21 Stage Performances to See Today, May 8
Mabou Mines: Dead End Kids: A Story of Nuclear Power
At 11 a.m. ET, venerable experimental troupe Mabou Mines is sharing recordings of some of its landmark performances online. Today’s offering is playwright-director JoAnne Akalaitis‘ Dead End Kids, a mash-up of text by Goethe, Jorge Luis Borges and Marie Curie with ’80s reports on nuclear weapons. Music is by David Byrne and Philip Glass, one of the company’s cofounders. Watch for free on Mabou Mines’ Vimeo channel.
Melissa Errico on Stars in the House
At 2 p.m. ET, Seth Rudetsky and James Wesley welcome Tony nominee Melissa Errico, an acclaimed musical theatre performer known for her glorious soprano. The theme of the episode is “feel good Friday,” and we could all use some of uplift right now! This twice daily series supports The Actors Fund, and you can watch for free on the organization’s YouTube channel.
Irene Rodríguez’s Solera and Encierro at The Joyce
At 7 p.m. ET, dance haven The Joyce Theater shares a two pieces by Cuban flamenco dancer and choreographer Irene Rodríguez: the vibrant solo Solera and Encierro inspired by the running of the bulls in Spain. Watch for free on the Joyce’s YouTube channel.
La Bohème at the Met
At 7:30 p.m. ET, it’s viewers’ choice night at the Metropolitan Opera, and this one is a vintage treat: the 1977 mounting of Puccini’s La Bohème, starring Renata Scotto and Luciano Pavarotti, conducted by James Levine. The production was filmed for the company’s Live in HD series, and is available to watch for free for 23 hours after the start time on the Metropolitan Opera’s website. You can still stream yesterday’s opera, Capriccio, until 6:30 p.m. today.
Lena Hall in The Shape of Things
At 8 p.m., Hedwig Tony winner Lena Hall headlines a live reading of Neil LaBute’s The Shape of Things, a twisty tale of manipulation involving two very different couples. Katie Rose Clarke (Allegiance), Tim Realbuto and Jonah Platt (yup, Ben’s older brother!) round out the cast, and the playwright will participate in a post-performance Q&A. Watch for free on YouTube though donations to The Actors’ Fund are encouraged. This performance won’t be available after-the-fact.
New York City Ballet: Concerto DSCH
At 8 p.m. ET, NYCB continues its online spring season with Alexei Ratmansky’s Concerto DSCH, set to Dmitri Shostakovich’s Piano Concerto No. 2. The ballet was filmed in 2018 and features Sara Mearns, Tyler Angle, Ashley Bouder, Gonzalo Garcia and Joaquin De Luz. Watch for free on NYCB’s YouTube channel through Monday at 8 p.m. ET.
Downtown Variety at La MaMa
At 8 p.m. ET, experimental theatre mecca La MaMa presents its weekly Downtown Variety show, featuring brief acts of dance, music, theatre, new media and comedy. Participants include H0t Club, John Maria Gutierrez, Paul Lazar, Dan Safer and other underground darlings. Prepare yourself for the unexpected! Watch for free on the theatre’s website.
Rule of 7×7 at The Tank
At 8 p.m. ET, The Tank resurrects its signature Rule of 7×7 series online, with seven different playwrights penning seven new 10-minute plays every two weeks. But here’s the gimmick: for every edition, each playwright comes up with one “rule” that all the others must follow. Past rules include “bright sunshine” and incorporating a specific line. The performance takes place on the free app Zoom, which you’ll need to download in advance. Audiences can email RuleOfShow@gmail.com to receive the Zoom link to watch for free.
Rose Byrne in Gruesome Playground Injuries
At 8:30 p.m. ET, Rose Byrne and fellow Aussie actor Ewen Leslie star in a live reading of Rajiv Joseph’s Gruesome Playground Injuries, a two-hander about a dysfunctional pair of pals bonded by pain and suffering. This event is a benefit for Australia’s Red Line Productions and viewers are encouraged to make donations of any amount before tuning in to watch you YouTube. Note: This is a one-time only performance and won’t be available to watch after-the-fact.
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Antony and Cleopatra at the National Theatre
London’s National Theatre shares its acclaimed 2018 production of Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra, starring Tony winners Ralph Fiennes and Sophie Okonedo as the Roman general and the Egyptian queen torn between love and war. Simon Godwin directs this politically charged epic, which you can watch for free through Thursday, May 14 at 2 p.m. ET on the National Theatre’s YouTube channel.
Macbeth at the Stratford Festival
Ontario’s venerable Stratford Festival continues its Shakespeare on Film series with Macbeth featuring Canadian stage stars Ian Lake and Krystin Pellerin as the bloodthirsty aspirational couple. Watch for free on the Stratford Festival’s YouTube channel.
The Two Noble Kinsmen at Shakespeare’s Globe
London’s Shakespeare’s Globe shares a recording of its 2018 mounting of The Two Noble Kinsmen, a tragicomic love triangle generally believed to be the Bard’s final play, written in collaboration with John Fletcher. Watch for free anytime through Saturday, May 17 on the theatre’s YouTube channel.
The Wooster Group
Pioneering avant-garde theatre troupe The Wooster Group is posting recordings of some of its seminal works online, including Rumstick Road, Spalding Gray‘s response to his mother’s suicide; To You, the Birdie!, the company’s riff on Racine’s Phèdre; and House/Lights, a mash-up of Gertrude Stein’s Doctor Faustus Lights the Lights and the 1964 B-movie Olga’s House of Shame. If you’ve never seen a show by this influential and iconoclastic company, prepare for nudity, obscurity, multimedia experimentation and Willem Dafoe, who was in many early productions. Watch for free on the Wooster Group’s website.
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Top image: Kelli O’Hara and Ken Wantanabe in The King and I at Lincoln Center Theater. Photo by Matthew Murphy.
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