TDF Stages

In-person theatre is back in NYC, both on Broadway and beyond. So we'll be phasing out these streaming roundups soon as more shows (re)open. Below are performances you can watch online this weekend, Friday, September 17 to Sunday, September 19, for free or at low cost.

Friday, September 17

Third Rail Projects: Return the Moon
On Friday 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.

PBS: Matthew Bourne's The Red Shoes
On Friday at 9 p.m. ET, PBS Great Performances presents Matthew Bourne's Olivier Award-winning stage adaptation of the legendary 1948 movie The Red Shoes, based on the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale of the same name. An eye-popping examination of obsession, possession and the hard choices artists make in their pursuit of perfection, the production stars Ashley Shaw as a rising ballerina torn between Adam Cooper's imperious impresario and Dominic North's intense composer. The dance production was filmed live on stage at Sadler's Wells Theatre in London. Watch for free on TV on PBS Thirteen or stream it until Friday October 15 on PBS' website.

El Centro del Sur Latinx Theater Festival: From the Works of John Leguizamo From East Coast to East Los
On Friday at 10 p.m. ET, in honor of National Hispanic Heritage Month, LA's A Place Called Home presents El Centro del Sur Latinx Theater Festival featuring six plays, each mounted by a local company. Tonight, catch students from East Los Angeles College's Theater Arts Department performing monologues from John Leguizamo's celebrated solo shows Spic-O-Rama and Mambo Mouth. Register to receive the free viewing link. Spanish subtitles are available.

Saturday, September 18

Live from Feinstein's/54 Below: Beth Leavel: It's Not About Me
On Saturday at 7 p.m. ET, even though Feinstein's/54 Below has reopened for in-person performances, the swanky cabaret club is continuing to stream select shows live from its stage. Tonight, catch one of Broadway's biggest and best belters, Beth Leavel, in a live concert that actually is all about her and her illustrious career. Beloved for her Tony-winning turn as the pickled title character in The Drowsy Chaperone and her show-stopping performance as the deliciously narcissistic diva Dee Dee Allen in The Prom, Leavel shares high and lowlights from her 30-plus-years on Broadway, including hilarious backstage tales about the roles she's played, the ones that got away and the parts yet to come. We're hoping she'll give fans a sneak peek at her take on Miranda Priestly in the upcoming musical The Devil Wears Prada). Tickets are $25. If you prefer to attend in person, click here for info.

Play-PerView: The Medievalists
On Saturday at 8 p.m. ET, Play-PerView presents a live reading of The Medievalists, a new comedy by Mystery Science Theater 3000 writer Bill Corbett about a history scholar who has a meltdown on the set of the campy TV series adapted from his work. The cast includes TV stars Paget Brewster (Criminal Minds), Jason Ritter (Parenthood) and Rhea Seehorn (Better Call Saul), and NYC stage stalwart James Urbaniak (Thom Pain (based on nothing), The Rivals on Broadway) as the irascible academic. Casey Stangl directs. Tickets start at $10 and net proceeds benefit the Vidiots Foundation.

El Centro del Sur Latinx Theater Festival: Lolo
On Saturday at 10 p.m. ET, in honor of National Hispanic Heritage Month, LA's A Place Called Home presents El Centro del Sur Latinx Theater Festival featuring six plays, each mounted by a local company. Tonight, Company of Angels presents Lolo, about a college student forced to return home when her father dies. Will she stay and help run the family auto shop, or continue on her own path? Register to receive the free viewing link. Spanish subtitles are available.

All Weekend

Ian McKellen on Stage
Enjoy a glorious two and a half hours with the incomparable Ian McKellen as he shares behind-the-scenes stories about his incredible career on stage and screen, as well as excerpts from some of his legendary performances in this solo tour de force. Directed by Sean Mathias and recorded live on stage by London's National Theatre, this enchanting reminiscence includes recreations of scenes from Shakespeare as well as The Lord of the Rings. The man's got range! Tickets are $30 and a portion of the proceeds will be donated to theatres. The recording is viewable until Sunday, October 3.

Oregon Shakespeare Festival: Water by the Spoonful
Oregon Shakespeare Festival presents its critically acclaimed production of Water by the Spoonful, Quiara Alegría Hudes' Pulitzer Prize-winning play about a Puerto Rican Iraq War veteran in Philadelphia, whose struggles, including PTSD and a neglectful mother, upend a cyber community of recovering addicts. Filmed live on stage at the celebrated theatre in 2014. Tickets are $15 and the recording is viewable until Saturday, September 25.

