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 weekend, Friday, November 5 to Sunday, November 7, for free or at low cost.

Friday, November 5

Bristol Old Vic: Wuthering Heights
On Friday at 3 p.m. ET, the UK's acclaimed Bristol Old Vic is currenting presenting Wuthering Heights in person on stage, but you can also live-stream select performances at home. Visionary theatre-maker Emma Rice (Brief Encounter) is behind this stage adaptation Emily Brontë's epic tragedy about romance gone wrong on the Yorkshire moors. Lucy McCormick and Ash Hunter star as would-be lovers who are forced apart, sparking a brutal chain of pain. Tickets start at £20, approximately $27.

Theater of War Productions: The Oedipus at Colonus Project
On Friday at 7 p.m. ET, Theater of War Productions, a company that uses classical texts to examine contemporary issues, presents a reading of scenes from Oedipus at Colonus, followed by a town hall-style discussion with the audience. Tracie Thoms, David Patrick Kelly, David Denman, Zach Grenier, David Zayas, New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams and others will perform parts of Sophocles' tragedy, and then director-adapter Bryan Doerries will facilitate a conversation about how the play's themes relate to the homeless and refugee crises. Reserve your free ticket on Eventbrite at least an hour in advance.

Saturday, November 6

Bristol Old Vic: Wuthering Heights
On Saturday at 9:30 a.m. and 3 p.m. ET, the UK's acclaimed Bristol Old Vic is currenting presenting Wuthering Heights in person on stage, but you can also live-stream select performances at home. Visionary theatre-maker Emma Rice (Brief Encounter) is behind this stage adaptation Emily Brontë's epic tragedy about romance gone wrong on the Yorkshire moors. Lucy McCormick and Ash Hunter star as would-be lovers who are forced apart, sparking a brutal chain of pain. Tickets start at £20, approximately $27.

Rattlestick Playwrights Theater: In the Southern Breeze
On Saturday at 7:30 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. This weekend catch 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 $35 for both streamed and in-person performances at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater.

Third Rail Projects: Return the Moon
On Saturday at 8 p.m. ET, endlessly inventive immersive theatre company Third Rail Projects (Then She Fell, The Grand Paradise) presents Return the Moon, a live, interactive, created-for-Zoom theatrical experience that uses a fairy tale about the moon as a way to conjure art and community. Conceived and directed by Zach Morris, the 75-minute piece is performed for a small audience who participate in the evening's outcome and even receive a post-performance gift in the mail. Log on ready to share. Tickets start at $15.

Sunday, November 7

Daylight saving time ends, so remember to turn clocks back an hour!

Rattlestick Playwrights Theater: In the Southern Breeze
On 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. This weekend catch 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 $35 for both streamed and in-person performances at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater.

Theater of War Productions: The Antigone Project
On Sunday at 7 p.m. ET, Theater of War Productions, a company that uses classical texts to illuminate contemporary issues, presents The Antigone Project, a Black Lives Matter-infused take on Sophocles' tragedy. Moses Ingram, Bill Camp, Ato Blankson-Wood, Nyasha Hatendi, NYC Public Advocate Jumaane Williams and others will read passages from the play, and then director-adapter Bryan Doerries will facilitate a conversation about racialized violence, police brutality and systemic oppression. Register to receive the free viewing link.

The Seth Concert Series: Krysta Rodriguez
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 Krysta Rodriguez, who's dazzled on screen as Liza Minnelli in Netflix's Halston and as a leading lady spurned in Smash, and appeared on Broadway in the musicals The Addams Family, In the Heights, First Date and both production of Spring Awakening. She's got a thrilling belt, a wicked sense of humor and an incredible story as a breast cancer survivor. Tickets are $25.

