20+ Stage Performances to Watch June 30-July 1
Wednesday, June 30
The Metropolitan Opera: Hansel and Gretel
On Wednesday at 5 p.m. ET, ever since the shutdown began, the Metropolitan Opera has been sharing productions from its Live in HD series nightly at 7:30 p.m. ET. But it also presents weekly student streams that debut on Wednesdays. These productions have been specially selected for families and are complemented by online educational materials. This week’s offering is the eye-popping, English-language production of Engelbert Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel featuring oversize cartoon chefs, singing trees and an unforgettable witch’s kitchen. Alice Coote and Christine Schäfer star as the title siblings in this 2008 production. Watch for free until Friday at 5 p.m. ET on the Metropolitan Opera’s website.
A Place for Us: Celebrating Trans and Nonbinary Artists in Musical Theatre
On Wednesday at 7 p.m. ET, celebrate Pride Month with this virtual concert featuring 14 pieces written and performed by trans and nonbinary artists. The evening includes numbers by songwriters César Alvarez, Preston Max Allen, Truth Bachman, Ty Defoe and Tidtaya Sinotoke, Jessye DeSilva, Lady Dane Figueroa Edidi, Linda Labeja, Bree Lowdermilk, Anessa Marie and Shakina Nayfack, and featured performers include L Morgan Lee from A Strange Loop, Jagged Little Pill‘s Ezra Menas and Sis. Register to receive the free viewing link.
The Moth Mainstage: Lin-Manuel Miranda and Quiara Alegría Hudes
On Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. ET, longtime friends and In the Heights collaborators Lin-Manuel Miranda and Quiara Alegría Hudes share personal tales on the mainstage of The Moth, NYC’s premier storytelling series. Performed live from the United Palace Theatre in Washington Heights and streamed to at-home audiences, the evening also includes stories by Edgar Ruiz Jr. and Led Black and is hosted by comedy writer CJ Hunt. Tickets are $15.
The Metropolitan Opera: The Ghosts of Versailles
On Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. ET, the Metropolitan Opera presents John Corigliano’s The Ghosts of Versailles, an offshoot of the Figaro operas by Rossini and Mozart. Commissioned by the Met to celebrate its 100th anniversary season in 1992, this production centers on Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais (Håkan Hagegård), the real-life creator of Figaro, as he tries to stop Marie Antoinette (Teresa Stratas) from being executed. Gino Quilico, Graham Clark, Marilyn Horne and Renée Fleming costar. Watch for free for 23 hours after the start time on the Metropolitan Opera’s website. You can still stream yesterday’s opera, Doctor Atomic, until 6:30 p.m. ET today.
Stars in the House: Stars Out of the House
On Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET, Seth Rudetsky and James Wesley mark a major milestone: raising $1 million for The Actors Fund on Stars in the House since the onset of the pandemic! To celebrate, they’re hosting an in-person show at Asylum NYC that will also be streamed to at-home fans. The lineup of famous friends scheduled to appear and perform include Brenda Braxton, Andréa Burns, Liz Callaway, Kristin Chenoweth, Darius de Haas, Colin Donnell, Beth Leavel, Andrea Martin, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Patti Murin and Chita Rivera. Watch for free on YouTube though donations to The Actors Fund are encouraged.
Theater of War Productions: Philoctetes and Women of Trachis
On Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. ET, Theater of War Productions, a company that uses classical texts to examine contemporary issues, presents a reading of scenes from Philoctetes and Women of Trachis, followed by a town hall-style discussion with the audience. Taylor Schilling, Frankie Faison, David Strathairn and Nyasha Hatendi will perform sequences from Sophocles’ tragedies, and then director-adapter Bryan Doerries will facilitate a conversation about how the plays’ themes relate to the trauma frontline medical workers are facing during the pandemic. Tickets are required to receive the free viewing link. This performance won’t be available after-the-fact.
Thursday, July 1
Queerly Festival: All My Dead Uncles
On Thursday at 7 p.m. ET, the Queerly Festival, an annual showcase of cutting-edge LGBTQ artists, wraps up with Emily Breeze‘s All My Dead Uncles, which is being performed in person at the East Village’s Kraine Theater but will also be streamed to at-home viewers. Performed by Arielle Yoder, this one-woman tragicomedy examines the lives and deaths of a queer woman’s many uncles. Tickets are $15.
The Metropolitan Opera: Satyagraha
On Thursday at 7:30 p.m. ET, the Metropolitan Opera presents Philip Glass’ Satyagraha, inspired by Mahatma Gandhi’s life and set to lines from the Hindu scripture Bhagavad Gita. Richard Croft stars as the world leader in this 2011 mounting. Watch for free for 23 hours after the start time on the Metropolitan Opera’s website. You can still stream yesterday’s opera, The Ghosts of Versailles, until 6:30 p.m. today.
Colt Coeur: Feel the Spirit
On Thursday at 8 p.m. ET, Colt Coeur presents Feel the Spirit, Noelle Viñas‘ made-for-Zoom play about a young, queer, new-to-her-post pastor trying to help the members of her congregation find fellowship and spirituality during the isolation of the pandemic. Elizabeth Carter directs Nikki Calonge, Lynne Lipton, Rami Margron, Roger Q Mason, Vanessa Peréda and Thomas Silcott, and viewers are invited to join in moments of reflection, too. Tickets start at $5 and the recording is viewable until Tuesday, July 6.
