTER Since the 1990s, Chris Potter has been among jazz’s most casually fearsome saxophonists, and left entirely to his own devices during quarantine, he has proved just how deep his virtuosity goes: This month he released “There Is a Tide,” a slinky, coolly funky album for which he recorded every instrument — overdubbing saxophones, clarinets, flutes, bass, drums, guitars and keyboards. Potter has played New Year’s Eve at the Village Vanguard for the past two years, and this week he’ll return to the club for livestream performances on Dec. 31 and Jan. 1, at 8 p.m. each time. There will be no live audience, but he’ll be accompanied by a stellar quartet of longtime associates: David Virelles on piano, Joe Martin on bass and Marcus Gilmore on drums. Tickets cost $10 at villagevanguard.com. (Russonello)KT SULLIVAN AND RUSS WOOLLEY KT Sullivan, the ebullient cabaret veteran and champion, and the producer Russ Woolley will present “What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?,” a benefit for the Mabel Mercer Foundation, featuring the jazz pianist Jon Weber and the singer and pianists Eric Yves Garcia and Larry Woodard. The virtual festivities, taped live and streaming at 10 p.m., will include a countdown to midnight with champagne, noisemakers and masks. The stream is free of charge, though donations for the fund-raiser are appreciated. At mabelmercer.org. (Gardner)LUCINDA WILLIAMS When she started her own label in 2014, this roots-rock rebel was clear on her artistic mission: To do whatever she wanted. Lately, what she wants is to play covers. In an ongoing virtual concert series that supports independent music venues, Lucinda Williams has devoted full sets to greats like Tom Petty and Bob Dylan. For the sixth and final installment of the series, which coincides with the holiday, she’ll pay tribute to the Rolling Stones. At 8 p.m. Eastern, boxoffice.mandolin.com. Tickets start at $20. (Horn)Lucinda Williams will conclude her covers series with a show devoted to the Rolling Stones.Credit…Jeff Spicer/Getty ImagesYANDEL GOODBYE 2020 This O.G. reggaetonero helped forge a path that artists like J Balvin have followed to mammoth crossover success. With his performing partner Wisin, Yandel came up with the first wave of international reggaeton stars in the early 2000s; two decades after their debut, the pair remain prominent voices in the genre, both together and individually. Their plans for a Vegas-style residency at the Coliseo de Puerto Rico this month were, of course, scrapped. Instead, Yandel will offer fans this free virtual concert, broadcast live from Miami. At 8 p.m. Eastern, on Yandel’s YouTube channel and the app LaMusica. (Horn)YOUTUBE’S HELLO 2021 Lest any one New Year’s special feel too boilerplate, YouTube’s in-house content studio is producing five different, regionally specific variations, each carried by (mostly) local talent. The “Americas” version will offer urbano courtesy of J Balvin and Karol G, modern country from Kane Brown and disco pop from Dua Lipa. On triple duty, Lipa also features in the U.K. special alongside the pop singer Anne-Marie and the shapeshifting rapper AJ Tracey, and in the Indian edition, alongside the comedian Zakir Khan and the rapper Badshah. At 10:30 p.m. Eastern, on YouTube Originals’ channel. (Horn)JOHN LLOYD YOUNG The Tony Award-winning star of “Jersey Boys” — both the original Broadway production and Clint Eastwood’s 2014 screen adaptation — has in recent years parlayed his affinity for pop and R&B classics into a busy cabaret career. To ring in 2021, John Lloyd Young will lend his robust, rangy voice to such material along with originals and perhaps a show tune or two. Young’s live-streamed, hourlong set, beginning at 11 p.m. Eastern, will be followed at 12:15 a.m. Eastern with a V.I.P. after-party and interview, with the singer answering audience questions submitted in advance. From Feinstein’s at Vitello’s, Los Angeles (and available On Demand for a limited time after the event); 818-769-0905, feinsteinsatvitellos.com, $30 plus $5 for the V.I.P. experience. (Gardner)AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More