20+ Stage Performances to Watch This Weekend July 30-August 1
Friday, July 30
The Tank: and come apart
On Friday at 7 p.m. ET, indie theatre incubator The Tank presents and come apart as part of its Dark Fest. Eric Marlin‘s immersive audio drama is being performed live on stage in total darkness, but will also be streamed to at-home audiences who are asked to don blindfolds while hearing the tale of a Jewish matriarch on her deathbed, whose dramatic family history recalls hundreds of years of harrowing immigrant stories. Tickets start at $15.
Weathervane Theatre: Buyer & Cellar
On Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET, New Hampshire’s Weathervane Theatre presents a virtual production of Buyer & Cellar, Jonathan Tolins‘ uproarious one-man play about an out-of-work actor who lands an insane job curating the tchotchkes in Barbra Streisand’s basement. Nathaniel P. Claridad directs Jorge Donoso in this laugh-out-loud comedy. Tickets start at $22.50 but if you’re a TDF member, log in to your account to purchase them at a discount.
ALMA NYC: Places
On Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET, dance company ALMA NYC presents Places, a documentary about the troupe emerging from the pandemic featuring interviews, behind-the-scenes footage and site-specific performances around the city choreographed by Zanza Steinberg. Tickets start at $20 and the recording is available until Monday, August 9.
The Shakesolo Festival: To Thine Own Self
On Friday at 10 p.m. ET, Frigid New York‘s The Shakesolo Festival, showcasing Bard-inspired solo performances, continues with To Thine Own Self, Dani Herd‘s meditation on identity, Internet personality quizzes and Shakespeare. Subtitled “Your taste in pancakes will reveal which Shakespearean heroine you are (maybe),” the one-woman comedy is being performed in person at the Kraine Theater, but will also be streamed to at-home audiences. Tickets are $13.
The Actors Gang: We Live On: Part II
On Friday at 10 p.m. ET, LA’s innovative theatre company The Actors’ Gang, led by Oscar-winning actor Tim Robbins, presents We Live On, a three-part performance inspired by Studs Terkel’s epic Hard Times, in which Americans from all walks of life shared what it was like surviving the Great Depression. In April 2020, Robbins and his company started working on a virtual adaptation of this nonfiction classic, dramatizing 30 different stories, some from the original book, others from the family history of cast members. Part II opens tonight and tickets are pay-what-you-wish. Parts I and III run later this week and all the installments are performed live online.
Saturday, July 31
The Shakesolo Festival
Frigid New York‘s The Shakesolo Festival, showcasing Bard-inspired solo performances, wraps up this Saturday with a pair of offerings performed in-person at the Kraine Theater that are also live-streamed to at-home audiences.
- On Saturday at 4 p.m. ET, in Unspoken Garden/ El jardin que calla, Shakespeare soliloquies are juxtaposed against harrowing real-life testimonies of abused women in Latin America. Tickets are $13.
- On Saturday at 10 p.m. ET, She Wolf explores the demonization of powerful women in Shakespeare and how that damaging stereotype persists today. Tickets are $13.
The Tank: and come apart
On Saturday at 7 p.m. ET, indie theatre incubator The Tank presents and come apart as part of its Dark Fest. Eric Marlin‘s immersive audio drama is being performed live on stage in total darkness, but will also be streamed to at-home audiences who are asked to don blindfolds while hearing the tale of a Jewish matriarch on her deathbed, whose dramatic family history recalls hundreds of years of harrowing immigrant stories. Tickets start at $15.
The Actors Gang: We Live On: Parts I, II and III
On Saturday at 8 p.m., 9:30 p.m. and 11 p.m. ET, LA’s innovative theatre company The Actors’ Gang, led by Oscar-winning actor Tim Robbins, presents We Live On, a three-part performance inspired by Studs Terkel’s epic Hard Times, in which Americans from all walks of life shared what it was like surviving the Great Depression. In April 2020, Robbins and his company started working on a virtual adaptation of this nonfiction classic, dramatizing 30 different stories, some from the original book, others from the family history of cast members. You can watch Parts I, II and III consecutively tonight with all installments performed live online. Tickets are pay-what-you-wish.
