14 Stage Performances to Watch Today, June 23
The 24 Hour Plays: Viral Monologues
At 6 p.m. ET, catch the latest installment of The 24 Hour Plays: Viral Monologues, a six-hour series of solos about how we’re living today. Every 15 minutes from 6 p.m. until midnight, well-known actors—including Anna Baryshnikov, Ato Essandoh, Marcia Gay Harden, Zosia Mamet and Saycon Sengbloh—will perform tailor-made monologues, all penned and filmed within the last 24 hours. Participating playwrights include Jessica Goldberg, David Lindsay-Abaire, Kenneth Lonergan, Christopher Oscar Peña and Liza Jessie Peterson. Watch for free on The 24 Hour Plays’ Instagram though donations to Release Aging People In Prison are encouraged.
Bedlam: The Long Christmas Ride Home
At 6:30 p.m. ET, Bedlam, a NYC theatre company lauded for its reinventions of classics (Sense & Sensibility, The Crucible), presents a live reading of The Long Christmas Ride Home by Pulitzer Prize winner Paula Vogel. The one-act takes place on a fraught road trip, as two parents and their three young children (who are played by puppets) travel to visit grandparents for the holidays. Many of the troupe’s regulars are performing, and the evening kicks off with a half hour of live music. Watch for free on the company’s Facebook page though donations to The Audre Lorde Project are encouraged.
Ping Chong + Company: Nocturne REMIX 2020
At 7 p.m. ET, Ping Chong + Company, a 45-year-old NYC theatre troupe that explores cultural and civic issues, presents Nocturne REMIX 2020. A virtual reimagining of what was to be the company’s spring production, the piece features short works addessing our current reality from an array of theatre-makers of color, including Edwin Aguila, Kenya Bullock, Irisdelia Garcia, Zakaria Khafagy and Chong himself. This performance takes place on the free app Zoom, which you’ll need to download in advance. The performance is free, but you need to register to receive the viewing link.
The Metropolitan Opera: Doctor Atomic
At 7:30 p.m. ET, the Metropolitan Opera shares John Adams’ Doctor Atomic about the impact the test of the first atomic bomb had on those at Los Alamos. The production was filmed for the company’s Live in HD series in 2008 and stars Sasha Cooke, Thomas Glenn, Gerald Finley and Richard Paul Fink. It’s available to watch for free for 23 hours after the start time on the Metropolitan Opera’s website. You can still stream yesterday’s opera, La Traviata, until 6:30 p.m. ET today.
Stars in the House: Ballet Hispánico
At 8 p.m. ET, Seth Rudetsky and James Wesley spotlight Ballet Hispánico on Stars in the House. An invaluable NYC-based dance company specializing in work by Latinx choreographers, the troupe is celebrating its 50th anniversary with an online gala next week. Tonight the company’s artistic director, Eduardo Vilaro, is set to appear as well as some of Ballet Hispánico’s dancers. Watch for free on YouTube though donations to the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund are encouraged.
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Ping Chong + Company: Undesirable Elements
Since 1992, Ping Chong + Company has produced more than 50 installments of Undesireable Elements, a unique documentary-theatre series that examines different “outsider” groups (Muslims, people with disabilities, refugees, LGBTQ youth, etc.) by having community members share their stories onstage. Recordings of two installments are currently available to watch online. Undesirable Elements: Secret Survivors is a recording of a 2009 show featuring adult survivors of child sexual abuse sharing their stories; there’s also a documentary about the making of the piece. Undesirable Elements: When the Salmon Spoke is a brand-new addition to the series that was developed and recorded remotely. Co-created by the Southeast Alaska Indigenous Transboundary Commission, it features stories from Indigenous communities tied to the “transboundary” rivers shared by northwest British Columbia and southeast Alaska, and how they’ve been impacted by climate change and other factors. Watch these videos for free on Ping Chong + Company’s Vimeo channel.
Lincoln Center Theater: Act One
Lincoln Center Theater shares a recording of Act One, James Lapine‘s Tony-nominated adaptation of legendary theatre-maker Moss Hart‘s memoir about how he got into showbiz. The cast includes Tony winners Santino Fontana and Tony Shalhoub, who plays Hart as an older man as well as his longtime collaborator George S. Kaufman. It’s a charming, history-filled love letter to the enduring allure of the stage. Watch for free until Friday, July 3 on Lincoln Center’s YouTube channel.
Holland Taylor in Ann
PBS presents Ann, Holland Taylor‘s one-woman bio-play about the late Ann Richards, an outspoken Democrat who served as Governor of Texas from 1991 to 1995. Taylor’s compelling portrayal earned her a Tony nomination as best actress. It’s an inspiring portrait of a woman who captivated as a politician and as a person. Watch for free until Friday, July 17 on PBS’ website.
National Theatre: Small Island
London’s National Theatre presents Small Island, Helen Edmundson’s acclaimed 2019 stage adaptation of Andrea Levy’s novel exploring the complicated history between Jamaica and the U.K. through a trio of interconnected stories as the protagonists try to find their way in post-WWII Britain. Directed by Rufus Norris and featuring a diverse cast of more than 40 actors, this three-hour epic is available to watch for free until Thursday at 2 p.m. ET on the National Theatre’s YouTube channel.
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Top image: the cast of Yiddish Fiddler on the Roof. Photo by Matthew Murphy.
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