20+ Stage Performances to Watch April 19-20
Monday, April 19
ABT Incubator: Nunanu
On Monday at noon ET, American Ballet Theatre continues its Incubator series showcasing brand-new digital dance works created by emerging choreographers during quarantine. Today’s premiere is Nunanu by ABT soloist Luciana Paris. Set to music by the Future Natives Project, the pas de deux stars her fellow ABTers Isadora Loyola and Michael de la Nuez. Watch for free on ABT’s YouTube channel.
Food for Thought Productions: Bob Dishy and Penny Fuller in I Can’t Remember Anything
On Monday at 2 p.m. ET, Food for Thought Productions presents Tony nominees Bob Dishy and Penny Fuller in a live performance of Arthur Miller’s I Can’t Remember Anything at Theatre 80 in the East Village, but you can also watch online from home. In addition, Tony Roberts will read excerpts from his memoir Do You Know Me?, and there will be a post-show Q&A with two-time Tony winner James Naughton. Tickets are available from the theatre but if you’re a TDF member, log in to your account to purchase them at a discount.
Irish Repertory Theatre: Poetic Reflections: Words Upon the Window Pane
On Monday at 7 p.m. ET, NYC’s venerable Irish Rep wraps up Poetic Reflections: Words Upon the Window Pane, a trio of shorts by filmmaker Matthew Thompson featuring writers and actors reading odes by poets from Ireland, the US and England. The final installment, Writing from Love, starts streaming today for free on the theatre’s YouTube channel, where you’ll also find part I, Home and Sense of Place, and part II, Identity. If you happen to be passing Irish Rep’s West 22nd Street home, these videos will also be projected in the lobby windows.
The Metropolitan Opera: Lohengrin
On Monday at 7:30 p.m. ET, the Metropolitan Opera shares a gem from its vaults: the 1986 production of Wagner’s Lohengrin starring Peter Hofmann as the title knight of the Holy Grail and Eva Marton as his lady love. Leonie Rysanek, Leif Roar and John Macurdy costar. Watch for free for 23 hours after the start time on the Metropolitan Opera’s website. You can still stream yesterday’s opera, La Cenerentola, until 6:30 p.m. ET today.
Period Piece Part II
On Monday at 8 p.m. ET, for once you can rejoice that it’s that time of the month as a diverse slate of storytellers and stars come together for Period Piece, a meditation on menstruation. Conceived by Susan Cinoman and directed by Karen Carpenter, this three-evening event continues tonight with a dozen actors, including Tony winner Adriane Lenox, Tony nominees Geneva Carr, Jessica Hecht and Lauren Patten, and acclaimed solo performer Kristina Wong, performing playlets by Christina Anderson, Ngozi Anyanwu, Sarah Ruhl, Caridad Svich and others that aim to destigmatize menses. Tickets are $20 but you can buy tonight’s and next Monday’s installments for $30.
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 aerialist Lisa Natoli, juggler Ben Cornish, Susan Voyticky on the cyr wheel and magician The Great Kaplan. Watch for free on Bindlestiff’s YouTube channel though donations are encouraged.
Tuesday, April 20
The 24 Hour Plays: Viral Monologues One-Year Anniversary
On Tuesday at 6 p.m. ET, The 24 Hour Plays: Viral Monologues presents eclectic solos about how we’re living today with 13 new pieces. From 6 to 10 p.m. ET, actors—including Elizabeth Marvel, Tedra Millan, Bonnie Milligan, Bobby Moreno and Susannah Perkins—perform tailor-made monologues, all penned and filmed within the last 24 hours. Participating playwrights include Courtney Baron, Liza Birkenmeier, Alex Edelman, Talene Monahon, christopher oscar peña and Jen Silverman. Watch on The 24 Hour Plays’ Instagram.
Out of the Box Theatrics: The Last Five Years
On Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. ET, Jason Robert Brown‘s musical dissection of a romance, The Last Five Years, has proven to be a pandemic favorite, with multiple productions in the UK and stateside. It makes sense since the two-hander is about disconnection, as the man tells his side of their love story chronologically while the woman recalls their relationship in reverse. This digital reimagining of the show was coproduced by Out of the Box Theatrics and Holmdel Theatre Company and filmed inside a New York City apartment, giving it an air of verisimilitude. Nasia Thomas and Nicholas Edwards star as the ill-fated couple, and celebrated musical director Jason Michael Webb helmed the production. Tickets start at $29.
The Metropolitan Opera: La Clemenza di Tito
On Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. ET, the Metropolitan Opera presents Mozart’s La Clemenza di Tito, a thrilling tale of power and politics in ancient Rome. Jean-Pierre Ponnelle staged this 2012 production, with Giuseppe Filianoti as the Emperor Tito whose bride-to-be (Barbara Frittoli) is plotting revenge against him in the name of her father. Lucy Crowe, Elina Garanca, Kate Lindsey and Oren Gradus costar. Watch for free for 23 hours after the start time on the Metropolitan Opera’s website. You can still stream yesterday’s opera, Lohengrin, until 6:30 p.m. ET today.
Available to Watch Both Days
The Shows Must Go On!: The Car Man
The Shows Must Go On! presents Matthew Bourne‘s The Car Man, the visionary choreographer’s dazzling dance tribute to film noir. Set in a small-town greasy spoon in the ’60s Midwest, this tale of lust, adultery and murder fuses Georges Bizet’s score for Carmen with plot points from the classic movie The Postman Always Rings Twice. Christopher Trenfield, Zizi Strallen, Dominic North, Kate Lyons and Alan Vincent star in this cinematic spectacle, which was filmed live on stage at London’s Sadler’s Wells Theatre in 2015. Watch for free until Friday at 2 p.m. ET on YouTube.
