TDF Stages

With in-person theatre out of commission for the foreseeable future, many companies and performers from Broadway and beyond have been showcasing their work online. Below are performances you can watch this Pride weekend, June 27 to 28, for free or at very low cost.

All Weekend

Christine Lahti in Gloria: A Life
PBS presents Gloria: A Life, Emily Mann's vibrant bio-play about feminist icon Gloria Steinem starring Christine Lahti. The show played for months Off Broadway and is as engaging as it is informative, with insightful recreations of Steinem's seminal moments such as her 1963 undercover assignment at the Playboy Club, her co-founding of Ms. magazine in 1971 and the 1977 Houston Women's Conference. A multiracial, all-female ensemble embodies a variety of her peers. Watch for free until Friday, July 24 on PBS' website.

The Sound of Music Live!
The Shows Must Go On! presents The Sound of Music Live!, NBC's 2013 live broadcast of the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic starring Grammy winner Carrie Underwood as Maria and True Blood's Stephen Moyer as Captain von Trapp. While it got incredible ratings, many fans criticized the production, especially the two leads. But this mounting has its pleasures: Tony winners Christian Borle and Laura Benanti delight in supporting roles, and Audra McDonald is breathtaking as Mother Abbess. Her rendition of "Climb Ev'ry Mountain" is guaranteed to make you weep. Watch for free until Sunday at 2 p.m. ET on YouTube.

National Theatre: A Midsummer Night's Dream
London's National Theatre presents the Bridge Theatre's lauded 2019 mounting of A Midsummer Night's Dream, the Bard's beloved romantic comedy about sparring fairies messing with lovesick humans in a magical forest. Game of Thrones star Gwendoline Christie pulls double duty as Titania and Hippolyta, with hilarious support from UK stage vets Oliver Chris, David Moorst and Hammed Animashaun. Watch for free until Thursday, July 2 at 2 p.m. ET on the National Theatre's YouTube channel. Bonus: London's Shakespeare's Globe is also streaming its mounting of A Midsummer Night's Dream until Sunday, June 28.

Bristol Old Vic: The Grinning Man
The Bristol Old Vic shares a recording of The Grinning Man, a darkly comic 2016 musical based on Victor Hugo's novel The Man Who Laughs, about a disfigured young man, an innocent blind girl and a wolf, all denizens of a circus. Watch for free until Thursday, July 2 at 2 p.m. ET on the theatre's YouTube channel.

The Royal Ballet: Woolf Works
London's Royal Ballet shares a recording of Woolf Works, resident choreographer Wayne McGregor's triptych named for the inimitable Virginia Woolf. The dance-maker drew inspiration from her essays, letters and diaries as well as her seminal novels Mrs Dalloway, Orlando and The Waves. Watch for free until Friday, July 10 on YouTube.

Stratford Festival: The Adventures of Pericles
Ontario's venerable Stratford Festival continues its Shakespeare on Film series with The Adventures of Pericles, a rechristening of Pericles, Prince of Tyre, written at least in part by the Bard. Rarely staged, the play follows the dramatic journey of the title character, who gains, loses and then unexpectedly reunites with his family. Watch for free until Thursday, July 16 on the fest's YouTube channel.

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater: A Hymn for Alvin Ailey
The invaluable Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater presents A Hymn for Alvin Ailey, a 1999 documentary about the company. Director Orlando Bagwell was inspired by Hymn, a piece created by Ailey's longtime muse Judith Jamison with playwright-performer Anna Deavere Smith as a tribute to the dance pioneer after his death. This hour-long doc examines his work and legacy, and features dances interspersed with interviews. Watch for free until Thursday, July 2 at 6:30 p.m. ET on Alvin Ailey's YouTube channel.

