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Molly Hernández in Lookingglass Alice, which is streaming on PBS. Photo by Liz Lauren.
Even though in-person theatre and dance are back in full swing, in the name of accessibility we're continuing to round up performances to watch online from the comfort of home. Our carefully curated list spotlights the ten best performances to stream over the holidays, Friday, December 22 to Monday, January 1, 2024, for free or at low cost.
Streaming from December 24 on for free to MAX subscribers.
Recorded live on stage in Japan and directed by Tony winner John Caird (Les Misérables), this eye-popping adaptation of the 2001 Studio Ghibli movie uses 32 performers and 50 puppets to conjure the fantastical tale of a 10-year-old girl who gets lost in an eerie world with her mom and dad. After her parents are turned into pigs, she must learn to survive and save her family. Performed in Japanese with English subtitles. Don't have MAX? It's also available to rent via Amazon for $6.
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Streaming Monday, December 25 at 6 p.m. ET to Monday, January 1, 2024 for FREE.
Bah humbug humor! Inspired by the holiday season's cornucopia of Christmas Carols, Anna Ouyang Moench (Mothers, Out of Time) has written a love letter to this theatrical chestnut focused on a Juilliard grad who spends his career aging through the various male roles in Dickens' classic. Presented in person earlier this month at Minneapolis' The Playwrights' Center, the play is available to stream from Christmas to New Year's. God bless actors, every one!
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Live-streaming on Wednesday, December 27 at 7 p.m. ET for $25.
Two Tony-nominated sisters—jazz singer Ann Hampton Callaway, who wrote and performed the beloved theme to The Nanny, and Broadway Baby Liz Callaway, who voiced a number of cinematic princesses—reunite for the holidays! The siblings are well-known for their family cabarets, and this evening includes their jubilant takes on seasonal songs and beloved Broadway show tunes. Streaming live from the cabaret hub's swanky stage. If you prefer to attend in person, click here for info.
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Streaming from December 28 on for free to MAX subscribers.
In tandem with the release of the movie musical The Color Purple, MAX is streaming the new documentary Oprah and The Color Purple Journey. Hosted by Oprah, who starred in the original 1985 Color Purple film, the doc gives fans a behind-the-scenes peek at the making of the starry film and celebrates the legacy of Alice Walker, the author of the eponymous novel.
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Live-streaming on Friday, December 29 at 9:45 ET for $25.
Forbidden Broadway favorite Christine Pedi channels a dozens divas of Christmas in this holiday hootenanny. Barbra Streisand, Patti LuPone, Liza Minnelli, Julie Andrews, Carol Channing are just some of the Broadway icons she channels in this seasonal songfest. Streaming live from the cabaret hub's swanky stage. If you prefer to attend in person, click here for info.
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Airing on TV on PBS Thirteen on Sunday, December 31 at 8 p.m. for FREE. Streaming until Sunday, January 28, 2024 online for FREE.
Recorded live at DC's Kennedy Center earlier this month, this hourlong concert features the incomparable Cynthia Erivo performing some of her favorite numbers. The Color Purple star will be joined by two of her fellow Tony winners, Ben Platt (Dear Evan Hansen) and Joaquina Kalukango (Paradise Square), as they croon Broadway staples, Motown hits and soul songs.
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Streaming on All Arts for FREE throughout the holidays.
In honor of the sparkly season, All Arts is streaming different iterations of the classic Christmas ballet, including The Hip Hop Nutcracker choreographed by two-time Tony nominee Jennifer Weber; The Nutcracker and the Mouse King by French dance-maker Bouba Landrille Tchouda; and a version starring students from the Interlochen Arts Academy.
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Streaming on Tubi for FREE throughout the holidays.
Recorded in 2020 during the shutdown, this modern-day musical take on the Christmas classic comes from John Caird and Paul Gordon, the team behind Broadway's Jane Eyre, and incorporates popular characters and plot lines from multiple Charles Dickens' novels. Betsy Wolfe (& Juliet) is the title character, a ruthless real estate mogul, who heads to her hometown for the holidays to foreclose on a hotel for the homeless run by her childhood sweetheart, Philip "Pip" Nickleby (Clifton Duncan). But soon three spirits arrive to scare her sweet. Jagged Little Pill Tony winner Lauren Patten, Moulin Rouge! Tony winner Danny Burstein and Hadestown's Patrick Page costar.
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Streaming until Friday, January 12, 2024 online for FREE.
Chicago's lauded Lookingglass Theatre Company may be on pause, but one of the troupe's most beloved productions, Lookingglass Alice, is on PBS. A thrilling, 90-minute reinvention of Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass, this circus-and-dance infused take was adapted and directed by David Catlin and recorded live on stage last year.
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Streaming on Apple TV+
Ted Lasso may have turned Hannah Waddingham into a household name but theatre lovers on both sides of the pond have loved the sassy and statuesque singer for years thanks to her acclaimed performances in Spamalot, A Little Night Music and Into the Woods. For this music-and-mirth-filled holiday special, which was recorded live at the London Coliseum, she's joined by many of her Ted Lasso crew along with special guests such as Hamilton Tony winner Leslie Odom, Jr. and erstwhile Gaston, Luke Evans. Hannah Waddingham: Home for Christmas is free to stream for Apple TV+ subscribers. Not a subscriber? You can get a seven-day free trial.
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Raven Snook is the Editor of TDF Stages. Follow her on Facebook at @Raven.Snook. Follow TDF on Facebook at @TDFNYC.
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