25+ Stage Performances to Watch This Weekend January 22-24
Friday, January 22
Old Vic: Michael Sheen in Faith Healer
On Friday at 2:30 p.m. ET, last year, London’s Old Vic presented a series of starry shows performed live on stage to an empty auditorium; now the theatre is offering encore streams. Today, catch Brian Friel’s Faith Healer, a powerful play about the dramatic life of Hardy, portrayed by Michael Sheen. This story about faith and fragility unfolds through a series of monologues delivered by Hardy, his wife (Indira Varma) and his longtime manager (David Threlfall). Tickets start at £10, approximately $14. Audio description and closed captions are available.
The Metropolitan Opera: Tosca
On Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET, the Metropolitan Opera shares a gem from its vaults: Franco Zeffirelli‘s 1985 mounting of Puccini’s Tosca, starring Hildegard Behrens as the title diva, Plácido Domingo as her artist lover and Cornell MacNeil as the man who stands in the way of their happiness. Watch for free for 23 hours after the start time on the Metropolitan Opera’s website. You can still stream yesterday’s opera, La Traviata, until 6:30 p.m. ET today.
Origin 1st Irish Theatre Festival: Stay Home and Stay Safe
On Friday at 8 p.m. ET, since 2008, Origin Theatre Company has presented the annual Origin 1st Irish Festival featuring readings, productions and panels. This year the event goes virtual with daily offerings through the end of the month. Tonight, catch a quartet of brand-new playlets exploring domestic violence during the pandemic written by Irish dramatists Geraldine Aron, Honor Molloy, Derek Murphy and Ursula Rani Sarma. Tickets are free but required to receive the viewing link.
La MaMa: Downtown Variety: Brazil Edition
On Friday at 8 p.m. ET, go avant-garde with East Village mainstay La MaMa with this special international edition of Downtown Variety showcasing the experimental work underground artists are doing in Brazil. Lenerson Polonini curates and hosts this evening of performances by Wilson Sukorski, Otavio Donasci, Rui Moreira, Christina Fornaciari, Pedro Granato, Neville D’almeida, Marcus Galina, Jurandy Valença and Gabriela Leite. Watch for free on the company’s website though donations are encouraged.
Saving Wonderland: A Seize the Show Experience
On Friday at 8 p.m. ET, go down the rabbit hole with Seize the Show‘s interactive adventure featuring Lewis Carroll’s iconic Alice in Wonderland characters. This family show takes place live on Zoom as audiences solve puzzles to move the story forward. Multiple endings are possible, so log on ready to participate. Tickets start at $13.
The Exponential Festival: Double Bill
On Friday at 8 p.m. ET, every January since 2016, The Exponential Festival has showcased cutting-edge stage works mostly on Brooklyn stages. For its sixth annual edition, the event goes virtual with performances by some of the most exciting theatre-makers in the digital space. Tonight, catch Chris Ignacio‘s How to Sing: A Survival Guide about crooning through COVID, and excerpts from Darian Dauchan‘s sci-fi rom-com Lift Off. Watch for free on the fest’s YouTube channel though donations are encouraged.
Saturday, January 23
Metropolitan Opera Stars Live in Concert: Piotr Beczala and Sondra Radvanovsky
On Saturday at 1 p.m. ET, the Metropolitan Opera continues its series of live recitals with frequent costars Piotr Beczala and Sondra Radvanovsky performing from Germany’s Historische Stadthalle Wuppertal. This is the first time the duo has sung together for Met audiences since 2015, and the lineup includes beloved arias and duets from Giordano’s Andrea Chénier, Dvorák’s Rusalka and Verdi’s La Forza del Destino. Tickets are $20 and a recording is viewable until Friday, February 6.
St. Ann’s Warehouse: The Approach
On Saturday at 2:15 p.m. ET, Brooklyn’s St. Ann’s Warehouse continues bringing some of the UK’s best theatre to US audiences with The Approach, Mark O’Rowe‘s enigmatic play about three women (Cathy Belton, Derbhle Crotty and Aisling O’Sullivan) telling different but interconnected tales. The production will be performed live on stage at Dublin’s Project Arts Centre and broadcast to international audiences. Tickets start at €15, approximately $18.
Casita Maria Center: Where You From? What You Be About?
On Saturday at 7 p.m. ET, one of TDF’s wonderful community partners, the Casita Maria Center for Arts & Education in the Bronx, presents Where You From? What You Be About?, Eric Avilés‘ autobiographical solo show about growing up on the mean streets of Chicago. A meditation on life, death and redemption, the play examines the far-reaching effects of gun and gang violence. Edward Torres directs. Watch for free on the Casita Maria Center’s Facebook page.
The Metropolitan Opera: Manon
On Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET, the Metropolitan Opera presents Massenet’s Manon, based on Antoine François Prévost’s controversial 18th-century novel about a tragic romance. Filmed for the company’s Live in HD series in 2018, the production stars Lisette Oropesa, Michael Fabiano, Carlo Bosi, Artur Rucinski, Brett Polegato and Kwangchul Youn. 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 noon ET today.
The Reading Series: Rabbit Hole
On Saturday at 8 p.m. ET, The Reading Series presents David Lindsay-Abaire‘s Pulitzer Prize-winning drama Rabbit Hole, about a once-happy family reeling from an unfathomable loss. To Kill a Mockingbird Tony winner Celia Keenan-Bolger leads an impressive cast, including Ain’t Too Proud‘s Jawan M. Jackson, three-time Tony nominee Mary Testa and former Evan Hansen Andrew Barth Feldman. Alison Tanney directs. Watch for free on YouTube though donations to The Actors Fund are encouraged.