Pride Plays: The Men from the Boys
Last June in honor of Pride Month, Michael Urie partnered with Rattlestick Playwrights Theater to present a festival of diverse LGBTQ play readings. This year the series has gone online, and you can watch a recording of its latest offering The Men from the Boys, Mart Crowley's sequel to his groundbreaking 1968 play The Boys in the Band, a frank, witty and poignant portrait of a group of gay men in the pre-Stonewall era. The Men from the Boys features many of the same characters 35 years later reuniting at a funeral, with some younger gay men in tow. Zachary Quinto, who starred in the Tony-winning revival of The Boys in the Band in 2018, directs a cast that includes Tony winner Denis O'Hare, Tony nominee Lou Liberatore, Mario Cantone and Telly Leung. Watch for free until Monday, June 29 at 7 p.m. ET on YouTube though donations to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS are encouraged.

Bard at the Gate: Kernel of Sanity
Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Paula Vogel curates Bard at the Gate, a new series of play readings showcasing urgent, under-the-radar scripts, some of which have never been produced! First up is Kernel of Sanity written in 1978 by Kermit Frazier, about the complicated relationship between a young Black actor and an older white peer who appeared together in a mounting of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. The cast features Matthew Hancock, Josh Hamilton and Oscar nominee Abigail Breslin. Watch for free on Bard at the Gate's YouTube channel.

The Homebound Project
The Homebound Project presents its third edition of world-premiere playlets, and the lineup is stellar. The dozen shorts include Jennifer Carpenter and Tony nominee Thomas Sadoski in a piece by Pulitzer Prize winner John Guare, directed by Jerry Zaks; Hamilton Tony winner Daveed Diggs in a work by C.A. Johnson; and Diane Lane in a piece by newly minted Pulitzer winner Michael R. Jackson, directed by Leigh Silverman. The brainchild of playwright Catya McMullen and director Jenna Worsham, this initiative is raising money to support food insecure families during the pandemic. Tickets start at $10 and proceeds go to No Kid Hungry.

Saturday, June 27

Falsettos
In honor of Pride, BroadwayHD is streaming the Tony-nominated revival of Falsettos at no cost. William Finn's groundbreaking musical is a funny and touching portrait of a late 20th-century family, centering on a neurotic gay man named Marvin, his ex-wife, his lover, their son, their psychiatrist and the lesbians next door. Christian Borle, Andrew Rannels, Stephanie J. Block and Brandon Uranowitz are all phenomenal, expertly navigating this hilarious and heartbreaking tale. Watch for free until Saturday at 8 p.m. ET on BroadwayHD though donations to Broadway Cares' Emergency Grants for Pandemic Relief are encouraged.

Raúl Esparza in Tartuffe
On Saturday at 2 p.m. ET, Molière in the Park, which usually presents productions in Prospect Park, moves to cyberspace with an online performance of the classical comedy Tartuffe, starring four-time Tony nominee Raúl Esparza as the title hypocrite and con man. The company's co-founder, Lucie Tiberghien, directs a cast that includes Samira Wiley (Orange Is the New Black) and husband and wife Chris Henry Coffey and Jennifer Mudge. If you're busy in the afternoon, there will be an encore performance at 7 p.m. ET, and a recording will be available to watch until Sunday, July 12. Tickets are free but required to get the viewing link; donations are encouraged.

Stars in the House Presents Beautiful Thing
On Saturday at 2 p.m. ET, Stars in the House continues its popular live play reading series with Jonathan Harvey's Beautiful Thing about a teen coming of age and coming out in a working-class neighborhood in '90s London. Devanand Janki directs, and the cast features Natalie Toro, Kennedy Kanagawa, Cheech Manohar, Kuhoo Verma and Jason Veasey. Watch for free on YouTube though donations to the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund are encouraged.

The Other Palace: The Last Five Years
On Saturday at 2:30 p.m. ET, London's The Other Palace presents The Last Five Years, Tony winner Jason Robert Brown's musical dissection of a romance, with the man telling his story chronologically while the woman recalls their relationship in reverse. The actors, Danny Becker and Lauren Samuels, who also directs, recorded their parts remotely, which adds to the sense of a couple disconnected. Tickets are £8, approximately $10. This performance won't be available after-the-fact.

