25+ Stage Performances to Watch This Weekend May 21-23
Friday, May 21
Soho Theatre: Herding Cats
On Friday at 2:30 and 6 p.m. ET, a groundbreaking stage-cinema hybrid, this production of Lucinda Coxon‘s drama Herding Cats features Jassa Ahluwalia and Sophie Melville in person at London’s Soho Playhouse, with Grey’s Anatomy star Greg Germann performing live via video from New York. This high-tech setup suits the story about two millennial roommates, Justine and Michael, struggling to navigate their disconnected lives. Michael earns his living by chatting with strangers online, including boomer Saddo, who’s grappling with his own intimacy issues. What’s left to say when words can’t bridge the gap? Tickets start at $19.
TDF Young Playwrights: The 24 Hour Plays: Viral Monologues
On Friday at 6 p.m. ET, the New York City high school students in TDF’s Young Playwrights Group present their own Viral Monologues, inspired by The 24 Hour Plays’ series featuring brief but biting solos about how we’re living today. All the pieces were penned, rehearsed and recorded by professional actors in the past 24 hours. Watch the premiere for free on TDF’s Instagram.
The Metropolitan Opera: Nabucco
On Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET, the Metropolitan Opera presents Verdi’s Nabucco, featuring Plácido Domingo as the tormented title king of Babylon. Liudmyla Monastyrska, Jamie Barton, Russell Thomas and Dmitry Belosselskiy costar in this 2017 production. Watch for free for 23 hours after the start time on the Metropolitan Opera’s website. You can still stream yesterday’s opera, La Sonnambula, until 6:30 p.m. ET today.
Saturday, May 22
Metropolitan Opera Stars Live in Concert: Three Divas
On Saturday at 1 p.m. ET, the Metropolitan Opera presents a trio of powerhouse vocalists, sopranos Ailyn Pérez and Nadine Sierra and mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard, in a live concert streamed from the Royal Opera of Versailles in France. Accompanied by piano and guitar, the stars will sings selections from Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette, Mozart’s Don Giovanni and Le Nozze di Figaro, Offenbach’s Les Contes d’Hoffmann, Bellini’s Norma and other beloved operas. Tickets are $20 and a recording will be viewable until Friday, June 4.
Soho Theatre: Herding Cats
On Saturday at 2:30 and 6 p.m. ET, a groundbreaking stage-cinema hybrid, this production of Lucinda Coxon‘s drama Herding Cats features Jassa Ahluwalia and Sophie Melville in person at London’s Soho Playhouse, with Grey’s Anatomy star Greg Germann performing live via video from New York. This high-tech setup suits the story about two millennial roommates, Justine and Michael, struggling to navigate their disconnected lives. Michael earns his living by chatting with strangers online, including boomer Saddo, who’s grappling with his own intimacy issues. What’s left to say when words can’t bridge the gap? Tickets start at $19.
Play-PerView: AYA or Dear Lover
On Saturday at 7 p.m. ET, Play-PerView presents a live reading of AYA or Dear Lover, Fernanda Coppel‘s drama about a man who’s lost everything (his career, his wife, his mental health), so he heads to the Amazonian jungle to escape his problems by drinking the mind-bending Ayahuasca. How will his trip alter his life’s journey? Raul Castillo, Tina Huang and Roxana Ortega star, and Estefania Fadul directs. Tickets start at $5 and proceeds go to the National Alliance on Mental Illness. Can’t make the live performance? For $20, you can watch a recording until Thursday, May 27.
The Metropolitan Opera: Lucia di Lammermoor
On Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET, the Metropolitan Opera presents Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor featuring Joan Sutherland in her star-making turn as the tragic title character, who’s driven mad because she cannot marry the man she loves. Alfredo Kraus, Pablo Elvira and Paul Plishka costar in this 1982 production. Watch for free for 23 hours after the start time on the Metropolitan Opera’s website. You can still stream yesterday’s opera, Nabucco, until 6:30 p.m. ET today.
Colt Coeur: Grey Matters
On Saturday at 8 p.m. ET, Colt Coeur presents Grey Matters, a new drama by Eden Marryshow about the challenges faced by an interracial couple who start a family in ’70s Brooklyn. Steve H Broadnax III directs JaBen Early, Russell G. Jones, Chantal Jean-Pierre, Cesa Pledger, Logan Ricket and Laila Robins in this heartfelt play inspired by real-life events. Tickets start at $5 and the recording is viewable until Wednesday, May 26.