Metropolitan Playhouse: The Sleeping Car
On Saturday at 8 p.m. ET, Metropolitan Playhouse, an Obie-winning company that revives forgotten plays, presents a reading of The Sleeping Car, William Dean Howells’ 1883 farce about a chatty woman traveling to see her long-lost brother on an overnight train. Alex Roe directs Dylan Brown, Kelly Cooper, Ken Ferrigni, Andrew Firda, Sidney Fortner, Ben Gougeon, Michael A. Jones, Bex Odorisio and Peter Tedeschi. Watch for free on the company’s YouTube channel though donations are encouraged.
Saving Wonderland: A Seize the Show Experience
On Saturday at 8 p.m. ET, go down the rabbit hole with Seize the Show‘s interactive adventure featuring Lewis Carroll’s iconic Alice in Wonderland characters. This family show takes place live on Zoom as audiences solve puzzles to move the story forward. Multiple endings are possible, so log on ready to participate. Tickets start at $13.
The Exponential Festival: Double Bill
On Saturday at 8:30 p.m. ET, every January since 2016, The Exponential Festival has showcased cutting-edge stage works mostly on Brooklyn stages. For its sixth annual edition, the event goes virtual with performances by some of the most exciting theatre-makers in the digital space. Tonight, catch Yeujia Low‘s musical Animal Empire about creatures fighting for their civil rights, and the ritual sound experiment Yackez Love for the New World Paradigm. Watch for free on the fest’s YouTube channel though donations are encouraged.
Sunday, January 24
St. Ann’s Warehouse: The Approach
On Sunday at 3:45 p.m. ET, Brooklyn’s St. Ann’s Warehouse continues bringing some of the UK’s best theatre to US audiences with The Approach, Mark O’Rowe‘s enigmatic play about three women (Cathy Belton, Derbhle Crotty and Aisling O’Sullivan) telling different but interconnected tales. The production will be performed live on stage at Dublin’s Project Arts Centre and broadcast to international audiences. Tickets start at €15, approximately $18.
Fabulous Fanny: The Songs and Stories of Fanny Brice
On Sunday at 7 p.m. ET, if you only know Fanny Brice as Barbra Streisand’s character in Funny Girl, time to get schooled. Kimberly Faye Greenberg portrays the legendary Jewish singer, comedian and Ziegfeld Follies star in this solo show, which delves into her incredible career and dramatic life. Expect torch songs, old-school shtick and Baby Snooks! (No relation to yours truly.) Tickets are $10.
The Exponential Festival: How to Wake Up!
On Sunday at 7 p.m. ET, every January since 2016, The Exponential Festival has showcased cutting-edge stage works mostly on Brooklyn stages. For its sixth annual edition, the event goes virtual with performances by some of the most exciting theatre-makers in the digital space. Tonight, catch How to Wake Up!, a grab bag of poems and performances assembled by Tessa Barlow-Ochshorn. Watch for free on the fest’s YouTube channel though donations are encouraged.
The Metropolitan Opera: Die Walküre
On Sunday at 7:30 p.m. ET, the Metropolitan Opera presents Die Walküre, the second opera in Wagner’s “Ring” cycle, with Brünnhilde defying her god father Wotan. Deborah Voigt, Eva-Maria Westbroek, Stephanie Blythe, Jonas Kaufmann, Bryn Terfel and Hans-Peter König star in Robert Lepage‘s landmark 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, Manon, until 6:30 p.m. ET today.
All Weekend
San Francisco Ballet: George Balanchine’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream
San Francisco Ballet kicks off its new digital season with a recording of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, which had its run cut short due to the pandemic last year. Based on Shakespeare’s enchanting comedy of love, magic and manipulation, the ballet features a lovely score by Felix Mendelssohn and was the first full-length work choreographed by George Balanchine. Tickets are $29 and the recording is viewable until Wednesday, February 10.
Opéra-Comique in Paris: Titon et l’Aurore
Here’s something you don’t see every day, a brand-new production streamed directly from Opéra-Comique in Paris! Award-winning puppet master Basil Twist (Symphonie Fantastique) directs Jean-Joseph Cassanéa de Mondonville’s rarely staged 1753 fable Titon et l’Aurore, about the relationship between a shepherd (Reinoud Van Mechelen) and a goddess (Gwendoline Blondeel). Although the opera’s in-person run this month was canceled due to COVID, the venue produced it live on stage to an empty house and recorded the performance. Watch for free until Monday, April 19 on Medici TV though you need to create an account.
New York Theatre Workshop: The Wright Stuff
New York Theatre Workshop presents The Wright Stuff, Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Doug Wright‘s new interview series of one-on-one talks with some of the most insightful and hilarious political commentators of our time: comedians. The five-episode series features chats with New Yorker satirist Andy Borowitz, Daily Show alum Aasif Mandvi, CBS Sunday Morning special correspondent Nancy Giles, irreverent stage and screen scribe Paul Rudnick, and Late Night with Seth Meyers‘ writer Jenny Hagel. Watch the series for free on NYTW’s YouTube channel.
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Top image: Chita Rivera, who’s celebrating her birthday on Stars in the House on Saturday night. Photo by Laura Marie Duncan.
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