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, March 5 to Sunday, March 7, for free or at low cost.

Friday, March 5

New York Theatre Workshop: 25 Years of Rent: Measured in Love
A quarter century ago (aka 525,600 minutes x 25), Rent premiered at New York Theatre Workshop (NYTW). Loosely based on La Bohème, the musical was a love letter to artists, activists and aspirers grappling with AIDS and gentrification in the '90s East Village. But you probably already know all this—the show transferred to Broadway, won four Tony Awards and the Pulitzer Prize, and became a cultural phenomenon. NYTW celebrates Rent's legacy at this virtual gala featuring many actors from the show's original cast, including Tony winner Wilson Jermaine Heredia, Jesse L. Martin, Idina Menzel, Adam Pascal, Daphne Rubin-Vega and Anthony Rapp. They share songs from and behind-the-scenes stories about the show, and tributes to its creator Jonathan Larson, who died the night of Rent's first preview at NYTW. Other performers include Christopher Jackson, Eva Noblezada, Ben Platt, Billy Porter, Ali Stroker and Tracie Thoms plus new songs from Joe Iconis and Pasek and Paul. Tickets are $25 and the recording is viewable until Saturday at 8 p.m. ET.

New York City Center: Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake
On Friday at 6 p.m. ET, New York City Center kicks off its New Adventures Festival featuring four theatrical ballets created by maverick choreographer Matthew Bourne. First up is his beloved and bold take on Swan Lake, starring a sensual ensemble of menacing male swans. The show was a Tony-winning hit on Broadway two decades ago, but Bourne and his longtime collaborator, set and costume designer Lez Brotherston, updated elements of the production for this recent run at London's Sadler's Wells Theatre, which was filmed live on stage in 2019. Will Bozier stars as The Swan/The Stranger, Liam Mower is The Prince and Nicole Kabera plays The Queen. Tickets are $15 and the recording is viewable until Sunday, March 14.

M-34 Productions: Franz Kafka's Letter to My Father
On Friday at 7 p.m. ET, M-34 Productions presents Franz Kafka's Letter to My Father, a one-man dramatization of the anguished but unread missive the groundbreaking author wrote to his dad in 1919. James Rutherford directs Michael Guagno in this digital production exploring alienation and isolation. Tickets are pay-what-you-wish.

The Metropolitan Opera: Peter Grimes
On Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET, the Metropolitan Opera presents John Doyle's moving mounting of Benjamin Britten's Peter Grimes, about an outcast fisherman (Anthony Dean Griffey) unjustly believed to be a murderer by his neighbors. Patricia Racette and Anthony Michaels-Moore costar in this 2008 production. Watch for free for 23 hours after the start time on the Metropolitan Opera's website. You can still stream yesterday's opera, Die Zauberflöte, until 6:30 p.m. ET today.

Irish Repertory Theatre: Belfast Blues
On Friday at 8 p.m. ET, this winter, the venerable Irish Rep is presenting encore streams of its entire digital season. Tonight is your last chance to watch Belfast Blues, Geraldine Hughes' touching autobiographical solo show about growing up in Ireland during The Troubles in the '80s and how acting offered her a way out. After touring with this very personal play for more than a decade, Hughes, whose Broadway credits include Jerusalem and Harry Potter, did a final engagement at the Lyric Theatre in Belfast in 2019. This video comes from that run. Tickets are free but required to receive the viewing link; donations are encouraged.

Stars in the House: Celebrating Birdland
On Friday at 8 p.m. ET, Seth Rudetsky and James Wesley celebrate one of NYC's most iconic music venues: Birdland. Regulars dropping by to the champion the club include cabaret maven Jim Caruso, diva Natalie Douglas, Broadway funny lady Julie Halston, legendary singer Marilyn Maye and pianist to the stars Billy Stritch. Watch for free on YouTube though donations to The Actors Fund are encouraged.

Creede Repertory Theatre: To the Moon
On Friday at 8 p.m. ET, Colorado's Creede Repertory Theatre presents To the Moon, Beth Kander's docudrama inspired by in-person interviews with survivors of domestic violence. The harrowing material will be performed live by an all-women cast, including Broadway vet Kathryn Grody, who's become a pandemic social media darling alongside her husband, Mandy Patinkin. Tickets are free but required to receive the viewing link.

