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 weekend, Friday, June 11 to Sunday, June 13, for free or at low cost.

Friday, June 11

The Metropolitan Opera: The Tempest
On Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET, the Metropolitan Opera presents The Tempest, composed and conducted by Thomas Adès and based on Shakespeare's powerful play. Visionary director Robert Lepage helmed this 2012 production, starring Simon Keenlyside as Prospero the sorcerer, whose quest for revenge softens when his daughter Miranda (Isabel Leonard) falls in love. Alek Shrader, Alan Oke and Audrey Luna costar. Watch for free for 23 hours after the start time on the Metropolitan Opera's website. You can still stream yesterday's opera, Agrippina, until 6:30 p.m. ET today.

Broadway Stories & Songs: Meghan Picerno & John Riddle
On Friday at 8 p.m. ET, Tony-winning orchestrator and musical director Ted Sperling wraps up his live online concert series Broadway Stories & Songs, showcasing the talents and tales of New York stage favorites. Today's guests are John Riddle and Meghan Picerno, who were starring as the romantic leads in Broadway's The Phantom of the Opera when the pandemic hit. They'll sing duets from classic Broadway shows, including favorites by Rodgers and Hammerstein, Lerner and Loewe and of Andrew Lloyd Webber. Tickets are $25 but if you're a TDF member, log in to your account to purchase them at a discount.

Stars in the House: The Light in the Piazza Reunion
On Friday at 8 p.m. ET, it's a Light in the Piazza reunion on Stars in the House! Seth Rudetsky and James Wesley welcome the stars of Adam Guettel's romantic musical, including Kelli O'Hara, Matthew Morrison and Victoria Clark, who won a Tony Award for her heartrending performance as a concerned and lonely mother. Watch for free on YouTube though donations to The Actors Fund are encouraged.

Saturday, June 12

Planet of the Grapes Live
On Saturday at 1 p.m. ET, catch Peter Michael Marino's off-kilter creation Planet of the Grapes Live, a toy theatre send-up of the 1968 movie The Planet of the Apes but with talking fruit instead of monkeys. Marino manipulates a cast of grapes and corks as they fight for supremacy on miniature sets made from household items and craft supplies. Expect plenty of puns and pop-culture references as he performs this parody live on stream. Tickets start at $10.

Broadway Stories & Songs: Meghan Picerno & John Riddle
On Saturday at 2 p.m. ET, Tony-winning orchestrator and musical director Ted Sperling wraps up his live online concert series Broadway Stories & Songs, showcasing the talents and tales of New York stage favorites. Today's guests are John Riddle and Meghan Picerno, who were starring as the romantic leads in Broadway's The Phantom of the Opera when the pandemic hit. They'll sing duets from classic Broadway shows, including favorites by Rodgers and Hammerstein, Lerner and Loewe and Andrew Lloyd Webber. Tickets are $25. Note: this is a replay of Friday night's live concert.

Play-PerView: Ruth Bader Ginsburg: A Living Document
On Saturday at 7 p.m. ET, Play-PerView presents a live reading of Ruth Bader Ginsburg: A Living Document, Dianne Nora's inventive bio-play, with the late, great Supreme Court Justice's groundbreaking life conjured by a cast of nine women and nonbinary performers. Kristina Valada-Viars directs Tony winner Blair Brown, Sadieh Rifai, Karen Aldridge, Kirsten Fitzgerald, Sara Sevigny, Esteban Andres Cruz, Fawzia Mirza, Delia Kropp and Cheryl Lynn Bruce in this unconventional drama about a singular woman. Tickets start at $5 and net proceeds benefit the ACLU and Chicago's A Red Orchid Theatre.

The Metropolitan Opera: Falstaff
On Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET, the Metropolitan Opera presents Verdi's Falstaff, featuring a libretto by Arrigo Boito inspired by Shakespeare's comedy The Merry Wives of Windsor as well as scenes from Henry IV. Ambrogio Maestri is the lascivious and louche title character, who's outwitted by the clever ladies around him, played by Angela Meade, Stephanie Blythe and Jennifer Johnson Cano in this 2013 production. Watch for free for 23 hours after the start time on the Metropolitan Opera's website. You can still stream yesterday's opera, The Tempest, until 6:30 p.m. ET today.

Stars in the House: Dreamgirls Concert Reunion
On Saturday at 8 p.m. ET, 20 years ago, Seth Rudetsky helped produce a "One Night Only" Dreamgirls concert on Broadway as a benefit for The Actors Fund. Tonight, he reunites the cast of that starry evening, including Lillias White, Audra McDonald, Heather Headley, Darius de Haas and Tamara Tunie. You're gonna love them! Watch for free on YouTube though donations to The Actors Fund are encouraged.

