TDF Stages

With in-person theatre out of commission for the foreseeable future, many companies and performers from Broadway and beyond are showcasing their work online. Below are performances you can watch Friday through Sunday, August 14 to 16, for free or at low cost.

Friday, August 14

Andrew Rannells on Virtual Halston
On Friday at 5 p.m. ET, Julie Halston, Broadway funny lady and longtime friend to TDF, welcomes two-time Tony nominee Andrew Rannells to her weekly chatfest. The two worked together in Hairspray, which was Rannells' very first Broadway gig! Watch for free on YouTube.

Roundabout Youth Ensemble: Hidden Truths
On Friday at 5 p.m. ET, Roundabout Theatre Company's education department presents Hidden Truths, a brand-new drama written by and starring members of the Roundabout Youth Ensemble, a student-led company modeled after the nonprofit's professional productions. This play is a contemporary take on Othello, with an atypical teen named Omari romancing the principal's daughter while trying to outwit the high school sociopath. Watch for free until Friday, August 28 on Roundabout's YouTube channel.

BOLD 2020: Ten-Minute Play Festival
On Friday at 6 p.m. ET, BOLD 2020, a new festival of shorts written and directed by Black women, kicks off its first installment with Brittani Samuel's In My Arms or Under My Foot and excerpts from Agyeiwaa Asante's Danity. Dear Evan Hansen star Kristolyn Lloyd directs a cast that includes Broadway vets Amber Iman, Zurin Villanueva and Capathia Jenkins. Reserve your free ticket to receive the viewing link.

Kinesis Project: Breathing with Strangers
On Friday at 6:30 p.m. ET, dance-theatre company Kinesis Project reimagines its waterfront work Breathing with Strangers as a series of solos and duets, performed live and streamed online. Tonight Sumaya Mulla Carrillo and Jiemin Yang dance the piece at Riverside Park South. On Saturday at 6:30 p.m. ET, choreographer Melissa Riker will do it at Inwood Hill Park. Watch for free on the dance troupe's website.

Ice Factory: A Burning Church
On Friday at 7 p.m. ET, the New Ohio Theatre wraps up its 27th annual Ice Factory festival with A Burning Church, an epic new musical tracing the dramatic history of a church and its members through protest movements, tragedies and spiritual epiphanies. This virtual event will present songs and scenes from this work in progress in the form of parables. Book and direction are by Alex Hare and Zhailon Levingston; lyrics are by Levingston and music is by Nehemiah Luckett. Pay-what-you-can tickets start at $1. There will be a final performance on Saturday at 7 p.m. ET.

Neo-Political Cowgirls: Andromeda's Sisters: Monologues
On Friday at 7 p.m. ET, women's performance collective Neo-Political Cowgirls presents an evening of monologues by female-identifying playwrights. Blythe Danner, Catherine Curtin, Portia, Ellen Dolan, Welker White, Laura Gomez and Florencia Lozano will perform solos by Joy Behar, Tanya Everett, Lucy Boyle, Dipti Bramhandkar, Sarah Bierstock and Lynn Grossman. Tickets are $25.

The Metropolitan Opera: Tristan und Isolde
On Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET, the Metropolitan Opera presents Wagner's Tristan und Isolde featuring Robert Dean Smith and Deborah Voigt as the title couple whose all-consuming love defies the law. James Levine conducts this 2008 mounting. Watch for free for 23 hours after the start time on the Metropolitan Opera's website. You can still stream yesterday's opera, Turandot, until 6:30 p.m. ET today.

Marin Mazzie and Jason Danieley: Broadway and Beyond
On Friday at 8 p.m. ET, for decades, Marin Mazzie was a beloved Broadway leading lady, known for her glorious soprano and moving performances in Ragtime, Kiss Me, Kate and opposite her husband, Jason Danieley, in Next to Normal. The longtime couple also frequently collaborated on cabaret shows, and tonight Broadway on Demand is streaming a recording of their final Feinstein's/54 Below performance in 2017, about a year before she died of ovarian cancer. During the set, the spouses celebrate the roles they played as well as their love. There will also be a pre-show tribute by Mazzie's Kiss Me, Kate costar Brian Stokes Mitchell. Have tissues handy. Tickets are $8 and proceeds benefit the Cancer Support Community, Tina’s Wish and The Actors Fund. The recording will remain viewable for 48 hours.

