TDF Stages

While in-person theatre is back in NYC, there are still wonderful shows to stream at home. Below are performances you can watch online this weekend, Friday, January 7 to Sunday, January 9, for free or at low cost.

Friday, January 7

The Joyce Theater: Ayodele Casel: Chasing Magic
On Friday at 6 p.m. ET, due to the current COVID-19 surge, The Joyce was forced to cancel Ayodele Casel's in-person run this week. Thankfully, the Chelsea dance haven is restreaming the tap master's Bessie-winning digital performance Chasing Magic, which was filmed on The Joyce's stage last year. An evening of pieces about the power of reconnecting, the program features a new collaboration with choreographer Ronald K. Brown as well as "Fly Me to the Moon" and "Cheek to Cheek," both co-choreographed by Anthony Morigerato. Casel is joined by Morigerato, Naomi Funaki, Amanda Castro and John Manzari, with music provided by Grammy-winning pianist Arturo O'Farrill, singer-songwriter Crystal Monee Hall and percussionist Senfu Stoney. Tickets are $25 and the recording is viewable until Sunday, January 23.

PBS: Stars on Stage From Westport Country Playhouse: Gavin Creel in Concert
On Friday at 9 p.m. ET, PBS kicks off a brand-new series, Stars on Stage From Westport Country Playhouse, featuring recordings of recent concerts performed by Broadway favorites at the Connecticut theatre. First up is Gavin Creel, a charmer who's beloved for his work in Thoroughly Modern Millie, She Loves Me, Hair and his Tony-winning turn in Hello, Dolly! In this intimate evening of stories and songs, Creel croons an eclectic lineup of tunes backed by a small band, though he accompanies himself on piano for a few numbers. Watch for free on TV on PBS Thirteen or on the channel's website. The recording is available online until Sunday, February 20.

Saturday, January 8

Live from Feinstein's/54 Below: Liz Callaway & Ann Hampton Callaway: Broadway The Calla-Way!
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, enjoy Broadway The Calla-Way! featuring two Tony-nominated sisters: jazz singer Ann Hampton Callaway, who wrote and performed the beloved theme to The Nanny, and Broadway Baby Liz Callaway, who voiced a number of cinematic princesses. Backed by a live trio, the talented twosome will croon beloved show tunes by Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim, Jerry Herman, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Marvin Hamlisch, Stephen Schwartz and other musical theatre greats. Tickets are $25. If you prefer to attend in person, click here for info.

The Green Room 42 Sings Sondheim
On Saturday at 7 p.m. ET, lauded cabaret club The Green Room 42 is now streaming all of its in-person performances to at-home audiences. Tonight, catch a tribute to the late and forever lamented Stephen Sondheim featuring a diverse roster of NYC stage regulars, including Broadway vets Brandon Contreras, Kelvin Moon Loh, Marina Pires, Tami Dahbura and Thom Sesma, backed by a live band. Tickets are $19. If you prefer to attend in person, click here for info.

Sunday, January 9

Origin 1st Irish Theatre Festival: Duck Duck Goose
On Sunday at 7 p.m. ET, every January since 2008, Origin Theatre Company has presented the annual 1st Irish Festival featuring readings, productions and panels. This year is a hybrid event, with both in-person and streaming offerings. Starting tonight, you can watch a recording of Fishamble's Duck Duck Goose, a provocative new play by Caitríona Daly about how a rape allegation impacts a community. Full of moral ambiguity and psychological complexity, the harrowing drama explores consent, trust and trial by social media. Recorded live on stage on Ireland. Tickets are $15 and the recording is viewable until Sunday, January 16.

All Weekend

Second Stage Theater: Clyde's on Broadway
On Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 2 and 8 p.m., and Sunday at 3 p.m. ET, in an exciting and savvy move, Second Stage Theater is streaming the final two weeks of performances of Lynn Nottage's critically acclaimed comedy Clyde's live from Broadway. While many theatres in the UK and other regions have been doing this for months, this is the first Broadway production to give audiences who can't catch Clyde's in person a chance to experience this uplifting play live online. Two-time Emmy winner Uzo Aduba (Orange Is the New Black) is the hard-boiled and fabulously dressed title character, the owner of a truck-stop sandwich shop who attempts to stomp on the dreams of her kitchen staffers, all formerly incarcerated individuals. But under the guidance of Zen chef Montrellous (two-time This Is Us Emmy winner Ron Cephas Jones), they just may make it out of hell's kitchen. Nottage's frequent collaborator, Kate Whoriskey, directs. Tickets are $59. If you're a TDF member and want to see Clyde's in person on Broadway, log in to buy discount tickets.

The Huntington: Teenage Dick
Although Boston's Huntington Theatre was forced to cut its in-person run of Teenage Dick short due to breakthrough infections, the good news is the production was captured on film before closing. Mike Lew's modern-day, darkly comic take on Richard III is set in a high-pressure high school, where a bullied adolescent with cerebral palsy mounts a ruthless campaign to become student body president. How far will he go to win? Tony nominee Moritz von Stuelpnagel (Hand to God) directs and Gregg Mozgala and Shannon DeVido reprise the roles they originated Off Broadway in the play's critically acclaimed world premiere. Tickets start at $20 and the recording is viewable until Sunday, January 16. Closed captions and ASL interpretation are available.

