Richard Nelson's 'THE GABRIELS' to Stream Live from The Public Theater on BroadwayHD

Online theater streaming service BroadwayHD will live stream The Public Theater's "THE GABRIELS: Election Year in the Life of One Family," written and directed by Richard Nelson. The critically acclaimed three-play cycle is currently touring internationally and will return to The Public Theater on March 22-24 for a special live stream mini-series. The performances will stream live on BroadwayHD.com each day at 7:50 p.m. ET.

The live stream marathon will begin with "HUNGRY" on March 22, followed by "WHAT DID YOU EXPECT?" on March 23, and the final installment, "WOMEN OF A CERTAIN AGE," on March 24. Audiences will have the opportunity to binge-watch the previous night's performance on-demand prior to the next live stream.

The performances will feature original cast members Meg Gibson (Karin Gabriel), Lynn Hawley (Hannah Gabriel), Roberta Maxwell (Patricia Gabriel), Maryann Plunkett (Mary Gabriel), Jay O. Sanders (George Gabriel) and Amy Warren (Joyce Gabriel). "THE GABRIELS" live streams will be directed by Emmy Award-winner David Horn, Executive Producer of public TV's acclaimed "Great Performances" and "Theater Close-Up" series, and produced by Tony Award-winners Stewart F. Lane and Bonnie Comley, co-founders of BroadwayHD. The live streams will be captured on sixhigh-definition cameras and broadcast to audiences worldwide.

"We're honored to partner with The Public Theater to bring back and preserve 'THE GABRIELS,'" said BroadwayHD co-founders Stewart F. Lane and Bonnie Comley. "These plays offer a fantastic opportunity for audiences worldwide to revisit the 2016 presidential election and explore the complexity of human beings as portrayed through the Gabriel family. We're also excited to offer fans our first mini-series and the opportunity to binge-watch three back-to-back live streams."

"'THE GABRIELS' plays are one of the great achievements of American theater in the last decade," said Public Theater Artistic Director Oskar Eustis. "The Public is thrilled that they will be available to reach a much broader audience through BroadwayHD. This is just one of the ways The Public seeks to make its work available to all, and we are so pleased to be partnering with BroadwayHD to make this distribution possible."

BroadwayHD monthly and annual subscribers around the world can watch "THE GABRIELS"live streams on BroadwayHD.com, Chromecast and BroadwayHD's Roku, Apple TV, iPad, iPhone, and Android mobile apps. Each performance will also be available to watch on demand on BroadwayHD.com and its channels, starting the day after the live event, and running through 11:59 p.m. PT on Monday, April 3.

In the spirit of Nelson's "The Apple Family Plays," and shining an important spotlight on the 2016 political election year, the three-play cycle "THE GABRIELS"opens with the first play, "HUNGRY." This play introduces us to the Gabriels of Rhinebeck, New York (the Gabriels live just around the corner from the Apple family). These three new plays track the lives of the Gabriels throughout the presidential election year with the final play opening in real time on election night, November 8, 2016. To the rhythm of peeling, chopping and mixing, "HUNGRY" places us in the center of the Gabriels' kitchen. The family discusses their lives and disappointments, and the world at large and nearby, as they struggle against the fear of being left behind and the challenge to find resilience in the face of loss.

The second installment, "WHAT DID YOU EXPECT?" brings us back to the kitchen of the Gabriel family, with the country now in the midst of the general election for president. In the course of one evening in the house they grew up in, history (both theirs and our country's), money, politics, family, art and culture are chopped up and mixed together, while a meal is made around the kitchen table.

In the exquisitely moving finale of the three-play cycle, the Gabriel family awaits the results of the presidential election on November 8, 2016. "WOMEN OF A CERTAIN AGE" takes place in the course of a single night, eight months after we first meet the Gabriels. Patricia, the family matriarch, joins her children and daughters-in-law as they prepare a meal from the past and consider the future of their country, town and home. Paying tribute to the difficult year behind them, the Gabriels compare notes on the search for empathy and authenticity at a time when the game seems rigged and the rules are forever changing.

All three plays in"THE GABRIELS"feature scenic design by Susan Hilferty and Jason Ardizzone-West; costume design by Susan Hilferty; lighting design by Jennifer Tipton; and sound design by Scott Lehrer and Will Pickens.