Irish Repertory Theatre: Love, Noël: The Songs and Letters of Noël Coward
On Friday at 8 p.m. ET, Irish Rep presents Love, Noël, a virtual reinvention of its 2019 celebration of playwright, songwriter and sparkling wit Noël Coward. Barry Day devised this two-person tribute featuring seasoned cabaret stars Steve Ross and KT Sullivan singing Coward's songs, such as "Mad About the Boy," "Together with Music" and "I'll Follow My Secret Heart," and channeling his famous friends, including Gertrude Lawrence, Marlene Dietrich, Greta Garbo and Elaine Stritch. Tickets are a suggested donation of $25 but TDF members get a discount. There will be a final performance on Saturday at 3 p.m. ET.

John & Jen Reunion on Stars in the House
On Friday at 8 p.m. ET, Seth Rudetsky and James Wesley host a John & Jen reunion on Stars in the House. An early musical co-created by Tom Greenwald and Tony-nominated Addams Family songwriter Andrew Lippa, the two-person show starred James Ludwig and Carolee Carmello, who went on to earn three Tony nominations. Watch for free on YouTube though donations to The Actors Fund are encouraged.

La MaMa: Downtown Variety
At 8 p.m. ET, experimental theatre mecca La MaMa presents the 13th edition of its eclectic Downtown Variety show, a smorgasbord of short performances that experiment with form. Tonight's lineup includes Peter Case, Maura García, Joshua William Gelb, Shauna Davis, Aroji Otieno and video art by Split Britches. Watch for free on the theatre's website.

Lena Hall: Obsessed: Alanis Morissette
On Friday at 9 p.m. ET, you oughta know that Lena Hall is a major Alanis Morissette fan. That's why the Hedwig Tony winner and Bat Out of Hell star is doing an evening of the feminist rocker's songs as part of her Obsessed concert series. Guitarist Daniel Palese accompanies Hall for the intimate acoustic set, which goes way beyond Jagged Little Pill. Tickets are $15.

Saturday, August 15

La MaMa: Hair 50th Anniversary
On Saturday at 11 a.m. ET, in 2017, La MaMa marked the half-century birthday of Hair, James Rado and Galt MacDermot's groundbreaking counter-culture musical, which premiered downtown before transferring to a club and, finally, to Broadway with the help of frequent La MaMa director Tom O'Horgan. Today the theatre shares a recording of that celebration featuring the creators and performances by actors who got their start in mountings of Hair over the decades, including Tony winners André De Shields and Melba Moore, Ellen Foley from Night Court, downtown diva Annie Golden and Dale Soules from Orange Is the New Black. Watch for free on La MaMa's Facebook page though donations are encouraged.

Stars in the House: Regional Theatre Spotlight on WaterTower Theatre
On Saturday at 2 p.m. ET, Stars in the House welcomes creatives from Texas' WaterTower Theatre. Founded in 1996, it's the resident company of the Addison Theatre Centre and is housed in a 32,000-square-foot state-of-the-art space. Learn more about this venerable institution for free on YouTube.

Christopher Jackson: Live from the West Side
On Saturday at 7 p.m. ET, Christopher Jackson performs an intimate live concert from midtown's New World Stages. The Hamilton Tony nominee will be backed by a full band but the audience will be online only. The lineup includes numbers from the shows he's starred in (In the Heights, Freestyle Love Supreme, Holler If Ya Hear Me), pop hits and some original tunes, plus backstage stories about his longtime pal Lin-Manual Miranda. Viewers will even have the chance to text questions or make special requests in real time. Tickets are $40 per household and proceeds benefit the nonprofit Dallas Summer Musicals, Inc. A recording will be available for 72 hours after the performance.

