25+ Stage Performances to Watch June 23-24
Wednesday, June 23
TDF: David Henry Hwang and Jeanine Tesori in Conversation
On Wednesday at 3 p.m. ET, TDF presents a thoughtful conversation with playwright and lyricist David Henry Hwang and composer Jeanine Tesori, who collaborated on Soft Power, which ran at The Public Theater in 2019. The two became quite close as they wrote (and rewrote) this ambitious “musical within a play,” which started out as a reverse The King and I but evolved into a much more personal piece as real-life events were incorporated, including Donald Trump’s 2016 election and Hwang being stabbed in a seemingly racially motivated attack. After a long pandemic separation, TDF is bringing these two friends together for an intimate online chat. Watch for free on TDF’s Facebook page.
The Metropolitan Opera: La Fille du Régiment
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 La Fille du Régiment, Donizetti’s beloved romantic comedy about an orphan girl raised by French soldiers who ends up falling for a rebel. This 2019 production stars Pretty Yende, Stephanie Blythe, Javier Camarena and Maurizio Muraro, and Oscar-nominated actor Kathleen Turner makes a non-singing cameo as the Duchess of Krakenthorp. Watch for free until Friday at 5 p.m. ET on the Metropolitan Opera’s website.
The Metropolitan Opera: Maria Stuarda
On Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. ET, the Metropolitan Opera presents David McVicar‘s acclaimed 2012 mounting of Donizetti’s Maria Stuarda about Mary, Queen of Scots. Joyce DiDonato stars as the tragic title character, with Elza van den Heever as Queen Elizabeth and Matthew Polenzani as Leicester. Watch for free for 23 hours after the start time on the Metropolitan Opera’s website. You can still stream yesterday’s opera, Rusalka, until 6:30 p.m. ET today.
Thursday, June 24
Lincoln Center Theater: Lileana Blain-Cruz In Conversation: On Directing
On Thursday at 7 p.m. ET, Lincoln Center Theater‘s resident director Lileana Blain-Cruz talks about the future of the industry with some of her talented peers: Raja Feather Kelly, Seret Scott and Tyler Thomas. Register for the free Zoom link.
Queerly Festival
The Queerly Festival, an annual showcase of cutting-edge LGBTQ artists, is being held in person at both the Kraine Theater and Under St. Marks in the East Village, but all performances are also being streamed to at-home audiences. Tonight there are three separate shows:
- On Thursday at 7 p.m. ET, Totally Gay Comedy showcases up-and-coming LGBTQ stand-ups. Tickets are $15.
- On Thursday at 7:30 p.m. ET, M. Stratton‘s two-monologue play Conversations paints a portrait of a queer woman struggling with her repressed desires. Tickets are $15.
- On Thursday at 9 p.m. ET, Quinten Lamar hosts the Fully Vaxed Comedy Show, an evening of queer comedy. Tickets are $15.
The Garden
On 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.
The Metropolitan Opera: Tosca
On Thursday at 7:30 p.m. ET, the Metropolitan Opera presents Tosca, Puccini’s thrilling love triangle starring Patricia Racette as the title singer, Roberto Alagna as her artist lover and George Gagnidze as the chief of police who wants Tosca for himself. Luc Bondy staged this 2013 production. Watch for free for 23 hours after the start time on the Metropolitan Opera’s website. You can still stream yesterday’s opera, Maria Stuarda, until 6:30 p.m. today.
Night of a Thousand Judys
On Thursday at 8 p.m. ET, 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 online though donations to The Ali Forney Center are encouraged.
Playbill: Glimmer of Light
On Thursday at 8 p.m. ET, last week, Playbill produced Glimmer of Light, an epic, in-person Pride concert at Queens’ Radial Park, and now it’s being streamed online through the end of the month. The lineup includes on stage performances by Ezra Menas, Jo Ellen Pellman, Max Crumm, Jan Sport from RuPaul’s Drag Race and Sis along with virtual contributions from Alex Newell, Ariana DeBose, Felicia Fitzpatrick, L Morgan Lee and Peppermint. Watch for free on Playbill’s YouTube channel until Tuesday, June 30.
Joe’s Pub: Jaime Lozano and the Familia: Songs by an Immigrant
On Thursday at 8 p.m. ET, up-and-coming Latinx musical theatre composer Jaime Lozano and some of his talented pals, such as On Your Feet‘s Mauricio Martínez, perform his tunes in Songs by an Immigrant. The concert was recorded at Joe’s Pub in August 2019 and features numbers about settling into a new home, learning a new language and grappling with discrimination. Watch for free on Joe’s Pub’s YouTube channel.
Zero Gravity (zero-G) Lab: chekhovOS / an experimental game/
On Thursday at 8 p.m. ET, Zero Gravity (zero-G) Lab presents chekhovOS / an experimental game/, an interactive online workshop by virtual performance innovator Igor Golyak that fuses film, theatre and video game technology to explore Anton Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard as well as the Russian dramatist’s life. Tony nominee Jessica Hecht stars and actor and ballet icon Mikhail Baryshnikov appears as Chekhov. This offbeat offering just got a rave review in The New York Times. Log on ready to participate. Tickets are required to receive the free viewing link; donations are encouraged.
Shakespeare Center LA: Macbeth: A Virtual Live-Action Graphic Novel
On Thursday at 10:30 p.m. ET, Shakespeare Center LA presents a colorful new take on the Bard’s Macbeth, with kinetic comic book panels complementing the performances of seasoned classical actors, including Tony nominee Keith David as the title villain. A Shakespeare tragedy reimagined as an animated experience? This is the kind of innovative virtual theatre the pandemic made possible. Tickets are $30.40 and a recording will be viewable until Friday, July 30.
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.
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.
American Conservatory Theater: Tales of the City
San Francisco’s lauded American Conservatory Theater celebrates Pride Month by streaming a never-before-seen recording of its 2011 smash Tales of the City, a musical adaptation of Armistead Maupin’s series of novels chronicling LGBTQ life in San Francisco in the late 20th century. With a book by Avenue Q Tony winner Jeff Whitty and songs by John Garden and Jake Shears from the glam-rock band Scissor Sisters, the production stars Waitress‘ Betsy Wolfe as San Fran newcomer Mary Ann Singleton, Tony winner Judy Kaye as her eccentric landlady Anna Madrigal, Mary Birdsong as her bisexual hippie neighbor Mona Ramsey and Wesley Taylor as Michael “Mouse” Tolliver, a gay man living with HIV. Tony nominee Jason Moore directed the show, one of the highest-selling productions in the theatre’s history. Tickets start at $19 and the recording is viewable until Sunday.
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 and the recording is viewable until Friday, July 2.
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, July 4.
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.
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Top image: Matt Henry and cast in Kinky Boots on the West End, which is streaming all Pride Month. Photo by Matt Crockett.
RAVEN SNOOK