TDF Stages

With in-person theatre out of commission for the foreseeable future, many performers are sharing their talents online. Below are performances you can watch today, Tuesday, April 14, from the comfort of your couch for free (or at very low cost).

A few weeks ago Dave Malloy, the Tony-nominated creator of Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812, posted a full-length recording of the 2015 mounting of his musical Ghost Quartet on YouTube. Now he's sharing another one from his archives, the original 2011 Shotgun Players production of Beardo, which he describes as "a surreal retelling of the Rasputin myth." Clearly Russia is his muse. Watch it for FREE on Vimeo.

At 2 p.m. EST, Seth Rudetsky and James Wesley welcome Will & Grace cutup and Tony nominee Sean Hayes to Stars in the House. Expect fun stories and hopefully a couple of songs as Hayes has great pipes. This twice daily series supports The Actors Fund, and you can watch for free on the organization's YouTube channel.

At 3 p.m. EST, Carnegie Hall kicks off its new live-streaming series with Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt star Tituss Burgess, who started out on Broadway (The Little Mermaid, Guys & Dolls). The four-time Emmy nominee will discuss the overlap among musical theatre, opera and pop, and croon a few tunes with special guests Jason Robert Brown (songwriter of Parade and The Bridges of Madison County) and diva Angel Blue (Bess in the Metropolitan Opera's Porgy & Bess). Watch for free on Carnegie Hall's Facebook page.

At 3:30 p.m. EST, the U.K.-based digital platform The Bonfire presents a live concert by up-and-coming musical theatre writers performing songs from their homes. Today's lineup includes Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss, whose Six was poised to open on Broadway the day the shutdown was announced, as well as sci-fi folkster Andrew R. Butler (Rags Parkland Sings the Songs of the Future) and Max Vernon (The View UpStairs, KPOP). Watch for free on The Bonfire's website.

At 4 p.m. EST, watch a recording of Florida Repertory Theatre's production of A Doll's House, Part 2, which was forced to close early due to the current health crisis. Lucas Hnath's unauthorized and searing sequel to Henrik Ibsen's landmark play was a Broadway hit two seasons ago. Tickets are available to purchase from the theatre but TDF members get a discount. 

At 6 p.m. EST, catch the fifth installment of The 24 Hour Plays: Viral Monologues, a six-hour series of solos about how we're living today. Every 15 minutes from 6 p.m. until midnight, well-known actors—including Maya Hawke, Stephanie Hsu, Alex Moffat, Javier Muñoz, Larry Owens, Pedro Pascal, David Hyde Pierce, AnnaSophia Robb and Tony Shalhoub—will perform tailor-made monologues, all penned and filmed within the last 24 hours. Participating playwrights include Pulitzer Prize winners David Auburn and David Lindsay-Abaire, as well as Off-Broadway favorites Talene Monahon, Mac Rogers and Leah Nanako Winkler. Watch on Instagram at instagram.com/24hourplays.

At 7 p.m. EST, go avant-garde with Café La MaMa Live: Take 2, a smorgasbord of short performances that experiment with form. This week, curator Pearse Redmond brings together puppet master Jane Catherine Shaw, songwriters Molly Reisman & Clayton Briggs, Gilberto Flores and Diana Pau. Watch for free on La MaMa's website, though donations are encouraged.

At 7:30 p.m. EST, the Metropolitan Opera shares its 2010 mounting of Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov, starring Starring René Pape, and conducted by Valery Gergiev. 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, Rusalka, until 6:30 p.m. today.

At 8 p.m. EST, it's a Glee reunion on Stars in the House as hosts Seth Rudetsky and James Wesley welcome Darren Criss, Matthew Morrison, Jane Lynch, Jenna Ushkowitz, Chris Colfer, Amber Riley and Kevin McHale. We can't wait to hear what they'll sing! We're hoping Riley gives us a taste of her critically acclaimed West End Dreamgirls performance. This twice daily series supports The Actors Fund, and you can watch for free on the organization's YouTube channel.

At 8 p.m. EST, one of the most acclaimed regional theatres in the country, the Actors Theatre of Louisville, shares a recording of Where the Mountain Meets the Sea by lauded playwright Jeff Augustin (Little Children Dream of God at Roundabout Theatre Company, The New Englanders at Manhattan Theatre Club) with songs by The Bengsons (Hundred Days). An exploration of the complicated relationship between a Haitian immigrant and his American-born son, the show was commissioned by the theatre for its Humana Festival of New American Plays. Tickets are available to purchase from the theatre but TDF members get a discount.

At 8 p.m. EST, Actors Theatre of Louisville shares a recording of Are You There?, a trio of new short works about socializing in the digital age that were commissioned for its annual Humana Festival of New American Plays. Tickets are available to purchase from the theatre but TDF members get a discount.

London's National Theatre is sharing its mounting of Jane Erye, based on Charlotte Brontë's beloved novel. A co-production with Bristol Old Vic, the three-hour play was recorded for the National's NT Live series, and is available for free on the theatre's YouTube page anytime through Wednesday, April 15.

London's Hampstead Theatre continues its #HampsteadTheatreAtHome series with a recording of its 2013 production of Drawing the Line, Harold Brenton's historical epic about the behind-the-scenes drama leading to the world-changing Partition of India in 1947. Watch it for free anytime on the company's website through Sunday, April 19.

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

Top image: Tituss Burgess. Photo by Jeff Mills.