All Weekend

New York Theatre Workshop: Sanctuary City
On Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 7 p.m. ET, if you weren't able to see this eye-opening drama by Pulitzer Prize winner Martyna Majok (Cost of Living, queens, Ironbound) during its critically acclaimed Off-Broadway run, you can now stream Sanctuary City at home. Like many of Majok's previous plays, Sanctuary City focuses on the struggles of undocumented immigrants as two teenage friends try to figure out how to forge a future in an unforgiving country. Olivier Award winner Rebecca Frecknall directs Jasai Chase-Owens, Sharlene Cruz and Austin Smith in this piercing piece, which unfolds in an unexpected, nonlinear way. Tickets start at $30.

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.

The Shed: November
Claudia Rankine's buzzy play Help had just started previews at The Shed when the shutdown hit. So during the pandemic, she transformed the piece into a short film titled November. Real-life exchanges Rankine had with white men in public spaces are reenacted by five Black women, Zora Howard, Tiffany Rachelle Stewart, Crystal Dickinson, April Matthis and Melanie Nicholls-King, examining how privilege impacts the way one navigates the world. A fusion of stage and cinema, November was filmed at The Shed, with Taibi Magar directing the actors on stage and Phillip Youmans behind the camera. It's a great primer for Help, which will finally get a full run at The Shed next spring. Register to receive the free viewing link; the recording is viewable until Sunday, November 14.

The Wilma Theater: Minor Character
Philadelphia's Wilma Theater presents Minor Character, devised theatre company New Saloon's dizzying reinvention of a Chekhov classic. Subtitled "Six Translations of Uncle Vanya at the Same Time," the production was filmed on stage with four cameras in front of a live audience. Tickets are $29 and the recording is viewable until Sunday,. Captions are available and you can order an audio described version, too.

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 fuses 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.

FRIGID New York: Gotham Storytelling Festival
FRIGID New York continues its hybrid season of in-person performances at the Kraine Theater that are also live-streamed to at-home audiences. This weekend, catch compelling tales at the Gotham Storytelling Festival. There are different offerings every evening, including 10-minute shorts on Friday at 7 p.m.; awkward stories about adolescence on Saturday at 7 p.m.; and Keith Alessi's solo show Tomatoes Tried to Kill Me but Banjos Saved My Life on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. ET. Tickets are pay-what-you-wish.

Theater Three Collaborative: Blue Valiant
After a successful Zoom reading during the pandemic, Theater Three Collaborative decided to stage Karen Malpede's moving drama Blue Valiant at Pennsylvania's outdoor Farm Arts Collective starring the invaluable Kathleen Chalfant. Filmed live on that alfresco stage, this story of trauma and healing centers on a lonely woman, a wild horse and a refugee child thrown together by circumstance and the unexpected bonds they forge. Watch for free until Sunday, November 28 on Theater Three Collaborative's YouTube channel though donations are encouraged.

Vineyard Theatre: Fall Forward Festival
During the shutdown, the Vineyard Theatre commissioned five artists to create new boundary-breaking theatre. The resulting works will debut throughout the fall and two are available to experience this weekend. Aunt Lillian is an audio musical comedy by the wonderful Kirsten Childs (Bella: An American Tall Tale, The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin). Based on her own childhood memories, the short is inspired by her real-life aunt, who traveled from North Carolina to Los Angeles to help care for Childs and her siblings. Maybe Dorothy Was Right is a short film by celebrated playwright-performer Ngozi Anyanwu exploring the neighborhoods and theatres that have been part of her NYC journey. Alfonso Johnson directs. Both offerings are available for free on the Vineyard's website though you need to create a log in.

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: The Plague
Philadelphia's Lantern Theater Company presents The Plague, Neil Bartlett's adaptation of Albert Camus' existentialist classic La Peste about a disease upending a city. Talk about timely! Charles McMahon directs this production, which was filmed live on stage this past summer. Tickets are $20 and the recording is viewable until Sunday, November 21.

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, November 21.

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

Top image: Broadway and TV star Krysta Rodriguez, who's performing a live-streamed concert on Sunday night.