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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, February 4 to Sunday, February 6, for free or at low cost.
Friday, February 4
Project Y Theatre: Women in Theatre Festival
On Friday at 7 p.m. ET, Off-Off Broadway's venerable Project Y Theatre kicks off its 7th annual Women in Theatre Festival online, with a quintet of commissioned two-handers by women playwrights, including Amina Henry, Erin Mallon and TDF Stages contributor Eliza Bent, alongside a collection of fresh, female-forward monologues. All of the pieces were filmed live on stage and a streaming pass allows you to watch the program anytime on demand for a week. Tickets are $25. Friday's opening night stream includes a live post-show discussion with the artists. If you're a TDF member, log in to your account to purchase discount tickets.
Sunday, February 6
Live from Feinstein's/54 Below: 10 Years of Black Excellence on Stage
On Sunday at 7 p.m. ET, even though Feinstein's/54 Below has reopened for in-person performances, the swanky cabaret club continues to stream select shows live from its stage. Tonight, celebrate some of Broadway's most talented Black performers and productions of the past decade with numbers from After Midnight, Shuffle Along, Once on This Island and The Color Purple performed by Ain't Too Proud's Jelani Remy, The Book of Mormon's Christopher Brasfield, Jersey Boys' David LaMarr, cabaret queen Natalie Douglas and more. Tickets are $25. If you prefer to attend in person, click here for info.
New Ohio Theatre: Now in Process: The Porch on Windy Hill
On Sunday at 7 p.m. ET, experimental theatre incubator New Ohio Theatre presents its annual Now in Process series in person with select performances live-streamed to at-home audiences. Tonight, catch The Porch on Windy Hill, a devised piece conceived of, directed by and costarring Sherry Lutken about a musically inclined Brooklyn couple who travel to the mountains of North Carolina looking for authentic Appalachian sounds. Tickets are $15.
The Seth Concert Series: Eden Espinosa
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 Eden Espinosa, a Broadway vet with powerhouse pipes who's starred as Elphaba in Wicked, Maureen in Rent and the title character in the short-lived but beloved Brooklyn. Expect big belting numbers from her career as well as personal favorites. Tickets are $25.
All Weekend
Red Bull Theater: The Alchemist
After a critically acclaimed run Off Broadway last fall, Red Bull Theater's riotous reinvention of The Alchemist is available to stream. Jesse Berger directs Jeffrey Hatcher's adaptation of Ben Jonson's 1610 romp about a scheming servant who invites two con artists into his absent master's home to rip off the greedy and gullible. Recorded live on stage, it's a glittering gem of deceit and double-crosses featuring a slew of scene-stealers, including Stephen DeRosa, Carson Elrod, Jacob Ming-Trent and Reg Rogers. Tickets are pay-what-you-wish but a $25 donation is suggested. The recording is viewable until Monday, February 14 at 7 p.m.
Alvin Ailey: r-Evolution, Dream.
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater presents r-Evolution, Dream., longtime company member Hope Boykin's powerful piece inspired by the sermons and speeches of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Recorded live on stage, this 2016 work fuses storytelling, new music by Ali Jackson, and historic and original writings recorded by Hamilton Tony winner Leslie Odom, Jr. Watch for free until Sunday, February 13 on Ailey's YouTube channel though donations are encouraged.
Pasadena Playhouse: Teenage Dick
Although California's Pasadena Playhouse was forced to cancel its in-person run of Teenage Dick due to COVID-19, the good news is the production was captured on film. 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 $25 and the recording is viewable until Sunday, February 27.
Starz: Maurice Hines: Bring Them Back
Tony nominated tap-dance great Maurice Hines (Hot Feet, Uptown...It's Hot!, Eubie!) is the subject of the new documentary Maurice Hines: Bring Them Back, an intimate portrait of his life and career, including his complicated collaboration with his late brother Gregory. Debbie Allen, Chita Rivera and Charles Randolph-Wright are just a handful of the theatre legends who chat about Hines' groundbreaking work. Starz subscribers can watch for free.
PBS Great Performances: Reopening: The Broadway Revival
It's hard to believe that just six months ago, Broadway was completely closed due to the pandemic. This inspiring hour-long documentary follows some of Broadway's biggest blockbusters as they turned their lights back on after 18 months of darkness. Frank DiLella of NY1's On Stage hosts this behind-the-scenes look at how Wicked, Aladdin, Tina, The Phantom of the Opera and other musicals started singing again, with exclusive interviews with Adrienne Warren, Aaron Tveit, Sara Bareilles, Elizabeth Stanley, Alexandra Billings, Jawan M. Jackson, Andrew Rannells, Norm Lewis, Sharon D. Clarke, Lea Salonga, Kristin Chenoweth, Chita Rivera, Laura Benanti and other stage stars. Watch for free until Tuesday, February 15 on PBS' website. Closed captions are available.