Saturday, March 6

Irish Repertory Theatre: Give Me Your Hand
On Saturday at 3 p.m. ET, this winter, the venerable Irish Rep is presenting encore streams of its entire digital season. Today is your last chance to watch Give Me Your Hand, a virtual tour of London's National Gallery featuring Tony nominee Dearbhla Molloy and Dermot Crowley reciting Paul Durcan poems as paintings are projected. Directed by Jamie Beamish, this is a digital reimagining of the company's 2012 hit production. Tickets are free but required to receive the viewing link; donations are encouraged.

Creede Repertory Theatre: To the Moon
On Saturday at 4 p.m. ET, Colorado's Creede Repertory Theatre presents To the Moon, Beth Kander's docudrama inspired by more than 200 surveys and 20 in-person interviews with survivors of domestic violence. The harrowing material will be performed live by an all-women cast, including Broadway vet Kathryn Grody, who's become a pandemic social media darling alongside her husband, Mandy Patinkin. Tickets are free but required to receive the viewing link.

Jagged Live in NYC: A Broadway Reunion Concert
On Saturday at 7 p.m. ET, in December, the stars of last season's most Tony-nominated musical, Jagged Little Pill, reunited for a live concert streamed from Shubert Studios in Manhattan. You oughta know that this Saturday night, you can catch a replay of that rockin' event, featuring Broadway cast members Celia Rose Gooding, Lauren Patten, Elizabeth Stanley, Derek Klena, Sean Allan Krill, Kathryn Gallagher and Antonio Cipriano performing numbers from the musical, which is inspired by Alanis Morissette's album of the same name. This is the closest you'll get to seeing the show until Broadway reopens! Tickets are free but required to receive the viewing link.

Tonight at the London Coliseum: Ramin Karimloo
On Saturday at 7 p.m. ET, last fall, the London Coliseum hosted a series of live solo concerts showcasing West End stars. Now Broadway on Demand is sharing recordings of those musical evenings, starting with Les Misérables Tony nominee Ramin Karimloo. The Anastasia and Phantom of the Opera alum is backed by his band in this intimate set featuring show tunes as well as original numbers. Tickets are $13.

The Metropolitan Opera: Rusalka
On Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET, the Metropolitan Opera presents Otto Schenk's staging of Rusalka, Antonín Dvorák's tragic Little Mermaid-style fable, starring soprano Renée Fleming as a water nymph who longs to be where the people are so she can win her prince (Piotr Beczala). Emily Magee, Dolora Zajick and John Relyea costar 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, Peter Grimes, until 6:30 p.m. ET today.

Stars in the House: Little Shop of Horrors Suddenly Seymours!
On Saturday at 8 p.m. ET, Seth Rudetsky and James Wesley welcome an adorkable lineup of actors who've played Seymour in Little Shop of Horrors. The guest list includes Lee Wilkof, who originated the role Off Broadway; Hunter Foster, who earned a 2004 Tony nomination for playing the part on Broadway; Gideon Glick, who was starring in the critically acclaimed revival at the Westside Theatre when the pandemic hit; and Jeremy Jordan, who was scheduled to take over for Glick before theatres shut down. Watch for free on YouTube though donations to The Actors Fund are encouraged.

Metropolitan Playhouse: Not Smart
On Saturday at 8 p.m. ET, Metropolitan Playhouse, an Obie-winning company that revives forgotten works, presents a reading of Not Smart, Wilbur Daniel Steele's one-act farce about a couple whose high-minded principles about gender and class are undermined when their maid reveals that she's pregnant. Mark Harborth directs Victoria Bundonis, Ryan Halsaver, Clara Kundin, Maria Silverman and Matthew Trumbull in this century-old play about culture and common sense wars. Watch for free on the company's YouTube channel though donations are encouraged.

Irish Repertory Theatre: A Touch of the Poet
On Saturday at 8 p.m. ET, this winter, the venerable Irish Rep is presenting encore streams of its entire digital season. Tonight is your last chance to catch Eugene O'Neill's compelling immigrant drama A Touch of the Poet, featuring Tony nominee Robert Cuccioli as Con, an Irish-American inn owner near Boston in 1828, clinging to a gentlemanly past that never was. Ciarán O'Reilly directs a cast that includes Ciaran Byrne, Kate Forbes and Mary McCann. Tickets are free but required to receive the viewing link; donations are encouraged.