Kelli O'Hara in Concert
On Saturday at 8:30 p.m. ET, Tony winner Kelli O'Hara performs a live concert on stage at Nebraska's Lied Center for Performing Arts that will also be streamed to at-home audiences. The beloved Broadway soprano will share stories and songs from her acclaimed career, which includes starring roles in The King and I, The Light in the Piazza, The Pajama Game, South Pacific, Nice Work If You Can Get It, The Bridges of Madison County and Kiss Me, Kate. Tickets are $20 but if you're a TDF member, log in to your account to purchase them at a discount.

East West Players: 1 Hour Photo
On Saturday at 11 p.m. ET, LA's lauded East West Players presents 1 Hour Photo, Tetsuro Shigematsu's rich bio-play chronicling the remarkable times of Mas Yamamoto, from his adolescence in a Canadian World War II incarceration camp to his life as a scientist, businessman and father. A digital reinvention of Shigematsu's award-winning 2019 play, this 75-minute cinematic adaptation will be followed by a live post-show talkback. Tickets are $35.

Sunday, June 13

American Theatre Wing Centennial Concert
Starting on Sunday, back in 2017, the American Theatre Wing celebrated its 100th anniversary with a starry concert. In honor of what should have been Tony Sunday, the nonprofit is streaming the special for free. Watch Brian Stokes Mitchell croon "Being Alive" from Company, Heather Headley belt out "What I Did for Love" from A Chorus Line, Norm Lewis sing "The Music of the Night" from The Phantom of the Opera and Beth Malone performing from Fun Home, plus Santino Fontana, the late Rebecca Luker, Laura Osnes and others. Watch for free until Saturday, June 19 on BroadwayHD. Note: The paywall doesn't lift until Sunday!

Signature Theatre: After Midnight
Starting on Sunday, Virginia's lauded Signature Theatre presents a new mounting of 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 and the recording is viewable until Wednesday, August 4.

The Seth Concert Series: Matthew Morrison
On Sunday at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. ET, apparently, hosting a daily online talk show and a Sirius XM Satellite Radio series isn't enough for the multitalented Seth Rudetsky. Well-known for his skills as a pianist, musical director and interviewer, he's hosted a series of intimate live concerts with Broadway stars for the past decade. This year he brings the show online and today's headliner is Matthew Morrison. A Broadway veteran who was nominated for a Tony Award for his swoon-worthy turn in The Light in the Piazza, he came to national fame as Mr. Schuester, the director of the glee club on Glee. Since then, he's alternated between the screen and stage, with leading roles on Broadway in Finding Neverland, South Pacific and Hairspray. He also played the title character in the 2020 TV musical Dr. Seuss' the Grinch Musical. Expect songs from his career as well as personal favorites. Tickets are $25. Note: The 3 p.m. performance is live; 8 p.m. is the replay.

Planet of the Grapes Live
On Sunday at 4:30 p.m. ET, catch Peter Michael Marino's off-kilter creation Planet of the Grapes Live, a toy theatre send-up of the 1968 movie The Planet of the Apes but with talking fruit instead of monkeys. Marino manipulates a cast of grapes and corks as they fight for supremacy on miniature sets made from household items and craft supplies. Expect plenty of puns and pop-culture references as he performs this parody live on stream. Tickets start at $10.

Show of Titles
On Sunday at 7 p.m. ET, dozens of Broadway stars hit the virtual stage to sing the title tunes from more than 20 beloved musicals. Enjoy performances by Annaleigh Ashford, Glenn Close, Len Cariou, Gavin Creel, Darren Criss, Santino Fontana, Jake Gyllenhaal, Norm Lewis, Patti LuPone, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Jessie Mueller, Kelli O'Hara, Laura Osnes, Steven Pasquale, Lea Salonga, Phillipa Soo, Will Swenson, Aaron Tveit, Leslie Uggams, Vanessa Williams, Patrick Wilson and more, along with special appearances by Danny Burstein, Bryan Cranston, Sheldon Harnick, John Kander, Angela Lansbury, John Leguizamo, John Lithgow, Phylicia Rashad and BD Wong. Tickets are $39 but if you're a TDF member, log in to your account to purchase them at a discount. The recording is viewable until Thursday, June 17 at 4 p.m. ET and proceeds benefit The Actors Fund.

The Metropolitan Opera: Così fan tutte
On Sunday at 7:30 p.m. ET, the Metropolitan Opera presents Phelim McDermott's eye-popping 2018 mounting of Così fan tutte, which sets Mozart's tantalizing comedy of romance and infidelity on Coney Island in the '50s. Amanda Majeski, Serena Malfi, Ben Bliss and Adam Plachetka star as the young couples, with Tony winner Kelli O’Hara in a supporting role. Watch for free for 23 hours after the start time on the Metropolitan Opera's website. You can still stream yesterday's opera, Falstaff, until 6:30 p.m. ET today.

Zero Gravity (zero-G) Lab: chekhovOS / an experimental game/
On Sunday at 8 p.m. ET, Zero Gravity (zero-G) Lab presents chekhovOS / an experimental game/, an interactive online workshop by virtual performance innovator Igor Golyak that fuses film, theatre and video game technology to explore Anton Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard as well as the Russian dramatist's life. Tony nominee Jessica Hecht stars and actor and ballet icon Mikhail Baryshnikov appears as Chekhov. This offbeat offering just got a rave review in The New York Times. Log on ready to participate. Tickets are required to receive the free viewing link; donations are encouraged.