Play-PerView: The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity
On Saturday at 7 p.m. ET, the live reading series Play-PerView presents The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity, Kristoffer Diaz's 2010 play about a middle-rank pro wrestler whose chance to become a star involves exploiting cultural stereotypes. The insightful dramedy was a hit for Second Stage Theater a decade ago, where it won Obie and Lucille Lortel Awards for best new play, and this event reunites four members from that production, Usman Ally, Terence Archie, Desmin Borges and Christian Litke, with new addition Justin Kirk. The performance takes place on the free app Zoom, which you'll need to download beforehand. Tickets start at $5 and benefit New Dramatists.

Ham4Change: A Virtual Fundraiser Event
On Saturday at 7 p.m. ET, original Hamilton cast members including Lin-Manuel Miranda, Leslie Odom Jr., Daveed Diggs, Anthony Ramos, Okieriete Onaodowan, Jasmine Cephas Jones and Renée Elise Goldsberry are joined by other actors in the Ham fam plus director Thomas Kail for a live-streamed event benefiting various orgs fighting against systemic racism. Tune in for songs, stories and social justice. Tickets are $25.

Different Stars: A Reckoning with Time, Trauma, and Circumstance
On Saturday at 7 p.m. ET, Bronx-based queer composer Karl Saint Lucy debuts a digital adaptation of his song cycle Different Stars: A Reckoning with Time, Trauma, and Circumstance. Written in the aftermath of his first major breakup, the numbers explore grief and ghosts as pne man grapples with his history. James Jackson, Jr., Danielle Buonaiuto, Victoria Huston-Elem and Saint Lucy star. Watch for free on YouTube.

The Metropolitan Opera: La Bohème
On Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET, the Metropolitan Opera presents La Bohème, Puccini's romantic tragedy about love, bromance and art. Kristine Opolais, Susanna Phillips, Vittorio Grigolo, Massimo Cavalletti, Patrick Carfizzi and Oren Gradus star in this 2014 mounting. Watch for free for 23 hours after the start time on the Metropolitan Opera's website. You can still stream yesterday's opera, Tristan und Isolde, until 6:30 p.m. ET today.

Music at the Mansion: Liz McCartney: Rosemary and Time
On Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET, Broadway vet Liz McCartney (Mamma Mia!, Taboo, The Phantom of the Opera) performs Rosemary and Time, her one-woman tribute to the songs and career of the late Rosemary Clooney. McCartney sings live on the grounds of New Jersey's Oakeside Bloomfield Cultural Center for a small in-person audience with many more watching online. Tickets are $20.

Carrie Reunion on Stars in the House
On Saturday at 8 p.m. ET, get ready to scream! It's a Carrie reunion on Stars in the House. Based on the Stephen King coming-of-rage book and movie of the same name, Carrie is one of Broadway's most notorious bombs, closing just three days after opening in 1988, and inspiring the title of Ken Mandelbaum's book Not Since Carrie: Forty Years of Broadway Musical Flops. Tonight, stars Linzi Hateley, who played the title telekinetic teen, Tony winner Betty Buckley, who portrayed her abusive mom, Charlotte D'Amboise and Sally Ann Triplett discuss the legendary debacle with creators Michael Gore, Lawrence D. Cohen and Dean Pitchford. Watch for free on YouTube though donations to The Actors Fund are encouraged.

Sunday, August 16

Metropolitan Opera Stars Live in Concert: Roberto Alagna and Aleksandra Kurzak
On Sunday at 1:30 p.m. ET, the Metropolitan Opera continues its series of live recitals with Roberto Alagna and Aleksandra Kurzak. The husband-and-wife duo will sing popular arias and duets from Madama Butterfly, La Fanciulla del West, Cavalleria Rusticana, The Merry Widow and other classics, accompanied by a string quintet on an outdoor terrace in Èze, France. Tickets cost $20 and a recording of the performance will remain available until Friday, August 28.