Sunday, August 1
The Actors Gang: We Live On: Parts I, II and III
On Sunday at noon, 1:30 p.m. and 3 p.m. ET, LA’s innovative theatre company The Actors’ Gang, led by Oscar-winning actor Tim Robbins, presents We Live On, a three-part performance inspired by Studs Terkel’s epic Hard Times, in which Americans from all walks of life shared what it was like surviving the Great Depression. In April 2020, Robbins and his company started working on a virtual adaptation of this nonfiction classic, dramatizing 30 different stories, some from the original book, others from the family history of cast members. You can watch previously recorded performances of Parts I, II and III consecutively today. Tickets are pay-what-you-wish.
All Weekend
Barrington Stage Company: Judgment Day
Barrington Stage Company presents an encore stream of Judgment Day, an over-the-top comedy by veteran TV writer/producer Rob Ulin. Jason Alexander stars as a shady lawyer who’s scared into trying to change by a domineering angel, played by an acerbic Patti LuPone. Santino Fontana costars as a priest in crisis, and the rest of the cast includes Loretta Devine, Elizabeth Stanley and Michael McKean. If this trailer is any indication, prepare for irreverent laughs. Tickets are $9 and the recording is viewable until Sunday.
Irish Repertory Theatre: The Cordelia Dream
On Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 3 and 8 p.m., and Sunday at 2 p.m. ET, NYC’s venerable Irish Rep presents The Cordelia Dream, Marina Carr‘s psychologically complex two-hander about the fraught interactions between a Woman and a Man which recall the dysfunctional relationship between Cordelia and King Lear. Director Joe O’Byrne‘s production was filmed live on stage at Dublin’s New Theatre and stars Stephen Brennan and Danielle Ryan. Tickets are required to receive the free viewing link; a $25 donation is suggested.
Mabou Mines: Vs.
On Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m., and Sunday at 2 p.m. ET, venerable avant-garde theatre company Mabou Mines brings its experimentation to Zoom with Vs., an interactive experience in which viewers join a philosophical tribunal to acquit or prosecute crimes against humanity. Mallory Catlett directs Becca Blackwell, Mildred Ruiz-Sapp, David Thomson and Perry Yung in Carl Hancock Rux‘s brainteaser. Tickets are pay-what-you-wish though a $10 donation is suggested.
The Great Filter
Jason Ralph and Trevor Einhorn from the Syfy series The Magicians star in The Great Filter, an out-of-this-world thriller about a pair of astronauts returning to Earth after a failed mission who realize the planet may be in crisis. Equal parts sci-fi and comedy, this one-act was written and directed by Frank Winters and filmed live on stage earlier this summer at the Wild Project in the East Village. Tickets are $18 and the recording is viewable until Thursday, August 26.
Lincoln Center Theater: The Wolves
Lincoln Center Theater shares a never-before-seen treat: a recording of The Wolves, Sarah DeLappe‘s Pulitzer finalist play about nine high school juniors on a soccer field exchanging ideas, thoughts and confidences as they pass the ball back and forth. The chatter is incessant but insightful, offering a glimpse into the insular and messy world of American teenage girls as they candidly discuss everything from periods to politics. Directed by Lila Neugebauer, this Obie-winning production stars Lauren Patten, Sarah Mezzanotte, Susannah Perkins, Tedra Millan and other up-and-comers, and was filmed live on stage at Lincoln Center’s Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater in 2017. ; the recording is viewable until Sunday, August 15.
Baltimore Center Stage: A Play for the Living in a Time of Extinction
On Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 2 and 8 p.m., and Sunday at 2 p.m. ET, Baltimore Center Stage presents A Play for the Living in a Time of Extinction, a dark comedy by Miranda Rose Hall about a theatre company putting on a show about climate change that goes awry. So the stage manager/light board operator/dramaturg comes up with some unexpected ways to engage the audience. Log on ready to participate in this communal experience. Tickets start at $25 but if you’re a TDF member, log in to your account to purchase them at a discount.
New Normal Rep: Lines in the Dust
New Normal Rep presents Lines in the Dust by Obie winner and Pulitzer Prize finalist Nikkole Salter. Set in Newark in 2010, this moving drama centers on a working-class single mother desperate to find an alternative to the underperforming zoned school for her bright young daughter. How much will she risk to give her kid a leg up? Awoye Timpo directs Lisa Rosetta Strum, Melissa Joyner and Jeffrey Bean. 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 Sunday, August 8 and closed captions are available.
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Top image: André De Shields and Nicole King, who star as the title monarch and his daughter Cordelia in St. Louis Shakespeare Festival’s King Lear, which is being streamed this weekend. Photo by Phillip Hamer Photography.
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