East West Players: 1 Hour Photo
On Sunday at 8 p.m. ET, LA's lauded East West Players presents 1 Hour Photo, Tetsuro Shigematsu's rich bio-play chronicling the remarkable times of an Asian-Canadian man named Mas Yamamoto, from his adolescence in a Canadian World War II incarceration camp to his life as a scientist, businessman and father. A digital reinvention of Shigematsu's award-winning 2019 play, this 75-minute cinematic adaptation will be followed by a live post-show talkback. Tickets are $35.

All Weekend

Lincoln Center Theater: Marys Seacole
Lincoln Center Theater presents 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, July 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.

HBO Max: In the Heights
I'm sure I don't need to tell you that the long-awaited film adaptation of In the Heights is finally available to watch in theatres and on your TV. I saw a preview a few weeks ago in Midtown and this movie begs to be experienced on the big screen, with its jaw-dropping, Busby Berkeley-inspired numbers. But if you have HBO Max, you can watch Lin-Manuel Miranda's breakthrough Tony-winning musical at home, a glorious tribute to his home neighborhood of Washington Heights that overflows with exuberance and rhythm and joy and romance. HBO Max subscribers can watch for free; unsurprisingly, no free trial is being offered right now.

Love, Linda: The Life of Mrs. Cole Porter
Singer and actor Stevie Holland conjures the glamorous life and marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Cole Porter in Love, Linda. Cowritten by Holland and her real-life husband, Gary William Friedman, this one-woman musical chronicles the unconventional couple's 35-year union, as Southern belle Linda Lee Thomas stands by and inspires her talented man, songwriter Cole Porter, even though he was gay. Richard Maltby, Jr. directed this unorthodox love story. Tickets are $15 and the recording is viewable until Wednesday, June 23.

The Joyce Theater: Ballez: Giselle of Loneliness
Chelsea dance haven The Joyce continues its digital season with a world premiere from Ballez, a company dedicated to radically reinventing classic ballets. The troupe will perform Giselle of Loneliness, a queer reimagining of the 19th-century romantic tragedy that examines what dancers give up for their art. Tickets are $25 but if you're a TDF member, log in to your account to purchase them at a discount. The recording is viewable until Wednesday, June 23.

New York City Ballet: George Balanchine's Vienna Waltzes
New York City Ballet wraps up its digital spring season with George Balanchine's 1977 epic Vienna Waltzes, set to music by Johann Strauss II, Franz Lehár and Richard Strauss and featuring more than 50 dancers. This performance was filmed in 2013 and stars Rebecca Krohn, Tyler Angle, Megan Fairchild, Anthony Huxley, Erica Pereira, Sean Suozzi, Teresa Reichlen, Ask la Cour, Maria Kowroski and Jared Angle weaving through Rouben Ter-Arutunian's evolving scenery. Watch for free until Thursday, June 17 on NYCB's YouTube channel.

Manhattan Theatre Club: The Niceties
It's your last chance to watch Manhattan Theatre Club's The Niceties, Eleanor Burgess' thought-provoking two-hander about a Black student and her veteran white college professor locking horns over the presentation of American history. The play sparked lots of conversation when it ran Off Broadway at MTC in 2018. This new digital mounting, co-presented by Boston's Huntington Theatre Company, reunites the stars of that production, Lisa Banes and Jordan Boatman, with director Kimberly Senior. RSVP to receive the free viewing link. The recording is viewable until Sunday.

Feinstein's/54 Below: Marilyn Maye: Broadway, the Maye Way
Feinstein's/54 Below presents cabaret great Marilyn Maye in her brand-new concert Broadway, the Maye Way. Recorded at the club in April around Maye's 93rd birthday, the show features the legend singing numbers from the Golden Age of Broadway backed by her world-class jazz trio. 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 Saturday, June 19.

Playwrights Horizons: The KILL ONE Race
On Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 7 p.m. ET, equal parts theatre, reality TV competition and documentary, this online series from the multitalented Raja Feather Kelly follows participants in an arduous contest to be crowned the most ethical. The prize? Death. Filmed at Playwrights Horizons, this dystopian exploration of morality versus media unfolds in seven episodes. The first five installments are already up, and episodes 6, 7 plus a bonus reunion premiere each night this weekend. Watch them all for free online until Sunday, July 4.

Dumbo Dance Festival
On Friday, Saturday and Sunday at various times, White Wave Dance presents the 20th annual Dumbo Dance Festival, which goes virtual this year. Over three days, dozens of dance companies from around the world will be featured in eight different online programs, culminating in a children's movement workshop and a family-friendly show on Sunday. Tickets for each offering are $15 save for the kids' workshop, which is free.

---

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

Top image: Matthew Morrison, who's performing a live concert on Sunday.