14 Stage Performance to Watch Today, November 30
Theater in Quarantine: Closet Works
At 7 and 9 p.m. ET, downtown multihyphenate Joshua William Gelb, known for deconstructing complicated classics like The Jazz Singer, performs a series of brief dance pieces in his closet created by Hadestown associate choreographer Katie Rose McLaughlin in collaboration with French choreographer Van-Kim Tran. Watch for free on Gelb’s YouTube channel.
The Metropolitan Opera: Eugene Onegin
At 7:30 p.m. ET, the Metropolitan Opera presents Tchaikovsky’s romantic tragedy Eugene Onegin, with Dmitri Hvorostovsky as the title character, the object of affection for Renée Fleming‘s Tatiana. Ramón Vargas costars in this 2007 mounting. Watch for free for 23 hours after the start time on the Metropolitan Opera’s website. You can still stream yesterday’s opera, Simon Boccanegra, until 6:30 p.m. ET today.
ABC: The Disney Holiday Sing-Along
At 8 p.m. ET, ABC continues its starry sing-along series with this holiday special featuring pop and stage idols crooning seasonal tunes. The lineup includes Hamilton Tony winner Leslie Odom Jr. singing “What’s This?” from The Nightmare Before Christmas, Kerry Washington doing “Joy to the World” and cast members from The Lion King, Aladdin and Frozen performing “Let It Go.” Watch for free on TV on ABC.
Bindlestiff Open Stage: Quarantine Edition
At 8 p.m. ET, the Bindlestiff Family Cirkus continues its weekly live-streamed variety show hosted by adorkable ringmaster Keith Nelson. This evening’s cavalcade includes magicians Rehman Shah and The Great Kaplan, acrobat Ekaterina Sknarina and tightwire walker KerrPlunk. Watch for free on Bindlestiff’s YouTube channel though donations are encouraged.
Theater Mitu: remnant
At 8 p.m. ET, the high-tech, avant-garde Brooklyn collective Theater Mitu reimagines remnant, its 2018 multimedia meditation on war, death and loss for digital consumption. Crafted out of extensive interviews and research with doctors, soldiers and other experts, the show is helmed by the company’s artistic director, Rubén Polendo. Tickets are $10.
Available to Watch All Day
Jefferson Mays in A Christmas Carol
Jefferson Mays is a master at playing multiple characters in the same show. He won a Tony Award for doing just that in I Am My Own Wife (40 different roles!), and earned a nomination for portraying eight members of the ill-fated D’Ysquith family in A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder. He’s at it again in this solo adaptation of A Christmas Carol in which he plays everyone from Scrooge to Tiny Tim. Originally mounted at LA’s Geffen Playhouse in 2018, the production was reimagined for digital consumption by director Michael Arden (Once on This Island) and costume and set designer Dane Laffrey, who restaged and recorded it during quarantine at the stunning United Palace theatre in Washington Heights. The result is a fresh and intimate take on Dickens’ timeless tale featuring Mays in a tour-de-force performance—make that performances. Tickets are $50 and a portion of the proceeds goes to TDF! The recording is viewable until Sunday, January 3.
PBS’ Great Performances: Lea Salonga in Concert
PBS’ Great Performances presents Lea Salonga in concert at the Sydney Opera House. Backed by a lavish orchestra, the Tony winner belts out numbers from her three-decade career, including “On My Own” from Les Misérables, “Why, God, Why?” from Miss Saigon and “A Whole New World” from Disney’s animated movie Aladdin. Watch for free until Friday, December 25 on PBS’ website.
MNM Theatre Company: Closer Than Ever
Florida’s MNM Theatre Company presents Closer Than Ever, Richard Maltby Jr. and David Shire’s witty musical revue of insightful songs about love and life. Propelled by theme not plot, the show features a cast of four and was filmed live on stage during quarantine in an empty theatre. Director Jonathan Van Dyke‘s clever blocking delivers a sense of intimacy while keeping actors socially distant. Tickets are $20 and the recording is viewable until Thursday, December 31.
Basil Twist’s Symphonie Fantastique
Puppet master Basil Twist presents a recording of his breakthrough show Symphonie Fantastique, an underwater ballet danced by vibrant pieces of fabric, sheets of plastic and other inanimate objects to Berlioz’s title composition. A one-of-a-kind spectacle, this production was filmed during the show’s 20th anniversary run at HERE Arts Center in 2018 and includes behind-the-scenes moments illustrating how the magic is made. Tickets are $20 for a 48-hour rental.
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Top image: Leslie Odom Jr., one of the stars of The Disney Holiday Sing-Along.
RAVEN SNOOK