Kinky Boots
On Monday and Tuesday at 1, 4, 7 and 10 p.m. ET, everybody say, “Yeah, yeah!” It’s your last chance to catch the exuberant West End production of Kinky Boots, starring Olivier Award winner Matt Henry as drag diva Lola, who helps shoe manufacturer Charlie (Killian Donnelly) inject some fabulousness into his factory. Although the musical examines serious subjects such as homophobia and father-son estrangement, it’s mostly a celebration of friendship and being true to yourself, with catchy songs by Cyndi Lauper and a heartfelt book by Harvey Fierstein. Filmed live on stage in London, the show is streaming to benefit independent cinemas around the US. Tickets are $15.
Manhattan Theatre Club: Neat
Manhattan Theatre Club continues its Curtain Call series spotlighting important plays from its past with a reading of Neat. This autobiographical coming-of-age tale by the multitalented Charlayne Woodard examines the impact of racism on her family, notably her disabled aunt Neat. MTC presented the play back in 1997 and Woodard reprises her critically acclaimed performance, complemented by original music by Rolling Stones bassist Darryl Jones. Reservations are required to receive the free viewing link. The recording is viewable until Sunday and closed captions are available.
Jazz at Lincoln Center: The Innovation + Soul Performance
Although Jazz at Lincoln Center‘s virtual 2021 gala took place live last week, you can watch a recording of the evening’s Innovation + Soul Performance after-the-fact. Grammy and Tony winner Dee Dee Bridgewater hosts the affair, featuring the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis and special guests such as vocalist Veronica Swift and percussionist Pedrito Martinez. Tickets start at $30 but if you’re a TDF member, log in to your account to purchase them at a discount. The recording is viewable until Sunday.
WP Theater: Weightless
WP Theater wraps up its digital spring season with Weightless, a theatrical rock musical by married duo The Kilbanes inspired by the ancient myth of devoted sisters Philomela and Procne from Ovid’s Metamorphoses. Helmed by Tamilla Woodard, Yale Repertory Theatre’s newly appointed resident director, and filmed outdoors in the Bay Area, this production is a multimedia hybrid of live concert, storytelling and visual art. Tickets are pay-what-you-wish. The recording is viewable until Sunday, May 30.
TheaterWorks: The Sound Inside
TheaterWorks in Hartford presents a digital reimagining of The Sound Inside, Adam Rapp’s enigmatic Tony-nominated play about an ailing literature professor who forms an unexpected relationship with a precocious but mysterious student. Maggie Bofill and Ephraim Birney star in this twisty two-hander, which was directed by Rob Ruggiero and Pedro Bermudez. Tickets are $25 but if you’re a TDF member, log in to your account to purchase them at a discount. The recording is viewable until Friday, April 30 and ASL interpretation is available.
Chelsea dance haven The Joyce continues its digital season with Odeon, a buoyant new work from choreographer Ephrat Asherie fusing breaking, hip-hop, house and vogue, set to music by 20th-century Brazilian composer Ernesto Nazareth. Filmed on the Joyce stage, the performance features a group of dynamic dancers accompanied by live musicians. Tickets are $25 but if you’re a TDF member, log in to your account to purchase them at a discount. The recording is viewable until Wednesday, April 28.
John Cullum: An Accidental Star
Two-time Tony winner John Cullum reflects on his 65-year career in An Accidental Star. He’ll croon songs from the shows he’s known for, such as Shenandoah, On the Twentieth Century, The Scottsboro Boys and Urinetown, and share never-before-heard stories about working with stars like Julie Andrews, Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. Coproduced by three theatres he has longstanding relationships with—The Vineyard Theatre, Goodspeed Opera House and Irish Rep where it was filmed—this intimate and inspiring solo show is a must-see for theatre history buffs. Tickets start at $28.75 but if you’re a TDF member, log in to your account to purchase them at a discount. The recording is viewable until Thursday, May 6.
National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene: The Bird of the Ghetto
To commemorate the 78th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene presents The Bird of the Ghetto, the tragic true story of Jewish resistance leader Itsik Vitenberg and the attempted Vilna Ghetto uprising in 1943. Chava Rosenfarb penned this history-inspired drama, which is the inaugural production in Folksbiene’s Yiddish Women Playwrights Festival. Performed in Yiddish with English subtitles. Watch for free until Thursday at 2 p.m. ET on the theatre’s website.
TADA! Youth Theater: The Little House of Cookies
TADA!, NYC’s 36-year-old, Drama Desk Award-winning youth company whose alums include Jordan Peele and Kerry Washington, is sharing recordings of its original shows for families. Recorded in 2009, The Little House of Cookies is the heartwarming tale of two lonely girls who band together with an older neighbor to open a treat shop in a mysterious abandoned building. Based on Eleanor Clymer’s book The Tiny Little House and featuring a book by troupe founder Janine Nina Trevens and songs by Joel Gelpe, the musical was the first show TADA! ever produced back in 1984. For this 25th anniversary revival, the troupe invited grown-up alumni to play the adult characters alongside the main cast made up of TADA!’s Resident Youth Ensemble, talented tykes ages 8 to 18. Watch for free on TADA!’s YouTube channel.
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Top image: Chris Trenfield and Zizi Strallen in Matthew Bourne’s The Car Man, which is streaming until Friday for free. Photo by Foteini Christofilopoulou.
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