15+ Stage Performances to Watch Online This Weekend October 22-24
In-person theatre is back in NYC, both and beyond. But there are still wonderful shows to stream at home. Below are performances you can watch online this weekend, Friday, October 22 to Sunday, October 24, for free or at low cost.
Sunday, October 24
All Weekend
Play-PerView: Jane Anger
Earlier this week, the invaluable streaming series Play-PerView presented its first in-person event, a reading of Talene Monahon‘s comedy Jane Anger, and you can watch a recording this weekend. It’s 1606 and William Shakespeare is stuck in quarantine with his unpaid apprentice Francis and a killer case of writer’s block. Then inspiration comes knocking… actually, she climbs through the window in the form of Jane Anger, the Cunning Woman, who’s determined to make history. Michael Urie stars as William Shakespeare, Ryan Spahn is Francis and Danaya Esperanza is the smart lady who changes their lives. Tickets are $20 and the recording is viewable until Monday.
TheatreSquared: Designing Women
Last chance! Linda Bloodworth-Thomason, the creator of the wildly popular ’80s sitcom Designing Women, brings those opinionated ladies into the 21st century with her new comedy named (what else?) Designing Women. It’s 2020 and Atlanta-based interior design firm partners Julia, Suzanne, Mary Jo and Charlene are facing crises both political and personal. But despite their spirited debates and disagreements, their friendship helps get them through. Tony nominee Carmen Cusack (Bright Star) headlines this world premiere, which was filmed live on stage at Arkansas’ TheatreSquared earlier this month. Tickets start at $25 and the recording is viewable until Sunday.
TheaterWorks Hartford: Someone Else’s House
On Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at midnight and 8 p.m., and Sunday at 8 p.m. ET, Connecticut’s TheaterWorks Hartford presents Obie Award-winning multimedia artist Jared Mezzocchi in Someone Else’s House, a real-life ghost story about the spirits his family encountered inside their 200-year-old New England home. Directed by Margot Bordelon, the production is performed live on Zoom with audience interaction, so every haunting is frighteningly unique. Tickets start at $45.
Theater Three Collaborative: Blue Valiant
After a successful Zoom reading during the pandemic, Theater Three Collaborative decided to stage Karen Malpede‘s moving drama Blue Valiant at Pennsylvania’s outdoor Farm Arts Collective starring the invaluable Kathleen Chalfant. Filmed live on that alfresco stage, this story of trauma and healing centers on a lonely woman, a wild horse and a refugee child thrown together by circumstance and the unexpected bonds they forge. Watch for free until Sunday, November 28 on Theater Three Collaborative’s YouTube channel though donations are encouraged.
Clifford Odets in Staten Island
One of NYC’s premier Asian-American theatre companies, Ma-Yi, presents Clifford Odets in Staten Island. A sequel to the company’s short film Sophocles in Staten Island, this 40-minute dramedy centers on real-life actor Ron Domingo and his teenage kids use the plays of Clifford Odets to understand the US labor market. Watch for free on Ma-Yi Studio’s website.
Vineyard Theatre: Fall Forward Festival
During the shutdown, the Vineyard Theatre commissioned five artists to create new boundary-breaking theatre. The resulting works will debut throughout the fall and two are available to experience this weekend. Aunt Lillian is a new audio musical comedy by the wonderful Kirsten Childs (Bella: An American Tall Tale, The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin). Based on her own childhood memories, the short is inspired by her real-life aunt, who traveled from North Carolina to Los Angeles to help care for Childs and her siblings. Maybe Dorothy Was Right is a short film by celebrated playwright-performer Ngozi Anyanwu exploring the neighborhoods and theatres that have been part of her NYC journey. Alfonso Johnson directs. Both offerings are available for free on the Vineyard’s website though you need to create a log in.
Center Theatre Group: Chavez Ravine: In 9 Innings
Los Angeles’ Center Theatre Group presents Chavez Ravine: In 9 Innings, a virtual reimagining of a 2003 play about the small, tight-knit LA neighborhood that was razed so Dodger Stadium could rise. Devised by the collective Culture Clash, this digital production features scenes from the original script filmed at LA’s Kirk Douglas Theatre and on location around the city, incorporating music, archival videos and photos, and new interviews. Tickets are $20 and the recording is viewable until Monday, December 6.
Lantern Theater Company: The Plague
Philadelphia’s Lantern Theater Company presents The Plague, Neil Bartlett‘s adaptation of Albert Camus’ existentialist classic La Peste about a disease upending a city. Talk about timely! Charles McMahon directs this production, which was filmed live on stage this past summer. Tickets are $20 and the recording is viewable until Sunday, November 7.
Playing on Air: Ghoul Fools
Acclaimed podcast Playing on Air partners with TDF’s Young Playwrights to present a new audio short by one of our talented students! Samuel Schell‘s Ghoul Fools focuses on two paranormal investigators whose friendship becomes strained when they try to turn their supernatural adventures into a podcast. Will they end up ghosting each other? Sarah Storm directs Megan Hill, Neimah Djourabchi and Steve Maurice Jones. Listen for free on Playing on Air’s website.
Third Rail Projects: Return the Moon
On Saturday at 5 and 8 p.m., and Sunday at 8 p.m. ET, endlessly inventive immersive theatre company Third Rail Projects (Then She Fell, The Grand Paradise) presents Return the Moon, a live, interactive, created-for-Zoom theatrical experience that uses a fairy tale about the moon as a way to conjure art and community. Conceived and directed by Zach Morris, the 75-minute piece is performed for a small audience who participate in the evening’s outcome and even receive a post-performance gift in the mail. Log on ready to share. Tickets start at $15.
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Top image: Michael Urie, who plays a frazzled William Shakespeare in the new comedy Jane Anger, which is streaming all weekend.
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