13 Performances with Stage Stars to Watch Today, April 14
With in-person theatre out of commission for the foreseeable future, many performers are sharing their talents online. Below are performances you can watch today, Tuesday, April 14, from the comfort of your couch for free (or at very low cost).
A few weeks ago Dave Malloy, the Tony-nominated creator of Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812, posted a full-length recording of the 2015 mounting of his musical Ghost Quartet on YouTube. Now he’s sharing another one from his archives, the original 2011 Shotgun Players production of Beardo, which he describes as “a surreal retelling of the Rasputin myth.” Clearly Russia is his muse. Watch it for FREE on Vimeo.
At 2 p.m. EST, Seth Rudetsky and James Wesley welcome Will & Grace cutup and Tony nominee Sean Hayes to Stars in the House. Expect fun stories and hopefully a couple of songs as Hayes has great pipes. This twice daily series supports The Actors Fund, and you can watch for free on the organization’s YouTube channel.
At 7 p.m. EST, go avant-garde with Café La MaMa Live: Take 2, a smorgasbord of short performances that experiment with form. This week, curator Pearse Redmond brings together puppet master Jane Catherine Shaw, songwriters Molly Reisman & Clayton Briggs, Gilberto Flores and Diana Pau. Watch for free on La MaMa’s website, though donations are encouraged.
At 7:30 p.m. EST, the Metropolitan Opera shares its 2010 mounting of Mussorgsky’s Boris Godunov, starring Starring René Pape, and conducted by Valery Gergiev. The production was filmed for the company’s Live in HD series, and is available to watch for free for 23 hours after the start time at metopera.org. You can still stream yesterday’s opera, Rusalka, until 6:30 p.m. today.
At 8 p.m. EST, it’s a Glee reunion on Stars in the House as hosts Seth Rudetsky and James Wesley welcome Darren Criss, Matthew Morrison, Jane Lynch, Jenna Ushkowitz, Chris Colfer, Amber Riley and Kevin McHale. We can’t wait to hear what they’ll sing! We’re hoping Riley gives us a taste of her critically acclaimed West End Dreamgirls performance. This twice daily series supports The Actors Fund, and you can watch for free on the organization’s YouTube channel.
At 8 p.m. EST, one of the most acclaimed regional theatres in the country, the Actors Theatre of Louisville, shares a recording of Where the Mountain Meets the Sea by lauded playwright Jeff Augustin (Little Children Dream of God at Roundabout Theatre Company, The New Englanders at Manhattan Theatre Club) with songs by The Bengsons (Hundred Days). An exploration of the complicated relationship between a Haitian immigrant and his American-born son, the show was commissioned by the theatre for its Humana Festival of New American Plays. Tickets are available to purchase from the theatre but TDF members get a discount.
At 8 p.m. EST, Actors Theatre of Louisville shares a recording of Are You There?, a trio of new short works about socializing in the digital age that were commissioned for its annual Humana Festival of New American Plays. Tickets are available to purchase from the theatre but TDF members get a discount.
London’s National Theatre is sharing its mounting of Jane Erye, based on Charlotte Brontë’s beloved novel. A co-production with Bristol Old Vic, the three-hour play was recorded for the National’s NT Live series, and is available for free on the theatre’s YouTube page anytime through Wednesday, April 15.
London’s Hampstead Theatre continues its #HampsteadTheatreAtHome series with a recording of its 2013 production of Drawing the Line, Harold Brenton’s historical epic about the behind-the-scenes drama leading to the world-changing Partition of India in 1947. Watch it for free anytime on the company’s website through Sunday, April 19.
—
Top image: Tituss Burgess. Photo by Jeff Mills.
RAVEN SNOOK