15+ Stage Performances to Watch Online This Weekend May 13-15
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, May 13 to Sunday, May 15, for free or at low cost.
Friday, May 13
Ars Nova: Bullshit
On Friday at 7 p.m. ET, Ars Nova presents an in-person performance of Bullshit that’s also being streamed to at-home audiences. An experimental cabaret written and performed by Hannah Kallenbach and Alexander Paris, the piece satirizes self-care routines, high-tech living and exercise in an attempt to get us out of the doldrums. Tickets are $10.
PBS Great Performances: Sutton Foster in Anything Goes
On Friday at 9 p.m. ET, PBS Great Performances presents Sutton Foster in P.G. Wodehouse and Cole Porter’s effervescent musical comedy Anything Goes, which was recorded live on stage in London last year. After winning a 2011 Tony Award for her brassy performance as nightclub singer Reno Sweeney in director-choreographer Kathleen Marshall‘s critically acclaimed revival of this classic, Foster reprised her role on the West End opposite Tony winner Robert Lindsay, Felicity Kendal and Gary Wilmot. Marshall again oversaw this zany tale of romance and intrigue aboard the high seas featuring iconic songs including “I Get a Kick Out of You,” “You’re the Top” and the title tune. Watch for free on TV on PBS Thirteen or on the channel’s website. The recording is viewable online until Friday, June 10.
Saturday, May 14
Sunday, May 15
The Seth Concert Series: Judy Kuhn
On Sunday at 8 p.m. ET, even though show-tune savant Seth Rudetsky is back doing shows in person, he hasn’t completely abandoned the virtual realm. In fact, he’s relaunched his weekly live-streamed concert series! Tonight his guest is four-time Tony nominee Judy Kuhn, who recently wrapped up a sold-out run of Assassins at Classical Stage Company. Expect numbers from her incredible stage career, including leading roles in Les Misérables, Chess, She Loves Me and Fun Home, as well as some Disney tunes—after all, she was the singing voice of Pocahontas. Tickets are $25.
All Weekend
The Wilma Theater: The Cherry Orchard
Philadelphia’s lauded Wilma Theater recently presented a sold-out, in-person production of The Cherry Orchard and you can now stream a recording online. Chekhov’s classic was directed and adapted by acclaimed Russian artist Dmitry Krymov, who sets this tale of a family losing their home in Ukraine. Tickets are $29.
All Arts: Lea Salonga in Concert
All Arts is streaming Lea Salonga‘s epic 2019 concert recorded live 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 on All Arts’ website.
Colt Coeur: The Goddamn Tooney Lunes: Part One (A New Musical)
During the shutdown, innovative indie theatre company Colt Coeur (Eureka Day, Hatef**k) put out a call for unique digital projects. This month, they’re streaming one of those pieces: The Goddamn Tooney Lunes: Part One (A New Musical). Coproduced and devised by Rat Queen Theatre Company and presented as a visual concept album, this tuner centers on the members of a New Hampshire teenage punk band grappling with infamy and impending adulthood. Tickets start at $5 and the recording is available until Wednesday, May 25.
Bush Theatre: Red Pitch
On Friday at 2:45 p.m., and Saturday at 9:45 a.m. and 2:45 p.m. ET, London’s Bush Theatre presents Tyrell Williams‘ hit play Red Pitch, about three Black British youths playing football and fighting for a future as their neighborhood transforms around them. Tickets start at £10 approximately $12.50.
All Arts: King Lear Starring James Earl Jones
Here’s a gem from the vaults: All Arts is streaming a 1974 mounting of King Lear headlined by James Earl Jones! Filmed live on stage at the Delacorte Theater for the New York Shakespeare Festival (now known as Shakespeare in the Park), the production also features Raul Julia, Rosalind Cash and Paul Sorvino. A great way to get psyched for the upcoming Shakespeare in the Park season! Watch for free on All Arts’ website.
Ma-Yi Theater Company: Vancouver
The innovative Ma-Yi Theater Company presents Vancouver, a timely new play written and directed by the troupe’s producing artistic director, Ralph B. Peña. Centering on a mixed race family portrayed by breathtaking puppets, the one-act examines their move from Japan to the Pacific Northwest as they search for a place that feels like a welcoming home. Watch for free until Tuesday, May 31 on Ma-Yi’s website.
Donmar Warehouse: Constellations
London’s acclaimed Donmar Warehouse presents Nick Payne‘s Constellations, a time-bending two-hander that explores the notion of the multiverse by replaying key moments in one couple’s romance. Michael Longhurst, who , directed this production, which was filmed on stage with four different casts alternating in this trippy tale. The pairings are Sheila Atim and Ivanno Jeremiah; Peter Capaldi and Zoë Wanamaker; Omari Douglas and Russell Tovey; and Anna Maxwell Martin and Chris O’Dowd. Tickets are £7.50 for each cast, approximately $9.50. Or you can watch all four for £20, approximately $25. The recording is viewable until Wednesday, May 25, and closed captions and audio description are available. You must create a Donmar Warehouse account to watch.
The New Victory Theater: Step Afrika!: Stono
NYC’s premiere family theatre, The New Victory, was supposed to present an in-person production of Stono this month, but COVID had other ideas. The good news is you can stream this powerful dance performance. Originally conceived for digital consumption during the shutdown, the piece uses Step Afrika!‘s signature blend of percussive, traditional African and contemporary dance to evoke the Stono slave rebellion of 1739 in South Carolina. A great way to learn about this undertaught history. Tickets are $15 and the recording is viewable until Sunday, May 22.
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Top image: Sutton Foster and company in Anything Goes, which is streaming on PBS. Photo by Tristram Kenton.
RAVEN SNOOK