Josh Groban: An Intimate Concert Event
On Saturday at 4 p.m. ET, international recording sensation and Tony-nominated Great Comet star Josh Groban performs a live online concert featuring a wide range of repertoire, from pop to classical to theatre. The VIP packages are already sold out, and we know we don't have to "sell" his fans on this. As of this writing, tickets are still available and start at $20. This performance won't be available after-the-fact.

Pride Plays: Masculinity Max
On Saturday at 7 p.m. ET, last June in honor of Pride Month, Michael Urie partnered with Rattlestick Playwrights Theater to present a festival of diverse LGBTQ play readings. This year the series has gone online. Tonight you can see a live performance of MJ Kaufman's Masculinity Max, about a recently transitioned trans man flirting with toxic masculinity and male privilege. Will Davis directs a cast that includes Ty Defoe, David Greenspan, Judy Gold, Aneesh Sheth, Kelli Simpkins and Vishal Vaidya. Watch for free until Tuesday, June 30 at 7 p.m. ET on YouTube though donations to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS are encouraged.

The Metropolitan Opera: Cendrillon
On Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET, the Metropolitan Opera shares Cendrillon, Massenet's enchanting operatic adaptation of the Cinderella story, starring Kathleen Kim, Joyce DiDonato, Alice Coote, Stephanie Blythe and Laurent Naouri, conducted by Bertrand de Billy. Filmed for the company's Live in HD series in 2018, it's available to watch for free for 23 hours after the start time on the Metropolitan Opera's website. You can still stream yesterday's opera, L'Elisir d'Amore, until 6:30 p.m. ET today.

Dance Theatre of Harlem: Balamouk
On Saturday at 8 p.m. ET, the half-century-old Dance Theatre of Harlem shares Annabelle Lopez Ochoa's Balamouk. This 2018 piece is set to a klezmer score and follows a group of vibrant individuals on a journey of hope. Watch for free on the dance company's YouTube channel.

Play-PerView: Brain Problems
On Saturday at 8 p.m. ET, the live-streamed theatre series Play-PerView presents Brain Problems, a new comedy by Malcolm Barrett (star of NBC's Timesless) about a cynic whose mental illness thrusts him into an imaginary world. Barrett leads a cast that includes Tina Huang, Brit Manor and Brandon Scott. The performance takes place on the free app Zoom, which you'll need to download in advance. Tickets start at $5, and proceeds benefit LA's Ammunition Theatre Company and Colors of Change. This performance won't be available after-the-fact.

Broadway on Demand: Xcalibur
On Saturday at 8 p.m. ET, Broadway on Demand streams Xcalibur, a musical inspired by the legend of King Arthur with songs by Tony-nominated Bonnie and Clyde composer Frank Wildhorn and lyricist Robin Lerner. Performed in Korean with English subtitles, the production is an over-the-top spectacle filled with action and romance. The rental costs $5.99 and includes a pre-show event with members of the original cast.

Global Goal: Unite for Our Future
On Saturday at 8 p.m. ET, the nonprofit Global Citizen hosts a star-studded concert to raise money for communities disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Hosted by Dwayne Johnson, the lineup includes Broadway stars such as Lin-Manuel Miranda and the original Broadway cast of Hamilton and Jennifer Hudson alongside the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Shakira, Coldplay, Usher and Miley Cyrus. Watch for free on Global Citizen's YouTube channel or on NBC on your TV.

BAM and New York Live Arts: Pride 2020: The House Party with Everybooty
On Saturday at 8 p.m. ET, avant-garde culture hubs BAM and New York Live Arts join forces for a virtual Pride party filled with drag, dance and music. Hosts Andre J., Tyler Ashley (better known as the Dauphine of Bushwick) and choreographer-director Raja Feather Kelly welcome an array of fierce and fabulous NYC artists including Migguel Anggelo, Bubble_T, DJ Shirine Saad's Gyal Tings, the House of LaBeija, the Illustrious Blacks, OOPS!, RAGGA NYC, Papi Juice and Switch n’ Play. Watch for free on YouTube though donations are encouraged.

