TDF Stages

With in-person theatre still a rarity, many companies and performers from Broadway and beyond are showcasing their work online. Below are performances you can watch this Fourth of July weekend, Friday, July 2 to Monday, July 5, for free or at low cost.

Friday, July 2

Patrick Page in All the Devils Are Here
It's your last chance to catch Hadestown Tony nominee Patrick Page in his solo show All the Devils Are Here, an exploration of Shakespeare's villains. A medley of scenes and monologues that trace the evolution of the Bard's baddies, the one-person play was originally presented in 2017. This production was filmed during the shutdown at Washington, DC's Shakespeare Theatre Company on the same stage where Page previously played Prospero, Coriolanus, Iago and Macbeth. 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 Saturday.

The Metropolitan Opera: Nixon in China
On Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET, the Metropolitan Opera presents Nixon in China, John Adams' examination of President Nixon's controversial 1972 visit with Chairman Mao in Beijing. This 2011 mounting was staged by Peter Sellars and choreographed by Mark Morris, with James Maddalena as Nixon and Robert Brubaker as Mao. Watch for free for 23 hours after the start time on the Metropolitan Opera's website. You can still stream yesterday's opera, Satyagraha, until 6:30 p.m. ET today.

Saturday, July 3

The Metropolitan Opera: Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny
On Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET, the Metropolitan Opera shares a gem from its vaults: John Dexter's thrilling staging of Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny, Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht's political satire about a logger (Richard Cassilly), who comes upon the city of Mahagonny, where almost anything goes. Teresa Stratas, Astrid Varnay and Cornell MacNeil costar in this 1979 production. Watch for free for 23 hours after the start time on the Metropolitan Opera's website. You can still stream yesterday's opera, Nixon in China , until 6:30 p.m. ET today.

Sunday, July 4

The Metropolitan Opera: Akhnaten
On Sunday at 7:30 p.m. ET, the Metropolitan Opera shares Akhnaten, Philip Glass' epic opera inspired by the life and religious convictions of the Egyptian pharaoh Akhenaten. This production was a sold-out smash in 2019, with jugglers and acrobats performing alongside stars Dísella Lárusdóttir, J'Nai Bridges, Anthony Roth Costanzo, Aaron Blake, Will Liverman, Richard Bernstein and Zachary James. Watch for free for 23 hours after the start time on the Metropolitan Opera's website. You can still stream yesterday's opera, Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny, until 6:30 p.m. ET today.

PBS: A Capitol Fourth
On Sunday at 8 p.m. ET, because of the pandemic, the 41st edition of this Independence Day favorite won't be performed live from the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol, but the celebration will go on! Tony nominee Vanessa Williams hosts from Washington, DC, where there will be a live climactic fireworks display. In between, a starry lineup will prerecord their numbers from home, including Tony winners Cynthia Erivo and Ali Stroker, as well as Broadway vets Christopher Jackson, Laura Osnes and Renée Fleming. Watch for free on your local PBS channel.

Monday, July 5

The Metropolitan Opera: Der Rosenkavalier
On Monday at 7:30 p.m. ET, the Metropolitan Opera shares a gem from its vaults: Nathaniel Merrill's stunning 1982 mounting of Der Rosenkavalier, Strauss' comedy of love and errors. Kiri Te Kanawa, Tatiana Troyanos, Judith Blegen, Luciano Pavarotti, Derek Hammond-Stroud and Kurt Moll star. Watch for free for 23 hours after the start time on the Metropolitan Opera's website. You can still stream yesterday's opera, Akhnaten, until 6:30 p.m. ET today.

All Weekend

Note: Some offerings are only available until Sunday.

Broadway Our Way Live: On an Island in the River
Last month, Michael McElroy and his Broadway Inspirational Voices christened the outdoor amphitheatre at Little Island with a gospel-infused performance of beloved Broadway show tunes. This weekend, you can stream a recording of that groundbreaking performance. Schele Williams helmed the uplifting evening, which features guest appearances by tap dancer Ayodele Casel, Tony nominee Norm Lewis and other stage favorites. Watch for free on Broadway.com's YouTube channel though donations to Broadway Inspirational Voices is encouraged.

Disney+: Disney's Broadway Hits
Starting this weekend, Disney+ adds Disney's Broadway Hits to its streaming lineup. Filmed at London's Royal Albert Hall in 2016 and hosted by John Barrowman, this concert features beloved numbers from Aladdin, The Lion King, Tarzan, Beauty and the Beast, Aida and Mary Poppins performed by stage stars on both sides of the pond, including Ashley Brown, who played Mary Poppins on Broadway, and Merle Dandridge, who originated the role of Kala in Tarzan on Broadway. To watch, you must subscribe to the Disney+ streaming service, which costs $8 per month or $80 for the year. (Sorry, no free trials at the moment). Happily, musical fans will find other programs to enjoy on the service, including classic Disney animated movies, the reality series Encore!, which reunites the casts of high school productions years after graduation for one last performance, and, of course, Hamilton.

Bandstand
In honor of the Fourth of July, Broadway on Demand is streaming Bandstand, an underrated musical starring Laura Ones and Corey Cott about WWII vets trying to win a music contest while grappling with PTSD. There's also a companion special featuring Cott and members of the creative team talking about the making of the musical. Tickets cost $7 and the recording is viewable until Monday.