PBS: American Masters: Ailey
Last chance! PBS kicks off the 36th season of its American Masters series with a new documentary about groundbreaking dancer and choreographer Alvin Ailey, whose namesake troupe continues to dazzle today. Director Jamila Wignot uses previously unheard audio interviews recorded in the last year of Ailey's life to let him narrate his own story, from being raised by a single mother in Jim Crow Texas, to the founding of his company at age 27, to his mentoring of generations of diverse artists exploring the Black experience through dance. The film includes evocative archival footage and interviews with those close to him as well as a peek at the troupe today. Watch for free until Tuesday on PBS' website. Closed captions are available.
PBS: Stars on Stage From Westport Country Playhouse
Earlier this month, PBS presented Stars on Stage From Westport Country Playhouse, recordings of recent concerts performed by Broadway favorites at the Connecticut theatre. All three are viewable until Sunday, February 20 for free on PBS' website: Watch hour-long sets by:
Broadstream
Broadstream, a new digital arts streaming service launched this week and all of the content is free to watch. The selection is eclectic, including theatre, comedy, music and spoken word. It's worth giving it a browse and clicking around. It costs nothing but your time.
Zoo Mundo
On Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 2 and 8 p.m., and Sunday at 8 p.m. ET, this digital creation from director Thaddeus Phillips and designer Steven Dufala takes audiences on an amazing virtual voyage across the world. Described as a live cinematic epic, Zoo Mundo is streamed to just 25 screens at each performance, with viewers journeying across the Sahara to the famed Florian Cafe in Venice, hopping the Siberian Express across the Bering Straight, heading down the coast of the Pacific and ending in Antarctica. Tickets start at $17.
Bard at the Gate: Charles Francis Chan Jr.'s Exotic Oriental Murder Mystery
During the shutdown, Pulitzer Prize-winning dramatist Paula Vogel launched Bard at the Gate, a play reading series showcasing timely, under-the-radar scripts. The initiative is now being presented by New Jersey's lauded McCarter Theatre Center and this weekend you can catch Lloyd Suh's Charles Francis Chan Jr.'s Exotic Oriental Murder Mystery, a wild theatrical trip through the history of Asians in America, the good, the bad and the abhorrently racist. Ralph B. Peña directs. Tickets are $12.
Rattlestick Playwrights Theater: Addressless
On Friday at 8 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday at 5 p.m. ET, NYC's acclaimed Rattlestick Playwrights Theater continues its hybrid season with a thought-provoking online exploration of the challenges of being homeless. Created and directed by Martin Boross and written by Jonathan Payne, Addressless is an interactive, virtual theatrical game in which audiences make a series of decisions that impact their housing stability, life expectancy and physical well-being. Log in ready to participate. Tickets are $25 but if you're a TDF member, log in to your account to purchase discount tickets.
Hypokrit Productions: Running
Hypokrit Productions presents Running, an autobiographical cinema-stage hybrid by sitcom star Danny Pudi (Community) about his quest to learn about the father he never knew. With some scenes filmed in a theatre, others in the real world, this is a moving documentary journey of self-discovery. Arpita Mukherjee directs. Tickets are $20 and the recording is viewable until Monday, February 28.
Living Record Festival
The UK-based Living Record Productions presents the Living Recording Festival, a monthlong event featuring original digital performances. The eclectic lineup includes irreverent cabarets, outrageous comedians, interactive plays and even kid-friendly options such as Peter Michael Marino's charming toy theatre epic Planet of the Grapes. Browse the full schedule to see what piques your interest. Tickets start at £7, approximately $9.
New Ohio Theatre: Petunia's Big Day
Last chance! New Ohio Theatre presents Petunia's Big Day, a new musical for young audiences inspired by the self-care web series Petunia's Playhouse. With songs by Billy Recce (A Musical About Star Wars) and creatures by Eric Wright of Puppet Kitchen, this hour-long show centers on Petunia as she preps for her first day of school. But will an unexpected visitor derail her dreams for the perfect day? Tickets are $25 and the recording is viewable until Sunday.
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Raven Snook is the Editor of TDF Stages. Follow her at @RavenSnook. Follow TDF at @TDFNYC.
Top image: Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in r-Evolution, Dream., which is streaming this weekend. Photo by Paul Kolnik.
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