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Nikki Calonge and Amelia Pedlow in The Scarlet Letter at Two River Theater. Photo by T Charles Erickson.
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 five best options to stream this holiday weekend, Friday, February 16 to Monday, February 19, for free or at low cost.
Streaming for free to MAX subscribers starting Friday, February 16.
The glorious film adaptation of the Broadway musical The Color Purple debuts on MAX this weekend. Fantasia Barrino stars as Celie, a role she previously played on Broadway; Tony nominee Colman Domingo is her abusive husband; Danielle Brooks is the outspoken Sofia, a part that earned her Tony and Oscar nominations; and there are many other famous stage folks in supporting roles, including Corey Hawkins, David Alan Grier and Elizabeth Marvel. Directed by Blitz Bazawule, it's a thrilling reinvention of Alice Walker's epic novel tracing one woman's journey of survival and self-acceptance. After you watch, check out the behind-the-scenes doc Oprah and The Color Purple Journey, also streaming on MAX.---
Live-streaming Friday, February 16 at 8 p.m.; Saturday, February 17 at 3 and 8 p.m.; and Sunday, February 18 at 3 p.m. ET for $49.
Lit-loving playwright Kate Hamill, whose inventive stage adaptations of famous novels include Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Little Women and Dracula, works her theatrical magic on Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, about a woman who strives for a better life for herself and her daughter. Shelley Butler directs this in-person world premiere at New Jersey's Two River Theater, which is being live-streamed to at-home audiences courtesy of The League of Live Stream Theater.
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Live-streaming Sunday, February 18 at 7 p.m. ET for $28.50
A slew of musical theatre favorites perform songs from In Dahomey, Broadway's first musical to be both written and performed by Black artists. Aladdin's Major Attaway, The Music Man's Lance Roberts, Hadestown's Kimberly Marable and A Strange Loop's James Jackson, Jr. are just some of the beloved performers crooning tunes from this undersung 1903 milestone, with a score that fuses opera and ragtime. Streaming live from the cabaret club's swanky stage. If you prefer to attend in person, click here for info.
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Begins streaming on Monday, February 19 at 7 p.m. for FREE. Available until Sunday, March 17.
Mint Theater Company, which has been unearthing forgotten plays since 1992, presents Becomes a Woman, which was recorded live on stage in 2023. The brainchild of Betty Smith, author of the enduring, autobiographically inspired classic A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, the play was written while she was auditing courses at the University of Michigan. The drama has a lot in common with her signature novel, including an adolescent protagonist with the same name, Francie Nolan, who lives with her family in Brooklyn and learns some hard lessons during her coming of age. Although Becomes a Woman won a $1,000 prize that allowed Smith to continue her theatre studies at Yale, it was never published or even produced until Mint gave the show its world premiere last year. Discover the dramatist who could have been!
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Streaming until Thursday, February 29 for FREE.
Last year, in honor of Great Performances' 50th anniversary, the invaluable series presented this concert featuring a jaw-dropping lineup of stage stars singing iconic show tunes from the past half century. Recorded live on stage at Lincoln Center and hosted by Sutton Foster, the 90-minute evening includes Corbin Bleu in an exhilarating tap number from Jelly’s Last Jam; a tribute to A Chorus Line with Donna McKechnie and Robyn Hurder; The Wiz star André De Shields belting out "So You Wanted to See the Wizard;" "She Used to Be Mine" from Waitress sung by Sara Bareilles; the late, great Chita Rivera crooning her signature tune "All That Jazz" from Chicago; a 20-year medley by Rob McClure; plus Shoshana Bean, Raúl Esparza, James Monroe Iglehart, Ledisi, Norm Lewis, Patina Miller, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Jessie Mueller, Mamie Parris, Solea Pfeiffer, Britton Smith, Jessica Vosk and Vanessa Williams.
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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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