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 today, Thursday, September 10, from the comfort of your couch for free or at low cost.

Live & In Color: Days of Re-Creation
At 7 p.m. ET, Live & In Color presents Days of Re-Creation, an urgent reimagining of the Book of Genesis inspired by how we're living today. The evening consists of seven playlets by writers of color: 3 Karens by Tony winner BD Wong, The Strong Friend, and Company by Masi Asare, SoilMates by SEVAN, To the Stars, With Love by Nandita Shenoy, The Nerd by Lauren Yee, S.C.R.I by AriDy Nox and La Egoista by Erlina Ortiz. The diverse cast includes Marc delaCruz and Jared Dixon from Hamilton; Angel Desai from Company, L Morgan Lee from A Strange Loop, Jason Veasey from The Lion King and Brandi Porter from A Bronx Tale. Watch for free on YouTube though donations are encouraged.

The Metropolitan Opera: Cendrillon
At 7:30 p.m. ET, the Metropolitan Opera's French week continues with Cendrillon, Jules Massenet and Henri Caïn's turn-of-the-20th-century take on the old Cinderella story, featuring internationally revered mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato in the title role and Alice Coote as her drag king prince. Kathleen Kim, Stephanie Blythe and Laurent Naouri costar in this 2018 mounting. Watch for free for 23 hours after the start time on the Metropolitan Opera's website. You can still stream yesterday's opera, La Damnation De Faust, until 6:30 p.m. ET today.

Incidental Moments of the Day: The Apple Family: Life on Zoom
At 7:30 p.m. ET, Tony-winning dramatist and director Richard Nelson premieres Incidental Moments of the Day, the final installment of his of-the-moment Zoom trilogy centered on his fictional Apple family. From 2010 to 2013, Nelson mounted one hyper-realistic play a year about this Rhinebeck, New York clan as they grappled with national milestones such as the 10th anniversary of September 11, the 2012 reelection of Barack Obama and the 50th anniversary of JFK's assassination. This past April, as the COVID-19 pandemic peaked in New York, the Apples reunited for What Do We Need To Talk About?, a Zoom call in quarantine, followed by And So We Come Forth in July. Once again, the four siblings and one boyfriend, played by the cast of the original tetralogy—Tony winner Maryann Plunkett, Sally Murphy, Laila Robins, Jay O. Sanders and Stephen Kunken—will assuage their isolation via technology as they discuss how they're faring and their fears around the upcoming presidential election. There's also a surprise guest, Charlotte Bydwell as Lucy Michael, a character from another Nelson series, The Michaels. The previous hour-long Apple Zooms were profoundly moving and akin to eavesdropping, an uncanny reflection of how so many white, middle-class, middle-aged liberals are feeling today. We expect more of the same from this climactic episode. Watch for free on YouTube though donations to The Actors Fund are encouraged. A recording will be available to watch until Thursday, November 5.

Stars in the House: Night at the Museum Reunion
At 8 p.m. ET, Seth Rudetsky and James Wesley celebrate the 200th episode of Stars in the House with the cast of the hit comedy Night at the Museum. Many of the movie's stars have trod the boards in NYC, including Ben Stiller, who made his Broadway debut at age 20 in the original production of The House of Blue Leaves; Spamalot Tony nominee Hank Azaria; Broadway vets Carla Gugino and Bill Cobbs; and Mizuo Peck, who started out as a kid performer at TADA! Youth Theater. Expect behind-the-scenes stories and even a couple of songs (hey, we know some of these folks can sing!). Watch for free on YouTube though donations to The Actors Fund are encouraged.

Available to Watch All Day

Scott Siegel's Great American Songbook Concert: Volume 10
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. This edition's lineup includes Tootsie Tony nominee Lilli Cooper, Jagged Little Pill heartbreaker Elizabeth Stanley, two-time Tony nominee Christine Andreas, Broadway belter Lisa Howard and Forbidden Broadway stalwart Jenny Lee Stern. Watch for free on YouTube.

The Metropolitan Opera: Rusalka
Ever since the shutdown began, the Metropolitan Opera has been sharing productions from its Live in HD series nightly at 7:30 p.m. ET. But it also presents weekly student streams that debut on Wednesdays at 5 p.m. ET. These productions have been specially selected for families, and Zoom education sessions leading up to the screening teach school-age kids about opera. This week's offering is Rusalka, Czech composer Antonín Dvorák's tragic take on the Little Mermaid fable, staged by Mary Zimmerman in 2017 and starring Kristine Opalais, Brandon Jovanovich and Eric Owens. Watch for free until Friday at 5 p.m. ET on the Metropolitan Opera's website.

The Rev Theatre Co.: The Buddy Holly Story
Auburn, New York's The Rev Theatre Co. presents The Buddy Holly Story, a jukebox musical celebrating the life and music of the title rocker, who died tragically in a plane crash at age 22. Featuring a slew of his '50s hits, including "That’ll Be the Day," "Peggy Sue" and "Not Fade Away," the show was filmed live at the theatre earlier this summer without an audience. Now it's being streamed to fans around the globe. Tickets are $15 and the recording is available until Wednesday, September 16.

The Wooster Group: The B-Side
Pioneering avant-garde theatre troupe The Wooster Group shares a recording of its acclaimed 2017 production The B-Side, inspired by the 1965 LP Negro Folklore from Texas State Prisons, featuring work songs and spirituals recorded live by inmates in Texas' then-segregated penitentiaries. Billed as a "record album interpretation," the singular piece is a collaboration between the company and actor Eric Berryman, who brought the source material to The Wooster Group's attention. Watch for free until Monday, September 14 on the theatre's website.

Urban Stages: #NWord
On Wednesday night, Off-Off Broadway's Urban Stages presented a live reading of Christian Elder's #NWord, and you can watch a recording today. A drama about the fallout after a video of an 8-year-old white girl using the racial slur against a Black classmate goes viral, the play stars Bethel Caram, Shabazz Green, Reuben Goldman, Paul Kelly and Disnie Sebastien. There's also a post-performance Q&A with the playwright, actors and director, Vincent Scott. Watch for free until Sunday on Urban Stages' YouTube channel though donations are encouraged.

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

Top image: Jay O. Sanders, Maryann Plunkett and Stephen Kunken in What Do We Need To Talk About?.