TDF Stages

With in-person theatre out of commission for the foreseeable future, many Broadway performers are sharing their talents online. Below are performances and interviews with stage stars that you can watch today, Wednesday, April 1, from the comfort of your couch for free (or at very low cost).

At noon EST, Tony-nominated playwright Neil LaBute's Ten X Ten series of filmed monologues continues with new pieces performed by To Kill a Mockingbird's Frederick Weller and Maggie Grace from Fear the Walking Dead. Watch them at St. Louis Actors' Studio's website website by using the password stlas-30s.

At 1:30 p.m. EST, This Is Not a Theatre Company presents Play In Your Bathtub: An Immersive Audio Spa for Physical Distancing, a site-specific interactive audio play meant to be experienced from your bathtub. These immersive masters have previously set shows on the Staten Island Ferry and in a swimming pool, but your bathroom is virgin territory! Tickets are free, but donations are appreciated.

At 2 p.m. EST, the original Broadway cast of Wendy Wasserstein's The Heidi Chronicles, including Joan Allen, Peter Friedman, Boyd Gaines and Cynthia Nixon, reunites for a reading of that Pulitzer Prize-winning 1989 play on Stars in the House. It will be the first of many starry play readings, as Seth Rudetsky and James Wesley's Stars in the House becomes Plays in the House every Wednesday and Saturday matinee, with actors performing classic shows. Watch for free on the organization's YouTube channel.

At 3 p.m. EST, legendary jazz pianist and singer Billy Stritch and his Tony-winning BFF/neighbor Linda Lavin continue their series of live online concerts in support of their new album Love Notes, which was just released last week. Their friendship, banter and American Songbook standards feel incredibly soothing in this uncertain time. Watch for free on Billy Stritch's Facebook page.

At 3 p.m. EST, Ballet Hispánico may not be able to celebrate its 50th anniversary at The Joyce Theater this month, but the dancers are still kicking up their heels online with a recording of the 2016 premiere of Annabelle Lopez Ochoa's Línea Recta, followed by a live Q&A. Watch on the company's Facebook page.

At 5 p.m. EST, Schitt’s Creek's Emily Hampshire launches her new weekly online talk show Humpday With Hampshire. Although she's a screen star and her first slate of guests (Queer Eye's Bobby Berk, Sophia Bush from Chicago PD, figure skater Adam Rippon) aren't stage folk, Hampshire is a die-hard musical theatre fan, so we expect that will come into play. Plus, it's for a great cause: The Actors Fund. Watch for free on the organization's YouTube channel.

At 6:30 p.m. EST, cabaret haven Feinstein's/54 Below continues its #54BelowatHome series with a recording of Melissa Errico's concert Funny, I'm a Woman with Children. The Tony nominee sings an eclectic array of songs, from Joni Mitchell to Jerry Herman to Michel Legrand to Sondheim, and shares personal stories about the ups and downs of love, both romantic and familial. Watch for free on Feinstein's/54 Below's YouTube channel.

At 7 p.m. EST, the new live-streamed theatre series Play-PerView presents a reading of Nora Highland starring Broadway's Michael Urie and Tessa Thompson from Thor: Ragnarok. Written by Ryan Spahn (who's also a pretty great actor), the play explores casting gay roles with straight actors. This performance benefits the Broadway Cares COVID-19 Emergency Assistance Fund and Covenant House New York, and tickets for the one-time only event start at $5.

At 7:30 p.m. EST, the Metropolitan Opera shares its 2011 mounting of John Adams' Nixon in China, starring Janis Kelly and James Maddalena, and conducted by Adams. The production was filmed for the company's Live in HD series, and is available to watch for free for 23 hours after the start time at metopera.org. You can still stream yesterday's opera, Il Barbiere di Siviglia, until 6:30 p.m. today.

At 8 p.m. EST, enjoy a Frasier reunion on Stars in the House! Bonus: most of the cast have been on Broadway, including Kelsey Grammer, Jane Leeves, Dan Butler and Tony Award winner David Hyde Pierce. Seth Rudetsky and his husband James Wesley host this twice daily series, which supports The Actors Fund. Watch for free on the organization's YouTube channel.

At 8 p.m. EST, Broadway producer Ken Davenport chats with Cabaret Tony Award winner Alan Cumming on The Producer's Perspective Live!, a daily series of live-streamed interviews about how theatre artists are faring during the shutdown. Catch their candid conversation for free on Davenport's Facebook page.

At 9 p.m. EST, the hilarious Josh Lamon from The Prom turns his podcast Josh Swallows Broadway into a live-streaming event as he welcomes three stars from the gender-swapped revival of Company: Christopher Sieber, Jennifer Simard and Claybourne Elder. Watch it for free on the Broadway Podcast Network's YouTube channel.

Remember to check out our roundup of performances you can watch online anytime.

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

Top image: Michael Urie in Grand Horizons. Photo by Joan Marcus..