Barrington Stage Company: Harriet Harris in Eleanor
Massachusetts' Barrington Stage Company presents an encore stream of Tony winner Harriet Harris in Eleanor, an evocative bio play by Mark St. Germain about former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. While Harris is best known for her comedic performances (the villains in Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella and Thoroughly Modern Millie on Broadway), she has a lot of experience getting inside Eleanor's more serious skin: She already portrayed the feminist icon on Netflix's Hollywood and in the TV series Atlantic Crossing. Henry Stram directs. Tickets are $25.

Irish Repertory Theatre: Angela's Ashes: The Musical
NYC's venerable Irish Rep presents Angela's Ashes: The Musical, a stage adaptation of Frank McCourt's beloved memoir about his colorful but challenging upbringing in Ireland dealing with his drunken father, depressive mother, pompous priests and bullying schoolmasters. With songs by Adam Howell and a book by Paul Hurt, this musical debuted in Ireland in 2017 starring Jacinta Whyte as the title character and Eoin Cannon as McCourt. That production was recorded live on stage and Irish Rep presents its North American debut. Tickets are $30 and the recording is viewable until Wednesday.

Amazon Prime Video: Everybody's Talking About Jamie
Inspired by the 2011 television documentary Jamie: Drag Queen at 16, Everybody's Talking About Jamie is an uplifting coming-of-age musical about an adolescent who, despite adversity, dreams of a fabulous life in spiked heels. With music by Dan Gillespie Sells and a book and lyrics by Tom MacRae, the show was a smash on the West End and is now a movie that can be streamed on Amazon. Max Harwood stars as the title diva, with Lauren Patel as his BFF, Sarah Lancashire as his supportive mom and the invaluable Richard E. Grant as his mentor. It's a familiar yet feel-good tale overflowing with glamour and glitter. Amazon Prime subscribers can watch for free anytime online. If you don't have Amazon Prime, you can get a free trial.

New Georges: Future Wife: Party in A Spreadsheet
On Friday at 4 and 7 p.m.; Saturday at noon and Sunday at 4 p.m. ET, if you enjoy experiments that push the boundaries of theatre, then New Georges's live online show is for you. Cocreated by Ruth Tang and Sarah Blush, Future Wife: Party in A Spreadsheet actually unfolds in a shared digital spreadsheet, as a wedding goes awry and turns violent. Still have no idea what to expect? That's the point! You've definitely never experienced anything like this. RSVP to receive the free viewing link.

Lantern Theater Company: Me and the Devil
Renaissance man Steve H. Broadnax III, who's poised to make 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, October 17.

Jacob's Pillow: Ballet Coast to Coast
The Berkshires' lauded Jacob's Pillow dance festival resumed in-person performances this summer, but select events are also being streamed to at-home audiences. For its final 2021 offering, catch leading artists from Boston Ballet, Houston Ballet and Pacific Northwest Ballet in a program of solos and group pieces, which was recorded live on stage earlier this season. RSVP to receive the free viewing link though donations are encouraged. The recording is viewable until Thursday at 6 p.m. ET.

New York Theatre Workshop: Semblance
Last month, Off Broadway's invaluable New York Theatre Workshop reopened with Semblance, a filmed theatrical experience by Obie-winning writer-director Whitney White examining how Black women are perceived. Now a streaming version of the show is available, challenging viewers to consider how they see and interact with Black women. Nikiya Mathis (Skeleton Crew) embodies all the characters. Tickets are $10 and the recording is viewable until Sunday, October 24.

Rattlestick Playwrights Theater: Ni Mi Madre
On Friday 2 and 7:30 p.m., 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. First up is Arturo Luís Soria's autobiographically inspired solo show Ni Mi Madre, about the complex relationship between an over-the-top Brazilian woman and her queer son as they grapple with identity and what it means to be an immigrant family in America. Tickets are usually $40 for both streamed and in-person performances at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, although Friday's 2 p.m. ET performance is pay-what-you-wish.

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

Top image: Ashley Shaw in Matthew Bourne's stage adaptation of The Red Shoes, which airs on PBS this weekend. Photo by Johan Persson.