20+ Stage Performances to Watch March 15-16
Monday, March 15
The Shows Must Go On!: Letters Live from the Archive: Freemasons’ Hall
On Monday at 3 p.m. ET, The Shows Must Go On! presents a star-studded edition of Letters Live, featuring well-known actors reading remarkable correspondence on stage. Recorded live on stage at London’s Freemasons’ Hall, this performance features Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Hiddleston, Olivia Colman, Jude Law, Carey Mulligan and Miriam Margolyes. Watch for free until Sunday on YouTube though donations to Choose Love are encouraged.
La MaMA: Experiments: Three Ring Circus
On Monday at 7 p.m. ET, La MaMa presents Three Ring Circus, Sean Patrick Higgins‘ modern-day farce about a polyamorous interracial relationship, as a throuple hosts a family dinner party that results in comical misunderstandings. Watch for free on La MaMa’s website though donations are encouraged.
The Metropolitan Opera: Les Contes d’Hoffmann
On Monday at 7:30 p.m. ET, the Metropolitan Opera presents Tony winner Bartlett Sher‘s fantastical 2015 production of Offenbach’s Les Contes d’Hoffmann, starring Joseph Calleja as the title lovesick poet alongside a trio of leading ladies: Kathleen Kim as the mechanical doll Olympia, Anna Netrebko as the fragile Antonia and Ekaterina Gubanova as courtesan Giulietta. Watch for free for 23 hours after the start time on the Metropolitan Opera’s website. You can still stream yesterday’s opera, Tosca, until 6:30 p.m. ET today.
Red Bull Theater: Gallathea
On Monday at 7:30 p.m. ET, NYC’s Red Bull Theater, known for reimagining classics, presents a live reading of Gallathea, John Lyly’s queer romantic comedy about two girls who fall for each other while masquerading as boys to avoid being sacrificed to Neptune’s sea monster. Mistaken identity, competitive gods and love are all on tap in this delicious 1588 romp. Emma Rosa directs Helen Cespedes, Nathaniel P. Claridad, Yonatan Gebeyehu, Amy Jo Jackson, Rami Margron, Christopher Michael McFarland, Jason O’Connell, Layla Khoshnoudi, Aneesh Sheth, David Ryan Smith and Zo Tipp. Watch for free on Red Bull’s YouTube channel; a $25 donation is suggested. A recording will be available until Friday at 7 p.m. ET.
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 juggler Bruce Manners, aerialist Kylie Webb, mentalist Matti Weinberg and hand balancer Kira DiPietrantonio.. Watch for free on Bindlestiff’s YouTube channel though donations are encouraged.
Tuesday, March 16
The Picture of Dorian Gray
Starting Tuesday, you can stream a starry, contemporary adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s classic novel The Picture of Dorian Gray. Written by Henry Filloux-Bennett and set in our screen-dominated world, this cautionary tale centers on a young influencer who makes a deal ensuring that his social media celebrity will never fade. But his picture-perfect life comes at a terrible cost. Tamara Harvey directs Fionn Whitehead as the title hedonist. Tony nominees Joanna Lumley and Stephen Fry and stage favorite Russell Tovey costar in this production, which was filmed remotely. Tickets are £12, approximately $17. The recording is viewable until Wednesday, March 31 and closed captions are available.
The 24 Hour Plays: Viral Monologues One-Year Anniversary
On Tuesday at 6 p.m. ET, The 24 Hour Plays: Viral Monologues marks one year of presenting eclectic solos about how we’re living today with 24 new pieces. From 6 to 10 p.m. ET, well-known actors—including Ashlie Atkinson, Hugh Dancy, Steve Guttenberg, Jeremy Shamos, Larry Owens and Keala Settle—perform tailor-made monologues, all penned and filmed within the last 24 hours. Participating playwrights include Alex Edelman, Lily Houghton, Hansol Jung, Anchuli Felicia King, David Lindsay-Abaire and Tom Kitt, Kenneth Lonergan, Cat Miller and Jonathan Marc Sherman. Watch on The 24 Hour Plays’ Instagram.
Irish Repertory Theatre: The Aran Islands
On Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET, NYC’s venerable Irish Rep presents The Aran Islands, director Joe O’Byrne‘s one-man adaptation of John Millington Synge’s 1907 novel of the same name. Brendan Conroy stars as Synge, whose time in the grey, mystical landscape of the remote isles inspired many of his writings, including Riders to the Sea. This digital production was filmed primarily at Dublin’s New Theatre, with additional footage from (where else?) the Aran Islands. Tickets are required to receive the free viewing link though a $25 donation is suggested.
The Metropolitan Opera: La Fanciulla del West
On Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. ET, the Metropolitan Opera presents Puccini’s La Fanciulla del West, a rootin’-tootin’ romance set during the California Gold Rush, as a charming outlaw wins the heart of a gun-toting saloon owner. Jonas Kaufmann and Eva-Maria Westbroek headline this 2018 mounting. Watch for free for 23 hours after the start time on the Metropolitan Opera’s website. You can still stream yesterday’s opera, Les Contes d’Hoffmann, until 6:30 p.m. ET today.
Available to Watch Both Days
Out of The Box Theatrics: The Last Five Years
On Monday and 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 but if you’re a TDF member, log in to your account to purchase them at a discount. The recording is viewable until Sunday, March 28.
New York City Center: Matthew Bourne’s The Car Man
New York City Center continues its New Adventures Festival of theatrical ballets by choreographer Matthew Bourne with The Car Man. 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 film noir 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. Tickets are $15 and the recording is viewable until Sunday.
New York City Ballet: Stravinsky Violin Concerto
New York City Ballet presents George Balanchine’s Stravinsky Violin Concerto, the choreographer’s 1972 neoclassical masterpiece set to Stravinsky’s iconic composition. Sterling Hyltin, Ask la Cour, Sara Mearns and Taylor Stanley perform a pair of breathtaking pas de deux in this archival recording. Watch for free until Thursday on NYCB’s YouTube channel.
The Lorraine Hansberry Theatre: [hieroglyph]
California’s Lorraine Hansberry Theatre and San Francisco Playhouse present [hieroglyph], Erika Dickerson-Despenza‘s devastating drama about a family struggling to move forward after being torn apart by Hurricane Katrina. The play examines the impact of environmental racism, sexual violence and displacement on society’s most vulnerable individuals, specifically a teenager grappling with PTSD after an assault at the Superdome. The production was filmed on stage at The Lorraine Hansberry Theatre during quarantine and was directed by the company’s new artistic director, Margo Hall. Tickets start at $16.50 and the recording is viewable until Saturday, April 3.
Theater Breaking Through Barriers: VPI4: TRANS(4)MISSIONS
On Monday and Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. ET, Theater Breaking Through Barriers, one of the country’s leading companies showcasing artists with disabilities, presents 10 plays in 10 days through Sunday evening. These shorts were developed in the troupe’s Virtual Playmakers’ Intensive and mark the one-year anniversary of the shutdown. Watch for free on the company’s YouTube channel. Live captioning and audio description are available.
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Top image: Nasia Thomas and Nicholas Edwards in Out of The Box Theatrics’ digital production of The Last Five Years, which begins streaming on Monday. Photo by Gerald Malaval.
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