TDF Stages

With in-person theatre out of commission for the foreseeable future, many companies and performers from Broadway and beyond are showcasing their work online. Below are performances you can watch today, Wednesday, July 15, from the comfort of your couch for free (or at very low cost).

Martha Graham Dance Company: Clytemnestra
At 2:30 p.m. ET, the Martha Graham Dance Company presents Clytemnestra, which explores the bloody aftermath of the Trojan War. The modern dance pioneer's only full-length work, it's being shown in three sections, with part 2 airing on Saturday and part 3 in a week. This 1979 mounting stars Yuriko Kimura as the title queen, and will be complemented by rare archival clips of Graham in the role. Watch for free on the dance company's YouTube channel.

The Metropolitan Opera: The Magic Flute
At 5 p.m. ET, ever since the shutdown began, the Metropolitan Opera has been sharing productions from its Live in HD series nightly at 7:30 p.m. ET. But it also presents weekly student streams that debut on Wednesdays at 5 p.m. ET. These productions have been specially selected for families, and Zoom education sessions leading up to the screening teach school-age kids about opera. This week's offering is Tony winner Julie Taymor's eye-popping, puppet-filled, English-language production of Mozart's The Magic Flute, a fantastical fable starring Golda Schultz, Kathryn Lewek, Charles Castronovo, Markus Werba, Christian Van Horn and René Pape. Watch for free until Friday at 5 p.m. ET on the Metropolitan Opera's website.

Bard at the Gate: THE DROLL {Or, a Stage-Play about the END of Theatre}
At 7 p.m. ET, Pulitzer Prize-winning dramatist Paula Vogel continues her Bard at the Gate play reading series showcasing timely, under-the-radar scripts, some of which have never been produced. Tonight's offering is Meg Miroshnik's THE DROLL {Or, a Stage-Play about the END of Theatre} inspired by the question, what's it like to fall in love with doing theatre when you're not allowed to perform it? When Miroshnik wrote the piece 10 years ago, she was pondering the 18-year period when theatre was illegal in 17th-century Puritan England. But the script has taken on new relevance during the pandemic. The cast features Brett Dalton, Rachel Spencer Hewitt, Matt Biagini, Zach Appelman, Ceci Fernandez, Matt McGrath, Blake Segal, Elizabeth Stahlmann and Irene Sofia Lucio, and Devin Brain directs. Watch for free on Bard at the Gate's YouTube channel.

The Homebound Project
At 7 p.m. ET, The Homebound Project presents its fourth edition of world-premiere playlets around the theme of promise, and as always the lineup is stellar. The 11 shorts include Santino Fontana in a piece by Emily Zemba, Cherry Jones in a work by Erin Courtney, Judith Light in a playlet by Jon Robin Baitz and Amber Tamblyn in a short by Halley Feiffer. The brainchild of playwright Catya McMullen and director Jenna Worsham, this initiative is raising money to support food insecure families during the pandemic. Tickets start at $10 and proceeds go to No Kid Hungry.

The Metropolitan Opera: Turandot
At 7:30 p.m. ET, the Metropolitan Opera shares Turandot, Puccini's tale of an aloof princess whose suitors lose their heads over her knotty riddles. Franco Zeffirelli's sumptuous staging stars Maria Guleghina as the hard-to-win royal, and Marcello Giordani as the prince who ultimately succeeds. This production was filmed for the Met's Live in HD series in 2009. Watch for free for 23 hours after the start time on the Metropolitan Opera's website. You can still stream yesterday's opera, La Traviata, until 6:30 p.m. ET today.

Symphony Space: Virtual Selected Shorts
At 7:30 p.m. ET, Upper West Side culture spot Symphony Space brings its decades-old Selected Shorts series online, with well-known actors performing brief works of literature by (mostly) contemporary authors. This evening's theme is Little Rebellions, and participants include Nate Corddry, Ann Dowd, Jane Kaczmarek and Randall Park performing tales about how one small revolt can make or break a relationship. Watch for free on Symphony Space's YouTube channel though donations are encouraged.

Stars in the House: 30 Rock Reunion
At 8 p.m. ET, Seth Rudetsky and James Wesley welcome Tina Fey, Jane Krakowski, Maulik Pancholy, Scott Adsit and Keith Powell from 30 Rock on Stars in the House, a full day before NBC airs its reunion of the beloved sitcom. "Special guests" are promised, so we're hoping a few of the many Broadway stars who appeared on the show will drop by. Watch for free on YouTube though donations to The Actors Fund are encouraged.

The Public Theater: Richard II
At 8 p.m. ET, although The Public Theater had to cancel its free Shakespeare in the Park summer season, the invaluable institution is still giving audiences quality no-cost drama with its radio production of Richard II. A collaboration with WNYC, this four-part audio play is directed by Saheem Ali, who was scheduled to mount the tragedy at the Delacorte Theater before the pandemic hit. André Holland from Moonlight stars as the inept king, and the supporting cast includes Oscar winner Estelle Parsons, Tony winner Phylicia Rashad, and Tony nominees John Douglas Thompson and Stephen McKinley Henderson. Part III airs tonight for free on WNYC.

SheLA Summer Theater Festival: We're Not Friends
At 10 p.m. ET, the five-day SheLA Summer Theater Festival, which showcases women writers, kicks off with Caroline Ullman's dramedy We're Not Friends, about three sisters who have grown up and apart reconnecting during a family crisis. Tickets are $5-$10.

Available to Watch All Day

Rodgers and Hammerstein's Carousel
Lincoln Center shares a recording of the New York Philharmonic's 2013 concert staging of Carousel, starring Tony winner Kelli O'Hara as Julie Jordan and opera star Nathan Gunn as Billy Bigelow. The supporting cast is just as impressive, with Tony winner Shuler Hensley as the villainous Jigger, Tony winner Jessie Mueller (a future Julie Jordan) as Carrie Pipperidge opposite Jason Danieley's Enoch Snow, Kate Burton as Mrs. Mullin, Tony winner John Cullum (a former Billy Bigelow) as the Starkeeper and Dr. Seldon, and New York City Ballet dancers Robert Fairchild and Tiler Peck in the Act II dream ballet. Watch for free until Tuesday, September 8 on Lincoln Center's YouTube channel.

National Theatre: The Deep Blue Sea
It's your last day to catch National Theatre's 2016 production of The Deep Blue Sea, Terence Rattigan's devastating portrait of a woman unraveling in 1952 London. Olivier nominee Helen McCrory, known for playing Narcissa Malfoy in the Harry Potter movies, stars as Hester Collyer, whose passionate love affair ruins her marriage and her will to live. Watch for free until Thursday at 2 p.m. ET on the National Theatre's YouTube channel.

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Raven Snook is the Editor of TDF Stages. Follow her at @RavenSnook. Follow TDF at @TDFNYC.

Top image: Jane Krakowski.