15+ Stage Performances to Watch March 1-2
Monday, March 1
The Metropolitan Opera: Don Pasquale
On Monday at 7:30 p.m. ET, the Metropolitan Opera shares a gem from its vaults: John Dexter‘s 1979 mounting of Donizetti’s comedy Don Pasquale, starring Beverly Sills in her final Met role as Norina, the clever widow who helps teach the Scrooge-like title character much-needed lessons about generosity and love. Alfredo Kraus, Håkan Hagegård and Gabriel Bacquier costar. Watch for free for 23 hours after the start time on the Metropolitan Opera’s website. You can still stream yesterday’s offering, Il Trovatore, until 6:30 p.m. today.
Bindlestiff Family Cirkus: Open Stage Variety Show: Quarantine Edition
On Monday at 8 p.m. ET, the Bindlestiff Family Cirkus continues its live weekly variety show hosted by adorkable ringmaster Keith Nelson. Tonight’s awe-inspiring lineup includes Hilby the Skinny German Juggle Boy, aerialists Troy Lingelbach and Willow Wraith, hula-hooper Brooke Hanson, and acrobat Eries El Malabarista. Watch for free on Bindlestiff’s YouTube channel though donations are encouraged.
Tuesday, March 2
Irish Repertory Theatre: Molly Sweeney
On Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET, this winter, the venerable Irish Rep is presenting encore streams of its entire digital season. Tonight, catch Molly Sweeney, Brian Friel’s popular drama about a woman blind since infancy whose sight is restored with unexpected consequences. Geraldine Hughes and Ciarán O’Reilly reprise their performances as Molly and her husband from the theatre’s hit 2011 production, alongside newcomer Paul O’Brien as the surgeon who changes the title character’s life. Tickets are free but required to receive the viewing link; donations are encouraged.
The Metropolitan Opera: Falstaff
On Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. ET, the Metropolitan Opera presents Franco Zeffirelli‘s classic 1992 staging of Verdi’s Falstaff. Paul Plishka is the lascivious and louche title character, who’s outwitted by the clever ladies around him, played by Marilyn Horne, Mirella Freni and Susan Graham. Watch for free for 23 hours after the start time on the Metropolitan Opera’s website. You can still stream yesterday’s opera, Don Pasquale, until 6:30 p.m. ET today.
Available to Watch Both Days
Some Old Black Man
Three years ago, James Anthony Tyler‘s moving two-hander Some Old Black Man had its New York premiere at 59E59 Theaters. Last fall, the University of Michigan restaged and recorded that production, with Joe Cacaci directing original star Wendell Pierce and Charlie Robinson stepping in for the late Roger Robinson (no relation). Pierce plays Calvin, a 62-year-old NYC college professor who moves his irascible, working-class Southerner father into his Harlem brownstone. There, the two engage in a generational conflict about race, opportunities and past history. Register to receive the free viewing link. The recording is viewable until Friday, March 12.
Black Theatre Coalition: Upon These Shoulders
Black Theatre Coalition presents Upon These Shoulders, a celebration of the incredible work Black theatre artists have created over the past 150 years. A jaw-dropping lineup of Black luminaries, including André De Shields, Bebe Winans, Brandon Victor Dixon, Camille A. Brown, Carly Hughes, Daniel J. Watts, Lilli Cooper, Michael R. Jackson, Nathan Lee Graham, Norm Lewis, Paul Tazewell, Raja Feather Kelly, Savion Glover, Shereen Pimentel, Tituss Burgess, Whoopi Goldberg and Wynton Marsalis, honor their forebears with performances, interviews and tributes. Tickets are $18 and the recording is viewable until Wednesday.
Play-PerView: The Typists
Last Friday, Play-PerView presented a live reading of The Typists and you can watch a recording until Tuesday. Murray Schisgal‘s two-hander about a pair of coworkers who become involved in an unlikely romance stars real-life husband and wife Michael McKean and Annette O’Toole. The busiest man in showbiz, Austin Pendleton, directs. Tickets are a suggested donation of $20 and net proceeds go to the Williamstown Theatre Festival.
Company XIV
Brooklyn’s upscale burlesque and circus troupe Company XIV has released recordings of two sexy spectacles: the holiday-themed Nutcracker Rouge and Valentine, a Virtual Variety Show. Both were recorded at the company’s swanky Bushwick theatre and feature titillating acts of music, magic, aerial arts and striptease. Tickets to each show are $50, but if you’re a TDF member, log in to your account to purchase them for $25.
New York City Ballet: Prodigal Son
New York City Ballet kicks off its digital spring season with Prodigal Son, George Balanchine’s biblically inspired 1929 ballet set to Sergei Prokofiev’s score. Daniel Ulbricht and Teresa Reichlen star in this archival recording. Watch for free until Thursday, March 4 on NYCB’s YouTube channel.
Metropolitan Opera Stars Live in Concert: Sonya Yoncheva
On Saturday, the Metropolitan Opera streamed a live recital with superstar soprano Sonya Yoncheva and you can watch a recording until Friday, March 12. Filmed at Germany’s Schussenried Cloister, the concert features popular arias from Aida, La Bohème, Rusalka, Carmen and other beloved operas. Tickets are $20.
The Sorcerer’s Apprentice: The Magical New Musical
On Monday at 2 p.m., and Tuesday at 9:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. ET, catch the new British musical The Sorcerer’s Apprentice inspired by Goethe’s poem of the same name about an aspiring wizard who makes all spells break loose. In Richard Hough and Ben Morales‘ take on the tale, the title character is actually the conjurer’s rebellious daughter, but the pair mend their relationship to save a troubled town. Filmed at London’s Southwark Playhouse earlier this month, the production was directed by Charlotte Westenra and stars Dawn Hope, David Thaxton and newcomer Mary Moore. Tickets are £18, approximately $25.
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RAVEN SNOOK