Japan Society: Ludic Proxy: Fukushima
On Saturday at 9:30 p.m. ET, NYC's Japan Society presents Ludic Proxy: Fukushima, Aya Ogawa's interactive one-act about two sisters living in the shadow of Japan's devastating 2011 earthquake and tsunami. The audience helps the characters cautiously navigate life in their hometown by voting in real time about the next moves they should make. Originally part of a longer in-person piece presented by PlayCo in 2015, the drama has been reimagined for digital consumption. Tickets are $15 but if you're a TDF member, log in to your account to purchase them at a discount.

Sunday, March 7

Irish Repertory Theatre: On Beckett / In Screen
On Sunday at 2 p.m. ET, this winter, the venerable Irish Rep is presenting encore streams of its entire digital season. Today is your last chance to watch Tony winner Bill Irwin in a virtual reimagining of his hit solo show On Beckett. Once again, the acclaimed clown takes the stage at the Chelsea theatre to explore the words and work of the groundbreaking Irish playwright Samuel Beckett. Only this time, no one is in the audience, which makes this meditation on Beckett's themes of loneliness, loss and decay even more haunting. Tickets are free but required to receive the viewing link; donations are encouraged.

The Seth Concert Series: Eva Noblezada
On Sunday at 3 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 Eva Noblezada. At just 24, she's already a two-time Tony nominee for her captivating turns as a teenage orphan in the 2017 revival of Miss Saigon and the plucky Eurydice in Hadestown. For this intimate performance, she'll croon numbers from her career and share details about her journey from performing arts high school to Broadway. Tickets are $25. Note: the 3 p.m. ET concert is performed live, the replay is at 8 p.m. ET.

M-34 Productions: Franz Kafka's Letter to My Father
On Sunday at 3 p.m. ET, M-34 Productions presents Franz Kafka's Letter to My Father, a one-man dramatization of the anguished but unread missive the groundbreaking author wrote to his dad in 1919. James Rutherford directs Michael Guagno in this digital production exploring alienation and isolation. Tickets are pay-what-you-wish.

Japan Society: Ludic Proxy: Fukushima
On Sunday at 4:30 p.m. ET, NYC's Japan Society presents Ludic Proxy: Fukushima, Aya Ogawa's interactive one-act about two sisters living in the shadow of Japan's devastating 2011 earthquake and tsunami. The audience helps the characters cautiously navigate life in their hometown by voting in real time about the next moves they should make. Originally part of a longer in-person piece presented by PlayCo in 2015, the drama has been reimagined for digital consumption. Tickets are $15 but if you're a TDF member, log in to your account to purchase them at a discount.

Irish Repertory Theatre: Meet Me in St. Louis
On Sunday at 7 p.m. ET, this winter, the venerable Irish Rep is presenting encore streams of its entire digital season. The series wraps up tonight with Meet Me in St. Louis, a charmingly old-fashioned musical based on the cherished MGM movie of the same name. Charlotte Moore, who appeared in the 1989 Broadway mounting of the show, directs a cast led by the honey-voiced Shereen Ahmed in the Judy Garland role, alongside Broadway vets Melissa Errico and Max Von Essen. The glorious score includes "The Trolley Song," "The Boy Next Door" and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas." Tickets are free but required to receive the viewing link; donations are encouraged.

The Metropolitan Opera: La Forza del Destino
On Sunday at 7:30 p.m. ET, the Metropolitan Opera shares a gem from its vaults: John Dexter's mounting of Verdi's La Forza del Destino, starring the legendary Leontyne Price as an ill-fated Spanish noblewoman who loses three of her loved ones before facing her own demise. Giuseppe Giacomini, Leo Nucci and Bonaldo Giaiotti costar in this 1984 production. Watch for free for 23 hours after the start time on the Metropolitan Opera's website. You can still stream yesterday's opera, Rusalka, until 6:30 p.m. ET today.

Unremarkable! A Melissa Li & Kit Yan Concert Special
On Sunday at 8 p.m. ET, queer Asian-American musical theatre writers Melissa Li and Kit Yan host a concert of their songs performed by Broadway favorites such as Tony winner Ruthie Ann Miles, Hamilton's Marc delaCruz and Be More Chill's Stephanie Hsu. Tickets are free but required to receive the viewing link; donations are encouraged.

