TDF Stages

With in-person theatre still a rarity for the time being, many companies and performers from Broadway and beyond are showcasing their work online. Below are performances you can watch this Monday, May 24 and Tuesday, May 25, from the comfort of your couch for free or at low cost.

Monday, May 24

iHeartDance NYC
On Monday at 5 and 7 p.m. ET, iHeartDance NYC presents a pair of in-person performances on the roof of the Empire Hotel that will also be streamed to at-home viewers. The lineup includes dancers from American Ballet Theatre, Dance Theatre of Harlem, New York City Ballet and Broadway performing pieces in honor of the late, great Ann Reinking. Tickets are $50 but if you're a TDF member, log in to your account to purchase them at a discount. Proceeds benefit dancers in need.

Broadway's Future Songbook Series: Songs by NYU Tisch Department of Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Students
On Monday at 5:30 p.m. ET, the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts presents a concert of brand-new songs by students in NYU Tisch's prestigious Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program. Alums include A Strange Loop creator Michael R. Jackson, who won the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for that musical. So expect to hear lots of exciting up-and-coming voices. Register to receive the free viewing link.

The Town Hall: Broadway by the Year: The Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber Years
On Monday at 7 p.m. ET, cabaret impresario Scott Siegel reinvents his Broadway by the Year series for digital consumption with a concert of songs by Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber. Tony nominees Liz Callaway, Ethan Slater, Max von Essen and more Broadway vets will perform numbers from The Phantom of the Opera, Cats, Evita, Sunset Boulevard and other musicals by the popular composer. Tickets are $30 but if you're a TDF member, log in to your account to purchase them at a discount.

Soho Rep Gala
On Monday at 7 p.m. ET, NYC's Soho Rep., a groundbreaking company dedicated to developing new plays, presents a starry virtual gala. Amber Tamblyn hosts and the lineup of artists includes stage favorites Uzo Aduba, Jocelyn Bioh, Cynthia Erivo, Marin Ireland, Hansol Jung, Raja Feather Kelly, Questlove, Roslyn Ruff, Jackie Sibblies Drury and Heather Alicia Simms. Tickets are pay-what-you-wish.

The Metropolitan Opera: Thaïs
On Monday at 7:30 p.m. ET, the Metropolitan Opera presents John Cox's 2008 mounting of Massenet's rarely staged Thaïs, about a taboo attraction between Renée Fleming's title courtesan and Thomas Hampson's monk. Watch for free for 23 hours after the start time on the Metropolitan Opera's website. You can still stream yesterday's opera, The Queen of Spades, until 6:30 p.m. ET today.

Jim Caruso's Pajama Cast Party
On Monday at 8 p.m. ET, cabaret maven Jim Caruso welcomes renowned singers and up-and-comers at Pajama Cast Party, a live-streamed version of his popular weekly Cast Party gatherings that have taken place at Birdland for years. Tonight's lineup includes former Celtic Women member Alex Sharpe, tap dancer Lamont Brown and soul singer Loren Smith. Watch for free on YouTube though tips via the Venmo app are appreciated.

FourthWall Theatrical: This American Wife
On Monday at 8 p.m. ET, Tony-nominated Slave Play playwright Jeremy O. Harris is one of the producers of this virtual reimagining of This American Wife, created by his Yale School of Drama pals Michael Breslin and Patrick Foley, the duo behind the digital smash Circle Jerk. Like that production, This American Wife is also a live Internet show as Breslin, Foley and Jakeem Dante Powell present an amusing multimedia meditation on theReal Housewives phenomenon and its cultural influence. Tickets start at $25.

Company of Fools: Gruesome Playground Injuries
On Monday at 8 p.m. ET, Company of Fools presents an in-person production of Gruesome Playground Injuries, which will also be streamed to at-home viewers. Written by Tony nominee Rajiv Joseph (Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo) and directed by TDF's own Tyler Riley, this two-hander chronicles the 30-year relationship between a dysfunctional pair of pals, who are bonded by pain and suffering. Tickets are $30 but if you're a TDF member, log in to your account to purchase them at a discount.

Tuesday, May 25

The Vineyard Theatre: Brutal Imagination
On Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET, 20 years after Cornelius Eady's Brutal Imagination premiered at The Vineyard Theatre, the play returns with original stars Joe Morton and Sally Murphy. Directed by Morton, the drama is inspired by the infamous case of Susan Smith, a white woman from South Carolina who falsely claimed that a Black man kidnapped her children when, in fact, she had drowned them. A potent examination of dangerous racial stereotyping in America, then and now. Tickets start at $25 but if you're a TDF member, log in to your account to purchase them at a discount. The recording is viewable until Monday, June 7.