The Sphere of Fixed Stars
Veteran TV writer J. Holtham (Supergirl, Jessica Jones) presents a reading of his new play The Sphere of Fixed Stars, a romantic two-hander about strangers who connect at a mutual friend's birthday party... over and over and over again. Stephanie Sheh directs Jesse Rath (Supergirl) and Nicole Sousa. Register to receive the free viewing link. The recording is viewable until Sunday.

PBS: The Nutcracker and the Mouse King
Tony winner Alan Cumming serves as storyteller for The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, a reimagining of Tchaikovsky's holiday classic conceived by conductor John Mauceri, which explores what happened to the characters after Christmas. Watch for free until Tuesday on PBS' website.

PBS: 20 Years of Christmas with The Tabernacle Choir
Broadway favorite Brian Stokes Mitchell hosts this glorious retrospective of starry performances by Salt Lake City's The Tabernacle Choir. Enjoy classic clips featuring legends such as Angela Lansbury, Kristin Chenoweth, Renée Fleming, Audra McDonald, Santino Fontana and Stokes himself backed by the celebrated 360-member chorus. Watch for free until Wednesday on PBS' website.

San Francisco Playhouse: Twelfth Night
San Francisco Playhouse is currently presenting an in-person production of Kwame Kwei-Armah and Shaina Taub's enchanting musicalization of Twelfth Night, but you can also watch a recording at home. The show premiered at Shakespeare in the Park a few seasons back and features glorious songs by Taub and a streamlined script that condenses Shakespeare's romantic comedy into 90 heartwarming minutes. This production was directed by Susi Damilano and filmed live on stage at the West Coast theatre. Tickets start at $15 and the recording is viewable until Saturday, January 15.

The Nice List
When Santa's away, the elves will play! That's the premise of Gary Adler and Phoebe Kreutz's one-act musical The Nice List, which was filmed remotely in 2020. It's back for a second helping of heartwarming holiday spirit and stars Aladdin Tony winner James Monroe Iglehart as Kris Kringle, who leaves his underlings in charge when he goes to check on his mall stand-ins. Broadway vets Telly Leung, Julia Mattison, Ann Harada, Jennifer Barnhart, Nick Kohn and Don Darryl Rivera play his eager if inefficient elfin employees. Make a donation of any amount to Feeding America to watch the show, which is viewable until Saturday, January 15.

Estella Scrooge: A Christmas Carol with a Twist
Recorded in 2020 during the shutdown, this modern-day musical 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.

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 £7.50 for each cast, approximately $10. Or you can watch all four for £20, approximately $27. The recording is viewable until Monday, January 31, and captions and audio description are available. You must create a Donmar Warehouse account to watch.

National Theatre at Home: War Horse
A year ago, London's lauded National Theatre launched its own streaming service featuring professional stage captures of its productions. While you can buy a subscription, shows are also available to rent individually for 72 hours. New to the roster is War Horse, the profoundly moving story of a boy searching for his beloved steed against the bloody backdrop of World War I. Based on Michael Morpurgo's novel of the same name and adapted for the stage by Nick Stafford in association with the brilliant Handspring Puppet Company, the production was a smash, first at London's National Theatre and then on Broadway where it won five 2011 Tony Awards, including best play. War Horse tickets are $12 and the recording is viewable until Monday, January 31. Captions and audio description are available. It's just one of many fantastic shows you can stream so be sure to browse the entire list.

Paul Winter's 42nd Annual Winter Solstice Celebration
Almost every holiday season since 1980, Grammy-winning saxophonist Paul Winter and his talented pals have performed a seasonal concert at NYC's Cathedral St. John the Divine. For 2021, the festivities went virtual with a compilation of iconic performances from the event's four-decade history with special guests Noel Paul Stookey of Peter, Paul and Mary; Ireland's Davy Spillane and Nóirín Ní Riain; Brazil's Ivan Lins and Fabiana Cozza; Russia's Dmitri Pokrovsky Ensemble and many others. Tickets are $20.

PBS: In Performance at the White House: Spirit of the Season
Late last year, the White House hosted this festive concert, hosted by Jennifer Garner and featuring performances by an eclectic array of music stars, including Tony winner Billy Porter, opera great Andrea Bocelli and a cappella group Pentatonix. Watch for free on PBS' website.

HBO Max: Reopening Night
Back in July, a month before Broadway started to reopen, New York's beloved Public Theater presented an all-Black mounting of Merry Wives for free as part of its annual summer Shakespeare in the Park series. It was a glorious production and, for many theatregoers, their first in-person show since the pandemic-induced shutdown. Documentarian Rudy Valdez was there to film all the behind-the-scenes work that made this milestone possible. At this challenging time for the theatre industry, this chronicle of artistic perseverance is particularly inspiring. HBO subscribers can watch for free.

All Arts: MasterVoices: Myths and Hymns
Last 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.

HERE: 9000 Paper Balloons
HERE 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 Monday, January 31.

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

Top image: Uzo Aduba and Ron Cephas Jones in Clyde's, which is streaming live from Broadway this weekend. Photo by Joan Marcus.