"THE GABRIELS"is currently on an international tour, which began in Washington, D.C. at the Kennedy Center in January 2017, receiving much acclaim. The tour has received rave reviews at The Perth International Arts Festival, and the Hong Kong Arts Festival, and will continue to the Brighton Festival, the Theater Der Welt Festival in Hamburg, at the Schaubühne in Berlin, and the Holland Festival.

Since its launch in 2015, BroadwayHD aims to extend the reach of Broadway to fans old and new, anytime and anywhere. BroadwayHD is the only online streaming service of its kind, offering viewers an unprecedented Broadway experience and access to exclusive live streams. In June of 2016, BroadwayHD made history with Roundabout Theatre Company's "She Loves Me," marking the first-ever live stream of a Broadway show. In addition to exclusive live-streamed content, BroadwayHD offers subscribers unlimited access to an on-demand library of over 170 Theater Productions from the comfort and convenience of their homes-or wherever streaming is possible. It's the Broadway you know and love, curated from the stage to your screen.

The Public Theater, under the leadership of Artistic Director Oskar Eustis and Executive Director Patrick Willingham, is the only theater in New York that produces Shakespeare, the classics, musicals, contemporary and experimental pieces in equal measure. In over 10 years at The Public, Eustis has created new community-based initiatives designed to engage audiences like Public Lab, Public Studio, Public Forum, Public Works, and a remount of the Mobile Unit. The Public continues the work of its visionary founder, Joe Papp, by acting as an advocate for the theater as an essential cultural force, and by leading and framing dialogue on some of the most important issues of our day. Creating theater for one of the largest and most diverse audience bases in New York City for nearly 60 years, today the Company engages audiences in a variety of venues-including its landmark downtown home at Astor Place, which houses five theaters and Joe's Pub; the Delacorte Theater in Central Park, home to Free Shakespeare in the Park; and the Mobile Unit, which tours Shakespearean productions for underserved audiences throughout New York City's five boroughs. The Public's wide range of programming includes Free Shakespeare in the Park, the bedrock of the Company's dedication to making theater accessible to all; Public Works, an expanding initiative that is designed to cultivate new connections and new models of engagement with artists, audiences, and the community each year; and audience and artist development initiatives that range from the Emerging Writers Group to the Public Forum series. The Public's work is also seen on tour throughout the U.S. and internationally and in collaborations and co-productions with regional and international theaters. The Public is located on property owned by the City of New York and receives annual support from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs. In October 2012 the landmark building downtown at Astor Place was revitalized to physically manifest the Company's core mission of sparking new dialogues and increasing accessibility for artists and audiences, by dramatically opening up the building to the street and community, and transforming the lobby into a public piazza for artists, students, and audiences. The Public is currently represented on Broadway by the Tony Award-winning acclaimed American musical Hamilton by Lin-Manuel Miranda and in spring 2017, Lynn Nottage's acclaimed new play Sweat. The Public has received 59 Tony Awards, 168 Obie Awards, 53 Drama Desk Awards, 54 Lortel Awards, 32 Outer Critics Circle Awards, 13 New York Drama Critics Awards, and five Pulitzer Prizes. Visit www.publictheater.org.

WNET is America's flagship PBS station and parent company of THIRTEEN and WLIW21. WNET also operates NJTV, the statewide public media network in New Jersey. Through its broadcast channels, three cable services (KidsTHIRTEEN, Create and World) and online streaming sites, WNET brings quality arts, education and public affairs programming to more than five million viewers each week. WNET produces and presents such acclaimed PBS series as Nature, Great Performances, American Masters, PBS NewsHour Weekend, Charlie Rose and a range of documentaries, children's programs, and local news and cultural offerings. WNET's groundbreaking series for children and young adults include Get the Math, Oh Noah! and Cyberchase as well as Mission US, the award-winning interactive history game. WNET highlights the tri-state's unique culture and diverse communities through Theater Close-Up, NYC-ARTS, Reel 13, NJTV News with Mary Alice Williams and MetroFocus, the daily multi-platform news magazine focusing on the New York region. In addition, WNET produces online-only programming including the award-winning series about gender, First Person, and an intergenerational look at tech and pop culture, The Chatterbox with Kevin and Grandma Lill. In 2015, THIRTEEN launched Passport, an online streaming service which allows members to see new and archival THIRTEEN and PBS programming anytime, anywhere: www.thirteen.org/passport.

Photo Credit: Joan Marcus