TDF Stages

In-person theatre is back in NYC, both on Broadway and beyond. But there are still wonderful shows to stream at home. Below are performances you can watch online this Thanksgiving weekend, Thursday, November 25 to Sunday, November 28, for free or at low cost.

Thursday, November 25

Broadway Musicals at Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
On Thursday at 9 a.m. ET, although Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is back in person, if you want to see the Broadway musical performances you still need to watch from home as they're done in a restricted viewing area. This year's lineup includes numbers from NBC's upcoming Annie Live!, Broadway's Moulin Rouge!, SIX and Wicked, and eye-popping synchronized dancing by the Radio City Rockettes. Other stage stars to spot during the spectacle include Kristin Chenoweth, Darren Criss and Jordan Fisher from Dear Evan Hansen. Watch for free on NBC TV. If you're up for flipping channels, CBS' telecast will include performances by the Broadway casts of Chicago and Waitress inside the TV studio.

Friday, November 26

New York City Ballet: George Balanchine's The Nutcracker
Starting at noon ET on Friday, November 26: Even though New York City Ballet's Christmas classic The Nutcracker is back on stage at Lincoln Center, you can also stream George Balanchine's legendary version of Tchaikovsky's fantastical ballet at home this holiday season. Recorded in 2019 during NYCB's annual engagement, this production stars NYCB principal dancers Maria Kowroski as the Sugarplum Fairy, Tyler Angle as her Cavalier and Megan Fairchild as Dewdrop. A lavish production with gorgeous sets and costumes, it's a must-see for dance lovers. Tickets are $20 and the recording is viewable until Sunday, January 2, 2022.

PBS: Coppelia
Starting at 9 p.m. ET on Friday, PBS Great Performances presents a high-tech reinvention of the classic ballet Coppelia, with Doctor Coppelius trying to steal a human heart to bring his perfect woman to life. Inspired by a 2008 stage mounting by the Dutch National Ballet, this performance is a fusion of live dance and animation starring international ballet stars Michaela DePrince, Daniel Camargo, Darcey Bussell and Irek Mukhamedov performing Ted Brandsen's choreography. Watch for free until Sunday on PBS' website.

Saturday, November 27

Isabelle Huppert in The Glass Menagerie
On Saturday at 2 p.m. ET, renowned French actress Isabelle Huppert is currently starring in Ivo van Hove's mounting of The Glass Menagerie at Théâtre de l'Odéon in Paris. But this afternoon's performance will also be live-streamed to at-home audiences. Presented in French with English subtitles, this production of Tennessee Williams' landmark memory play has been radically reimagined by its visionary director. Tickets are €12.50, approximately $14.

Sunday, November 28

St. Ann's Warehouse: Medicine
On Sunday at 5 p.m. ET, Brooklyn's St. Ann's Warehouse is currently presenting the in-person NYC premiere of Medicine, but tonight's performance will also be live-streamed to at-home audiences. Written and directed by Tony winner Enda Walsh (Once), this absurdly comic tale centers on a man desperately trying to make sense of his childhood memories through drama therapy—but those assigned to help him seem more interested in putting on a show. This critically acclaimed UK transfer stars Domhnall Gleeson (Star Wars, Ex Machina) as the pitiful patient, with Clare Barrett and Aoife Duffin as his kooky therapists. Tickets are $31.

National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene: ESN: Songs from the Kitchen Chanukah Edition
On Sunday at 6 p.m. ET, in honor of the Festival of Lights, which begins at sundown, the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene presents a Hanukkah edition of ESN: Songs from the Kitchen, a celebration of Jewish food through music and cooking demos. The prerecorded performance features Yiddish singer Sarah Mina Gordon, and Sir Frank London and Lorin Sklamberg from The Klezmatics. Watch for free on Folksbiene's website until Monday, December 6, the final night of the holiday. English and Yiddish subtitles are available.

The Seth Concert Series: Leslie Kritzer
On Sunday at 8 p.m. ET, even though show-tune savant Seth Rudetsky is back doing shows in person, he hasn't completely abandoned the virtual realm. In fact, he's relaunched his weekly live-streamed concert series! Tonight his guest is Leslie Kritzer, a scene-stealer on Broadway and beyond, beloved for her hilarious performances in Beetlejuice and The Robber Bridegroom, as well as a more melancholy turn in A Catered Affair. She's also known for channeling Patti LuPone in her award-winning solo show Leslie Kritzer Is Patti LuPone at Les Mouches. Expect numbers from her career as well as personal favorites and, we suspect, a Hanukkah celebration since it is the first of eight nights! Tickets are $25.

All Weekend

Showtime: The Humans
Playwright Stephen Karam adapts and directs his Tony-winning play The Humans for the screen. Three generations of Eric Blake's family gather for Thanksgiving at his younger daughter's apartment in lower Manhattan. But what starts out as familiar family dysfunction soon takes an eerie turn as they face their deepest fears. Jayne Houdyshell reprises her Tony-winning performance alongside new cast members Richard Jenkins, Amy Schumer, Steven Yeun, Beanie Feldstein and June Squibb. Showtime subscribers can watch for free or you can try a 30-day free trial.

Sing Out for Freedom: The Sound of Progress
On Monday, the ACLU presented a live benefit concert at NYC's Town Hall filled with stage favorites, and you can watch a recording all weekend. Head Over Heels and RuPaul's Drag Race star Peppermint hosts the evening, which includes performances by Tony winners Laura Benanti, Celia Keenan-Bolger and Nikki M. James, celebrated tap dancer Ayodele Casel, singer-songwriter Shaina Taub, and Broadway vets Judy Kuhn, Arian Moayed and Lauren Molina. Watch for free online though donations are encouraged.