All Weekend

New Normal Rep: Jericho
New Normal Rep presents Jericho, Jack Canfora's poignant drama about a Jewish family on Long Island navigating the emotional minefield of a post-9/11 Thanksgiving gathering. Four-time Academy Award nominee Marsha Mason directs a cast headlined by L.A. Law star Jill Eikenberry and Eleanor Handley, reprising their roles from the play's 2013 critically acclaimed Off-Broadway run. 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 Sunday, April 4.

New York City Ballet: Theme and Variations
New York City Ballet continues its digital spring season with Theme and Variations, George Balanchine's celebration of classical Russian ballet, set to the final movement of Tchaikovsky's third orchestral suite. Andrew Veyette and Tiler Peck headline this archival recording. Watch for free until Thursday, March 11 on NYCB's YouTube channel.

Some Old Black Man
Three years ago, James Anthony Tyler's moving two-hander Some Old Black Man had its New York premiere at 59E59 Theaters. Last fall, the University of Michigan restaged and recorded that production, with Joe Cacaci directing original star Wendell Pierce and Charlie Robinson stepping in for the late Roger Robinson (no relation). Pierce plays Calvin, a 62-year-old NYC college professor who moves his irascible, working-class Southerner father into his Harlem brownstone. There, the two engage in a generational conflict about race, opportunities and past history. Register to receive the free viewing link. The recording is viewable until Friday, March 12.

Emilia
In 2018, Shakespeare's Globe commissioned Morgan Lloyd Malcolm to write a play inspired by the life of Emilia Bassano, the 17th-century poet and feminist rumored to have been the Bard's Dark Lady, the subject of some of his bawdiest sonnets. Titled Emilia, the empowering, all-women work was such a critical and commercial hit, it transferred to the West End and a recording of that production is being streamed all month long. Pay-what-you-can tickets start at £1, approximately $1.40, and the recording is viewable until Wednesday, March 31. Closed captions and audio description are available.

Where Did We Sit on the Bus?
The son of El Salvadoran refugees who came to the US seeking a better life, Brian Quijada explores his family and his culture in the exuberant autobiographical solo show Where Did We Sit on the Bus? A gifted storyteller, beatboxer and musician, Quijada spent years developing this moving piece with director Chay Yew, and toured it around the country, including a 2016 stop at NYC's Ensemble Studio Theatre. This performance was filmed live on stage in Chicago with his parents in the audience and the energy is palpable. Tickets are $30 and the recording is viewable until Sunday.

Company XIV
Brooklyn's upscale burlesque and circus troupe Company XIV has released recordings of two sexy spectacles: the holiday-themed Nutcracker Rouge and Valentine, a Virtual Variety Show. Both were recorded at the company's swanky Bushwick theatre and feature titillating acts of music, magic, aerial arts and striptease. Tickets to each show are $50, but if you're a TDF member, log in to your account to purchase them at a discount.

The Wild Project: Happy Days
On Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., and Sunday at 3 p.m. ET, East Village mainstay The Wild Project presents a digital production of Happy Days, Samuel Beckett's bittersweet tragicomedy about the toll life inevitably takes. Despite being a two-hander, the play is essentially a monologue delivered by Winnie, a woman who's literally trapped but still strives to remember the good times and greet each day with optimism. Although Beckett wrote this masterpiece 60 years ago, it takes on new resonance during these time-warped pandemic days. Nico Krell directs Tessa Albertson and Jake Austin Robertson. Tickets are free but required to receive the viewing link; a $25 donation is suggested.

Broadway Podcast Network: King Kirby
Husband-and-wife writers Fred Van Lente and Crystal Skillman have turned one of their most popular collaborations, King Kirby, into a four-episode audio play chronicling the incredible origin story of Jack Kirby, Stan Lee's frequent yet insufficiently famous collaborator who helped co-create the Hulk, Iron Man and several X-Men. Steven Rattazzi, who headlined the play's 2013 Off-Off Broadway production, once again stars as the undersung comic book great. Listen to all four parts for free on Broadway Podcast Network's website.

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

Top image: Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake, which is streaming for 10 days beginning Friday. Photo by Johan Persson.