Stars in the House: Moments in the Woods: A Virtual Gala
On Sunday at 7 p.m. ET, Stars in the House streams a celebrity-filled concert benefiting the Hancock-French Woods Arts Alliance, which brings year-round arts education to underserved communities. The lineup features alumni of the lauded French Woods Festival camp as well as supporters, including Lin-Manuel Miranda, Todrick Hall, Jason Alexander, Marc Shaiman, Mandy Gonzalez, Jason Robert Brown and Georgia Stitt and their talented kids, Andréa Burns, Melissa Errico, and Stars in the House hosts Seth Rudetsky and James Wesley. Watch for free on YouTube though donations are encouraged.

The Metropolitan Opera: Luisa Miller
On Sunday at 7:30 p.m. ET, the Metropolitan Opera shares a gem from its vaults: Nathaniel Merrill's 1979 mounting of Verdi's Luisa Miller, with Renata Scotto as the title romantic, who's head over heels for Plácido Domingo's Rodolfo, but his father (Bonaldo Giaiotti) and a blackmailer (James Morris) derail their happily ever after. Watch for free for 23 hours after the start time on the Metropolitan Opera's website. You can still stream yesterday's opera, La Bohème, until 6:30 p.m. ET today.

The Seth Concert Series: Stephanie J. Block
On Sunday at 8 p.m. ET, apparently, hosting a daily talk show online 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 in Provincetown with Broadway stars for the past decade. This summer he brings the show online, and tonight's headliner is Stephanie J. Block. The powerhouse belter made her Broadway debut impersonating Liza Minnelli in The Boy From Oz and last year she won a Tony for her turn as the mature Cher in The Cher Show. In between, she's starred in Wicked, 9 to 5, Falsettos and other eclectic musicals. Tickets are $25.

Guild Hall: Comedies by Eugene Pack
On Sunday at 8 p.m. ET, East Hampton's Guild Hall presents a trio of short romps by Eugene Pack, the creator of the popular Celebrity Autobigraphy live readings. The cast of cutups includes Matthew Broderick, John Leguizamo, Blair Underwood, Rachel Dratch, Cecily Strong, Santino Fontana and Andrea Martin. Tickets are $50 per household.

All Weekend

Scott Siegel's Great American Songbook Concert: Volume 8
Scott Siegel has been producing starry cabaret concerts at Town Hall and other storied venues for years. Now he brings his talent for assembling crackerjack crooners to YouTube. Today's lineup includes Tony nominees Jenn Colella and Tom Wopat, Aaron Lazar from The Last Ship and Brian Charles Rooney from The Threepenny Opera. Watch for free on YouTube.

San Francisco Ballet: Dance of Dreams
San Francisco Ballet presents Dance of Dreams, a new dance movie by Benjamin Millepied featuring choreography by Justin Peck, Dwight Rhoden, Janie Taylor and Christopher Wheeldon for six of the company's dancers. The performances were shot in iconic Bay Area locations and set to Bernard Herrmann's haunting music from Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo, appropriate given that romantic thriller takes place in the region. Watch for free on San Francisco Ballet's website.

Battery Dance Festival
Friday through Sunday at 7 p.m. ET, for the first time in its 39-year history, downtown's Battery Dance Festival goes virtual, with hour-long programs premiering every evening on YouTube from August 14 to 22. The international series kicks off with Black Voices in Dance on Friday, and continues with Indian dance on Saturday and Middle Eastern dance on Sunday. Each video will remain viewable until 10 days after its debut. Watch for free on Battery Dance's YouTube channel.

Black Lives, Black Words International Project: Plays for the People: Proof of Love
Friday through Sunday at 8 p.m. ET, Black Lives, Black Words International Project, an activist theatre initiative that produces shows by Black playwrights, continues its virtual Plays for the People series with Chisa Hutchinson's one-woman show Proof of Love. A moving exploration of grief and forgiveness centering on Constance, a middle-aged, upper-middle-class Black woman, whose life is upended after a car accident leaves her husband in a coma, the show premiered Off Broadway last year. Kyle Haden directs this online adaptation. Tickets are available to purchase from the theatre but TDF members get a discount.

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

Top image: Christopher Jackson in Hamilton. Photo by Joan Marcus.