New Victory Theater: Generation Rise
NYC's premier theatre for young audiences, the New Victory, reopened its doors earlier this month with Generation Rise, a play for teens by teens about what it was like graduating high school during the pandemic. A half dozen NYC adolescents share their real-life stories of surviving 2020, although due to vaccination mandates, a few are played by actors. It's a powerful and relatable debrief on what high schoolers went through, from remote learning to calls for racial justice to tremendous personal loss. Tickets are $25 and the recording is viewable until Sunday.

Estella Scrooge: A Christmas Carol with a Twist
Recorded in 2020 during the shutdown, this musical modern-day take on the old Christmas chestnut comes from John Caird and Paul Gordon, the team behind Broadway's Jane Eyre, and incorporates popular characters and plot lines from multiple Charles Dickens' novels. Betsy Wolfe (Waitress) is the title character, a ruthless real estate mogul, who heads to her hometown for the holidays to foreclose on a hotel for the homeless run by her childhood sweetheart, Philip "Pip" Nickleby (Clifton Duncan). But soon three spirits arrive to scare her sweet. Jagged Little Pill Tony winner Lauren Patten, Moulin Rouge! Tony winner Danny Burstein and Hadestown's Patrick Page costar. Tickets start at $15 and the recording is viewable until Monday, January 31, 2022.

Rattlestick Playwrights Theater: In the Southern Breeze
On Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday at 4 p.m. ET, NYC's acclaimed Rattlestick Playwrights Theater is presenting a hybrid season, with its productions performed in person but also streamed to at-home audiences. The company's current show is Mansa Ra's poetic premiere In the Southern Breeze, about a Black man whose existential crisis magically catapults him back through centuries of racially charged history to reveal the struggles he continues to face today. Christopher D. Betts directs the play, which is billed as "an autobiographical fever dream." Tickets are $40 for both streamed and in-person performances, except for Friday which is pay-what-you-wish.

All Arts: MasterVoices: Myths and Hymns
Earlier this year, MasterVoices premiered a digital reimagining of the four-part theatrical song cycle Myths and Hymns by Light in the Piazza Tony winner Adam Guettel. Inspired by Greek myths and 19th-century Presbyterian hymns, the 1998 work explores the nature of faith and longing in our secular society. All Arts is now streaming all four chapters of this multimedia musical featuring a slew of Broadway stars including Norm Lewis, Kelli O'Hara, Renée Fleming, Joshua Henry, Shoshana Bean, Daniel Breaker and Jennifer Holliday. Watch for free on All Arts' website.

Donmar Warehouse: Constellations
London's acclaimed Donmar Warehouse presents Nick Payne's Constellations, a time-bending two-hander that explores the notion of the multiverse by replaying key moments in one couple's romance. Michael Longhurst, who helmed the play on Broadway, directed this production, which was filmed on stage with four different casts alternating in this trippy tale. The pairings are Sheila Atim and Ivanno Jeremiah; Peter Capaldi and Zoë Wanamaker; Omari Douglas and Russell Tovey; and Anna Maxwell Martin and Chris O'Dowd. Tickets are £15 for each cast, approximately $21. Or you can watch all four for £40, approximately $55. The recording is viewable until Monday, November 29, and captions and audio description are available. You must create a Donmar Warehouse account to watch.

HERE Arts Center: 9000 Paper Balloons
HERE Arts Center presents 9000 Paper Balloons, a stunning new multimedia piece inspired by the hard-to-believe secret weapons used by Japan against the US during World War II. Created by Japanese artist Maiko Kikuchi and American puppeteer Spencer Lott, the surreal performance weaves puppetry, animation and masks into a historical tale that also encompasses their own family stories. Tickets start at $10 and the recording is viewable until Friday, December 31.

All Arts: 20 Years of Asian American Playwriting
All Arts presents the new documentary 20 Years of Asian American Playwriting featuring interviews with some of the most exciting dramatists working today, including M. Butterfly Tony winner David Henry Hwang, Young Jean Lee, Mike Lew, Lauren Yee and Qui Nguyen. Ralph B. Peña, the artistic director of Ma-Yi Theater Company, created this must-watch chronicle. Watch for free on All Arts' website. Captions and audio description are available.

Center Theatre Group: Chavez Ravine: In 9 Innings
Los Angeles' Center Theatre Group presents Chavez Ravine: In 9 Innings, a virtual reimagining of a 2003 play about the small, tight-knit LA neighborhood that was razed so Dodger Stadium could rise. Devised by the collective Culture Clash, this digital production features scenes from the original script filmed at LA's Kirk Douglas Theatre and on location around the city, incorporating music, archival videos and photos, and new interviews. Tickets are $20 and the recording is viewable until Monday, December 6.

Lantern Theater Company: Me and the Devil
Renaissance man Steve H. Broadnax III, who's currently making his Broadway debut as the director of Thoughts of a Colored Man, cowrote, costars and helms Me and the Devil, a new play with music about blues great Robert Johnson. According to legend, the guitarist, singer and songwriter made a deal with the Devil for his talents. Broadnax plays Lucifer and Lawrence Stallings is his mark in this show, which finds Johnson trying to extract himself from the contract to save his soul. Tickets are $20 and the recording is viewable until Sunday, February 27, 2022.

---

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

Top image: Maria Kowroski as the Sugarplum Fairy in New York City Ballet's production of George Balanchine's The Nutcracker, which begins streaming on Friday. Photo by Erin Baiano.