Sunday, June 28

The Seth Concert Series: Lea Salonga
On Sunday at 9 a.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 today's headliner is Lea Salonga, who won a Tony Award for her Broadway debut in the original production of Miss Saigon when she was just 20 years old. Since then, she's starred in two Broadway mountings of Les Misérables, provided the singing voice of two animated Disney princesses, Mulan and Jasmine from Aladdin, and sold out concerts around the world. Tickets are $25. 9 a.m. ET too early for you? You can watch a recording of the concert at 8 p.m. ET this evening.

Joanna Lumley and Michael Palin in a Bit of Waiting for Godot
On Sunday at 2 p.m. ET, three beloved British stars, Me and My Girl Tony winner Robert Lindsay, Tony nominee and Absolutely Fabulous diva Joanna Lumley and Monty Python genius Michael Palin perform scenes from Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot, followed by a live Q&A. Tickets are £35, approximately $43, and proceeds benefit the Royal Theatrical Fund.

Stars in the House Presents Almost, Maine
On Sunday at 2 p.m. ET, Stars in the House continues its reading series for young audiences with Almost, Maine, John Cariani's charming collection of vignettes featuring kooky characters in a small New England town. The cast includes Girl From the North Country's Colton Ryan, Becca Bastos, Courtnee Carter, Cheech Manohar and Tevae Shoels. Watch for free on YouTube though donations to the New Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco are encouraged.

Provincetown Theater: The Night Larry Kramer Kissed Me
On Sunday at 7 p.m. ET, in honor of Pride and the late, great Larry Kramer, David Drake, the artistic director of Massachusetts' Provincetown Theater, shares a 2013 performance of his play The Night Larry Kramer Kissed Me about queer experiences during the height of the AIDS crisis. Originally conceived as a solo show, this special adaptation for a dozen out actors was staged as a benefit for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. Tonight you can watch a recording of that event featuring Tony winners BD Wong and André De Shields, Robin De Jesus, Anthony Rapp, Wesley Taylor, Kramer and others. Watch for free on Provincetown Theater's website though donations are encouraged.

The Metropolitan Opera: Die Zauberflöte
On Sunday at 7:30 p.m. ET, the Metropolitan Opera shares Tony winner Julie Taymor's puppet-filled production of Mozart's The Magic Flute, a fantastical fable starring Golda Schultz, Kathryn Lewek, Charles Castronovo, Markus Werba, Christian Van Horn and René Pape, conducted by James Levine. Filmed for the company's Live in HD series in 2017, it's available to watch for free for 23 hours after the start time on the Metropolitan Opera's website. Bonus: You can also watch The Royal Opera's take on the classic on YouTube.

Playbill's Pride Spectacular
On Sunday at 8 p.m. ET, Playbill celebrates Pride with an amazing concert featuring a slew of stage stars performing numbers from iconic LGBTQ musicals. The lineup includes Hedwig creator John Cameron Mitchell, Come from Away Tony nominee Jenn Colella, The Prom Tony nominee Caitlin Kinnunen, Mj Rodriguez from Pose, Cheyenne Jackson, Harvey Fierstein, Brandon Victor Dixon, Celia Rose Gooding and Lauren Patten from Jagged Little Pill, Be More Chill stars George Salazar and Jason Tam, Jelani Alladin from Frozen, Robin De Jesús, Lea DeLaria, Javier Muñoz, Diana Oh, BD Wong and Ken Page. Watch for free on Playbill's website though donations to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS are encouraged.

Everett Quinton in Der Ring Gott Farblonjet
On Sunday at 8 p.m. ET, in honor of Pride, Everett Quinton, the longtime of the late Charles Ludlam both on stage and off, headlines a live reading of one of their most celebrated collaborations, Der Ring Gott Farblonjet, a four-part parody of Wagner's "Ring" cycle, which premiered in 1977 at The Ridiculous Theatrical Company. Tonight's climactic installment is titled Götterdämmerung (Ring Damns Gods). Expect an outrageous, low-highbrow good time. Watch for free on St. John's Lutheran Church's Facebook page.

---

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

Top image: Robin De Jesús.