10+ Stage Performances to Watch Online This Weekend April 15-17
While in-person theatre is back in NYC, there are still wonderful shows to stream at home. Below are performances you can watch online this weekend, Friday, April 15 to Sunday, April 17, for free or at low cost.
Saturday, April 16
HowlRound: New York Theatre Artists for Ukraine
On Saturday at 10 a.m. ET, HowlRound presents New York Theatre Artists for Ukraine, a 12-hour online marathon of readings and conversations with 24 NYC performance arts institutions about the war in Ukraine. The lineup includes talks and performances from The Shed, HERE, Abrons Arts Center, BAM, St. Ann’s Warehouse, The Public Theater, The Park Avenue Armory and many others. This is not a fundraiser, it’s an artistic response to the devastating and shocking crisis. Watch for free on HowlRound TV.
Sunday, April 17
Play-PerView: The Right to Be a Bad Person
On Sunday at 9 p.m. ET, Play-PerView presents a recording of The Right to Be a Bad Person, which was filmed live on stage in LA. Inspired by Chekhov’s Platonov, Whit Hertford‘s play takes place at a surprise party where everyone’s bored. Then the most awful person alive arrives. Sitcom vet John Ross Bowie (Speechless, The Big Bang Theory) headlines this dark comedy. Tickets start at $5. After the premiere, the recording will be available until Monday, May 2 but tickets jump to $20.
All Weekend
Seattle Repertory Theatre: Ghosts
The lauded Seattle Rep is currently presenting an in-person production of Ibsen’s Ghosts, but you can watch a recording at home. Filmed live on stage, this new translation of the classic stars Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio as a widow who’s spent her life protecting her son from her late husband’s philandering. But when her son returns home with a new love in tow, long-held secrets begin to emerge. The cast also includes Oscar nominee David Strathairn. Tickets are $45 and the recording is viewable until Sunday, May 1. Closed captions and audio description are available.
All Arts: Queer Latine Voices at Teatro Pregones
All Arts presents the documentary Queer Latine Voices at Teatro Pregones, which chronicles the two-decade evolution of a program by the celebrated South Bronx theatre to spotlight queer Latinx artists. Watch for free. Closed captions and audio description are available.
Mosaic Theater Company: Private
Last chance! Washington, DC’s Mosaic Theater Company is currently presenting an in-person production of Private, but you can also stream a recording at home. Filmed live on stage and set in the not-too-distant future, Mona Pirnot‘s gripping new play examines privacy issues as a man takes a job and agrees to 24/7 surveillance for his family without informing his wife. Tickets are $40 and the recording is viewable until Sunday. Closed captions are available.
Royal Court Theatre: seven methods of killing kylie jenner
Last chance! London’s Royal Court Theatre presents a recording of seven methods of killing kylie jenner, which was filmed live on stage. Jasmine Lee-Jones‘ critically acclaimed dark comedy explores Blackness, queerness and the morass of social media as two real-life BFFs get into it on Twitter. Tickets are £10, approximately $13, and the recording is viewable until Sunday.
The Public Theater’s Shakespeare in the Park: Much Ado About Nothing
Get pumped for the upcoming season of The Public Theater’s Shakespeare in the Park with its 2020 mounting of Much Ado About Nothing. Directed by Tony winner Kenny Leon and featuring an all-Black cast led by the fabulous Danielle Brooks (The Color Purple, Orange Is the New Black) and Grantham Coleman, this is one of my favorite mountings of the Bard’s romantic comedy, a production that is often hilarious but also highlights the ongoing battle for equality. Watch for free anytime until Thursday, April 28 on PBS’ website.
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. and is engaging and 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-women ensemble embodies a variety of her peers. Watch for free until Thursday, April 28 on PBS’ website.
Center Theatre Group: I’ll Be Seein’ Ya
Los Angeles’ Center Theatre Group presents I’ll Be Seein’ Ya, a new play by two-time Pulitzer finalist Jon Robin Baitz (Other Desert Cities, The Substance of Fire) about what we’ve all just been through. A fragile woman named Allie (played by Oscar and Tony nominee Christine Lahti) retreats into a Hollywood-fueled fantasy world as the chaos of summer 2020 explodes outside her LA apartment. How can she face the future in a quickly evolving urban America? Filmed live on stage and directed by Robert Egan, this timely drama costars Justin Kirk as Allie’s chatterbox brother. Tickets are $25 and the recording is viewable until Sunday, May 1.
New Victory Theater: Jabari Dreams of Freedom
Last chance! NYC’s premiere family theatre, The New Victory, recently presented an in-person production of Jabari Dreams of Freedom, and now you can watch a recording at home. Nambi E. Kelley‘s play centers on Jabari, a modern-day Black teen who connects with Civil Rights greats such as Ruby Bridges and Claudette Colvin in his dreams. Rap, freedom songs, hip-hop dance and humor are threaded into this powerful piece. Tickets are $25 and the recording is viewable until Sunday.
TADA! Youth Theater: Wide-awake Jake
TADA!, NYC’s Drama Desk Award-winning youth company whose alums include Jordan Peele and Kerry Washington, presents Wide-awake Jake, an original musical for children that was recorded live on stage earlier this spring. A boy who just can’t fall asleep goes on a fantastical adventure to tire himself out, meeting all kinds of kooky creatures and characters along the way. The hour-long musical stars members of TADA!’s Resident Youth Ensemble, talented tykes ages 8 to 18. Tickets are $10 and the recording is viewable until Saturday, April 30.
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RAVEN SNOOK