Available to Watch Both Days
Patrick Page in All the Devils Are Here
Hadestown Tony nominee Patrick Page shows off his mellifluous voice and classical acting training in his solo show All the Devils Are Here, an exploration of Shakespeare’s villains. A medley of scenes and monologues that trace the evolution of the Bard’s baddies, the one-person play was originally presented in 2017. This production was filmed during the shutdown at Washington, DC’s Shakespeare Theatre Company on the same stage where Page previously played Prospero, Coriolanus, Iago and Macbeth. Tickets start at $25 but if you’re a TDF member, log in to your account to purchase them at a discount. The recording is viewable until Saturday.
Kinky Boots
Everybody say, “Yeah, yeah!” 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. Tickets are $15 but if you’re a TDF member, log in to your account to purchase them at a discount. The recording is viewable until Friday.
The Garden
On Wednesday and Thursday at 7:30 p.m. ET, Baltimore Center Stage presents The Garden, a moving new play written by and starring Tony nominee Charlayne Woodard about the complex relationship between a Black woman and her estranged adult daughter, who shows up unexpectedly at her mother’s garden gate attempting to reconcile old wounds. Patricia McGregor directs this world premiere, which costars Caroline Stefanie Clay. Tickets start at $25 but if you’re a TDF member, log in to your account to purchase them at a discount.
Lincoln Center Theater: Marys Seacole
Lincoln Center Theater presents Marys Seacole, Pulitzer Prize winner Jackie Sibblies Drury‘s critically acclaimed play about an ambitious Jamaican woman whose adventures span many countries and eras, from the Crimean War to a modern-day nursing home. A profound exploration of women who are paid to look after others, this fantasia is inspired by the real-life 19th-century nurse and healer Mary Seacole as well as all the caregivers who came after her. This Lincoln Center Theater/LCT3 production was recorded on stage in 2019, with Lileana Blain-Cruz directing Quincy Tyler Bernstine, Gabby Beans, Marceline Hugot, Karen Kandel, Ismenia Mendes and Lucy Taylor. . The recording is viewable until Sunday.
North Coast Repertory Theatre: Becoming Dr. Ruth
California’s North Coast Repertory Theatre presents four-time Tony nominee Tovah Feldshuh in Becoming Dr. Ruth, Mark St. Germain‘s inspiring one-woman bio play about the cheery sex therapist and her compelling past, including losing her family in the Holocaust, working as a sniper for the Haganah and finally finding Mr. Right after two divorces. David Ellenstein directs the production, which was filmed live on stage at Bay Street Theater, a co-producer of the show. Tickets start at $35 and the recording is viewable until Sunday, July 11.
Irish Repertory Theatre: Ghosting
On Wednesday at 3 and 8 p.m., and Thursday at 7 p.m. ET, NYC’s venerable Irish Rep presents Ghosting, Anne O’Riordan and Jamie Beamish‘s tragicomedy about a disconnected young woman who awakens to find the ex who abandoned her years earlier standing at the foot of her bed. O’Riordan stars in this one-woman play about revisiting the past in order to carve out a future. Directed by Aidan Kelly, the production was recorded at Theatre Royal in April 2020. Tickets are required to receive the free viewing link; a $25 donation is suggested.
Westport Country Playhouse: Tiny House
Connecticut’s Westport Country Playhouse presents Tiny House, a new comedy by Michael Gotch about a couple that fled the city for simple country life, but a Fourth of July celebration brings their quirky acquaintances to their new locale. Tickets start at $25 and the recording is available until Sunday, July 18.
Night of a Thousand Judys
Judy, Judy, Judy… Garland that is. This concert celebrates the life and career of the legendary singer-actor, who was born in a trunk in Grand Rapids, Minnesota and traveled over the rainbow to become a movie musical icon. Writer, performer and raconteur Justin Sayre presides over an online edition of this annual favorite, and the lineup of crooners includes Tony winner Alan Cumming, Tony nominees Sam Harris, Vivian Reed and Mary Testa, and stage favorites Karen Mason, Nathan Lee Graham, Jose Llana, Grace McLean and Margo Seibert. Watch for free until Saturday, July 24 on YouTube though donations to The Ali Forney Center are encouraged.
The Outliners: Zoom with a View
The Outliners present Zoom with a View, an evening of playlets created specifically for Zoom starring some NYC stage favorites, including Drama Desk winner Marylouise Burke, Tony nominee Veanne Cox and Obie winner April Matthis. Register to receive the free viewing link though donations to The Actors Fund are encouraged. The recording is viewing until Sunday.
The Old Vic: Queers
To close out Pride Month, London’s lauded Old Vic presents two new monologues in its Queers series exploring LGBTQ life and history. Travis Alabanza‘s I Threw It is performed by Kim Tatum aka Mzz Kimberley, and Jade Anouka‘s Bee is essayed by Pearl Mackie. Watch for free on The Old Vic’s YouTube channel.
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Top image: Quiara Alegría Hudes and Lin-Manuel Miranda, who are telling stories live online for The Moth on Wednesday evening.
RAVEN SNOOK