Off Broadway
The terrific enfant terrible of the American stage, Slave Play playwright Jeremy O. Harris, presents Off Broadway, a scathing satire of racism, both overt and implicit, in the theatre industry by Torrey Townsend centering on a nonprofit institution struggling to reinvent itself during the pandemic. The fabulous Robert O'Hara, who earned a Tony nomination for helming Slave Play, directs a cast that includes Broadway vets Dylan Baker, Becky Ann Baker, Hal Linden and Richard Kind. This is must-see virtual theatre folks. Watch for free until Sunday, July 11 online.

George Street Playhouse: It's Only a Play
It's your last chance to catch George Street Playhouse's mounting of It's Only a Play, Terrence McNally's popular comedy set at a dramatic party where a Broadway producer, playwright, director and cast anxiously await their opening night reviews. Funnyman Kevin Cahoon directed this production, which was filmed live on stage at the theatre. Tootsie Tony nominee Andy Grotelueschen, Greg Cuellar, Julie Halston, Doug Harris, Christine Toy Johnson, Triney Sandoval and Zach Shaffer star. Tickets are $33 but if you're a TDF member, log in to your account to purchase them at a discount. The recording is viewable until Sunday. Closed captions and audio description are available.

Irish Repertory Theatre: Ghosting
On Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 3 and 8 p.m., and Sunday at 2 p.m. ET, it's your last chance to catch Irish Rep's Ghosting, Anne O'Riordan and Jamie Beamish's tragicomedy about a disconnected young woman who awakens to find the ex who abandoned her years earlier standing at the foot of her bed. O'Riordan stars in this one-woman play about revisiting the past in order to carve out a future. Directed by Aidan Kelly, the production was recorded at Theatre Royal in April 2020. Tickets are required to receive the free viewing link; a $25 donation is suggested.

The Garden
On Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., and Sunday at 2 p.m. ET, Baltimore Center Stage presents The Garden, a moving new play written by and starring Tony nominee Charlayne Woodard about the complex relationship between a Black woman and her estranged adult daughter, who shows up unexpectedly at her mother's garden gate attempting to reconcile old wounds. Patricia McGregor directs this world premiere, which costars Caroline Stefanie Clay. Tickets start at $25 but if you're a TDF member, log in to your account to purchase them at a discount.

Lincoln Center Theater: Marys Seacole
It's your last chance to catch Lincoln Center Theater's Marys Seacole, Pulitzer Prize winner Jackie Sibblies Drury's critically acclaimed play about an ambitious Jamaican woman whose adventures span many countries and eras, from the Crimean War to a modern-day nursing home. A profound exploration of women who are paid to look after others, this fantasia is inspired by the real-life 19th-century nurse and healer Mary Seacole as well as all the caregivers who came after her. This Lincoln Center Theater/LCT3 production was recorded on stage in 2019, with Lileana Blain-Cruz directing Quincy Tyler Bernstine, Gabby Beans, Marceline Hugot, Karen Kandel, Ismenia Mendes and Lucy Taylor. Register on Broadway on Demand to receive the free viewing link. The recording is viewable until Sunday.

Signature Theatre: After Midnight
Virginia's lauded Signature Theatre presents After Midnight, an enthralling celebration of the legendary Cotton Club that was nominated for seven 2014 Tony Awards. Recorded on stage during quarantine, this new production is headlined by Hamilton Tony nominee Christopher Jackson and Nova Y. Payton, and is directed and choreographed by Jared Grimes, who appeared in the show on Broadway. Evocative renditions of Langston Hughes poems provide the framework for eye-popping tap-dance numbers set to the swinging songs of Duke Ellington, Jimmy McHugh, Dorothy Fields, Harold Arlen and other big band-era greats. Tickets are $35 but if you're a TDF member, log in to your account to purchase them at a discount. The recording is viewable until Wednesday, August 4.

North Coast Repertory Theatre: Becoming Dr. Ruth
California's North Coast Repertory Theatre presents four-time Tony nominee Tovah Feldshuh in Becoming Dr. Ruth, Mark St. Germain's inspiring one-woman bio play about the cheery sex therapist and her compelling past, including losing her family in the Holocaust, working as a sniper for the Haganah and finally finding Mr. Right after two divorces. David Ellenstein directs the production, which was filmed live on stage at Bay Street Theater, a co-producer of the show. Tickets start at $35 and the recording is viewable until Sunday, July 11.

Westport Country Playhouse: Tiny House
Connecticut's Westport Country Playhouse presents Tiny House, a new comedy by Michael Gotch about a couple that fled the city for simple country life, but a Fourth of July celebration brings their quirky acquaintances to their new locale. Tickets start at $25 and the recording is available until Sunday, July 18.

POSTPONED The Outliners: Zoom with a View
The Outliners present Zoom with a View, an evening of playlets created specifically for Zoom starring some NYC stage favorites, including Drama Desk winner Marylouise Burke, Tony nominee Veanne Cox and Obie winner April Matthis. Register to receive the free viewing link though donations to The Actors Fund are encouraged. The recording is viewing until Sunday.

Al Hirschfeld: The Dog Show: Hounds by Hirschfeld
This is an online exhibition, not a performance, but we couldn't resist sharing this wonderful collection of Al Hirschfeld caricatures of show dogs (make that showbiz dogs), from Toto to Rin Tin Tin. Check out the art for free online.

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

Top image: Vanessa Williams in A Capitol Fourth in 2020. She returns to host this virtual celebration again this Sunday.