Lincoln Center Theater: A Celebration of Student Songs
On Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET, Lincoln Center Theater presents A Celebration of Student Songs, a concert showcasing numbers written by New York City public school students who were mentored by professional musical theatre composers and lyricists. Miguel Cervantes hosts the evening, and Broadway vets Vincent Jamal Hooper, Ashley D. Kelley, Zachary Noah Piser and Courtney Reed perform these new tunes. Register to receive the free viewing link. The recording is viewable until Sunday, June 20.

The Metropolitan Opera: Prince Igor
On Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. ET, the Metropolitan Opera presents Dmitri Tcherniakov's 2008 production of Prince Igor, Borodin's Russian epic about the title tormented prince (Ildar Abdrazakov) who leads his army against the Polovtsians. Oksana Dyka, Anita Rachvelishvili, Sergey Semishkur, Mikhail Petrenko and Štefan Kocán costar. Watch for free for 23 hours after the start time on the Metropolitan Opera's website. You can still stream yesterday's opera, Thaïs, until 6:30 p.m. ET today.

Stars in the House: Here Lies Love Reunion
On Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET, it's a Here Lies Love reunion on Stars in the House! Jose Llana, who played President of the Philippines Ferdinand Marcos in the smash rock musical at New York's Public Theater, guest hosts and welcomes his fellow castmates Ruthie Ann Miles, Conrad Ricamora, Melody Butiu, Jeigh Madjus, Maria-Christina Oliveras, Kelvin Moon Loh, Jaygee Macapugay and Renée Albulario. Watch for free on YouTube though donations to The Actors Fund are encouraged.

Available to Watch Both Days

The York Theatre Company: Georgie: My Adventures With George Rose
The York Theatre Company presents Georgie: My Adventures With George Rose, Broadway vet Ed Dixon's award-winning solo show about his complicated friendship with George Rose, the charming Tony-winning star of My Fair Lady and The Mystery of Edwin Drood who turned out to have a terrifying dark side. This is a recording of the play's critically acclaimed Off-Broadway run in 2017, which was filmed at The Davenport Theatre. Tickets are $25 and the recording is viewable until Sunday, July 18.

The Joyce Theater: Tap Family Reunion
Chelsea dance haven The Joyce continues its digital season with a Tap Family Reunion featuring three titans of tap, Dormeshia, Jason Samuels Smith and Derick K. Grant, in The Mayor of Harlem, a celebration of Bill ""Bojangles"" Robinson's birthday and National Tap Dance Day. Tickets are $25 but if you're a TDF member, log in to your account to purchase them at a discount. The recording is viewable until Thursday, June 3.

Metropolitan Opera Stars Live in Concert: Three Divas
On Saturday the Metropolitan Opera presented a trio of powerhouse vocalists in a live recital from the Royal Opera of Versailles in France, and you can watch a recording this week. Accompanied by piano and guitar, sopranos Ailyn Pérez and Nadine Sierra and mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard sing selections from Gounod's Roméo et Juliette, Mozart's Don Giovanni and Le Nozze di Figaro, Offenbach's Les Contes d'Hoffmann, Bellini's Norma and other beloved operas. Tickets are $20 and the recording is viewable until Friday, June 4.

The Tank: Capricorn 29
Indie theatre incubator The Tank presents Capricorn 29, a new hour-long musical by Alex Hare and Julia Izumia about a millennial on the cusp of 29 who uncovers a secret plot by the powers that be to eliminate unsuccessful 30-year-olds. A tuneful skewering of the arbitrary nature of age-based milestones, this show features songs by Laura Galindo, brothers Daniel and Patrick Lazour, Stompcat and Storm Thomas. Tickets start at $10 and the recording is viewable until Sunday.

Lar Lubovitch Dance Company
Tony-nominated choreographer Lar Lubovitch presents a digital program of highlights from three of his seminal works: the duet from Concerto Six Twenty-Two performed by his eponymous dance company; Othello danced by San Francisco Ballet; and The Planets, created for an ensemble of ice-skaters and dancers. RSVP to receive the free viewing link. The recording is viewable until Sunday.

Theatre Project: Scenes From 73* Years
Baltimore's Theatre Project and the Medina Theater Collective present Scenes From 73* Years, Hannah Khalil's portrait of the people of Palestine, based on real-life accounts from the playwright's family and friends. Najla Said and Rohina Malik codirected this digital production. Tickets are $20 and the recording is viewable until Sunday, June 20.

---

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

Top image: Tony nominee Ethan Slater, who's one of the Broadway stars performing in Broadway by the Year: The Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber Years on Monday evening.