Company of Fools: Gruesome Playground Injuries
On Saturday at 8 p.m. ET, Company of Fools presents an in-person production of Gruesome Playground Injuries, which will also be streamed to at-home viewers. Written by Tony nominee Rajiv Joseph (Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo) and directed by TDF’s own Tyler Riley, this two-hander chronicles the 30-year relationship between a dysfunctional pair of pals, who are bonded by pain and suffering. Tickets are $30 but if you’re a TDF member, log in to your account to purchase them at a discount.
Sunday, May 23
The Metropolitan Opera: The Queen of Spades
On Sunday at 7:30 p.m. ET, the Metropolitan Opera presents Elijah Moshinsky‘s powerful staging of The Queen of Spades, Tchaikovsky’s passionate adaptation of Pushkin’s novel of the same name. Plácido Domingo is the self-destructive antihero and Galina Gorchakova is the woman he loves. Elisabeth Söderström, Dmitri Hvorostovsky and Nikolai Putilin costar in this 1999 production. Watch for free for 23 hours after the start time on the Metropolitan Opera’s website. You can still stream yesterday’s opera, Lucia di Lammermoor, until 6:30 p.m. ET today.
Company of Fools: Gruesome Playground Injuries
On Sunday at 8 p.m. ET, Company of Fools presents an in-person production of Gruesome Playground Injuries, which will also be streamed to at-home viewers. Written by Tony nominee Rajiv Joseph (Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo) and directed by TDF’s own Tyler Riley, this two-hander chronicles the 30-year relationship between a dysfunctional pair of pals, who are bonded by pain and suffering. Tickets are $30 but if you’re a TDF member, log in to your account to purchase them at a discount.
All Weekend
FourthWall Theatrical: This American Wife
On Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 8 p.m. ET, Tony-nominated Slave Play playwright Jeremy O. Harris is one of the producers of this virtual reimagining of This American Wife, created by his Yale School of Drama pals Michael Breslin and Patrick Foley, the duo behind the digital smash Circle Jerk. Like that production, This American Wife is also a live Internet show as Breslin, Foley and Jakeem Dante Powell present an amusing multimedia meditation on theReal Housewives phenomenon and its cultural influence. Tickets start at $25.
The Tank: Capricorn 29
Indie theatre incubator The Tank presents Capricorn 29, a new hour-long musical by Alex Hare and Julia Izumia about a millennial on the cusp of 29 who uncovers a secret plot by the powers that be to eliminate unsuccessful 30-year-olds. A tuneful skewering of the arbitrary nature of age-based milestones, this show features songs by Laura Galindo, brothers Daniel and Patrick Lazour, Stompcat and Storm Thomas. Tickets start at $10 and the recording is viewable until Sunday, May 30.
Tony-nominated choreographer Lar Lubovitch presents a digital program of highlights from three of his seminal works: the duet from Concerto Six Twenty-Two performed by his eponymous dance company; Othello danced by San Francisco Ballet; and The Planets, created for an ensemble of ice-skaters and dancers. RSVP to receive the free viewing link. The recording is viewable until Sunday, May 30.
Ma-Yi Theater Company: Once Upon a (korean) Time
Ma-Yi Theater Company, one of NYC’s leading Asian-American troupes, presents Daniel K. Isaac‘s Once Upon a (korean) Time, which fuses traditional Korean fables with the horrors of the Korean War to explore the experiences of the Korean-American diaspora. Ma-Yi’s artistic director, Ralph B. Peña, helms the work, and Diana Oh, Jon Norman Schneider, James Seol, David Shih and Shannon Tyo star. Tickets start at $5 and the recording is viewable until Sunday at 7 p.m. ET.
San Francisco Ballet: Swan Lake
California’s acclaimed San Francisco Ballet presents Swan Lake choreographed by the troupe’s artistic director, Helgi Tomasson, and featuring sets and costumes by Tony-nominated designer Jonathan Fensom. Fall in love with Tchaikovsky’s ballet all over again with this sumptuous production. Tickets are $29 and the recording is viewable until Wednesday, June 9.
Theatre Project: Scenes From 73* Years
Baltimore’s Theatre Project and the Medina Theater Collective present Scenes From 73* Years, Hannah Khalil‘s portrait of the people of Palestine, based on real-life accounts from the playwright’s family and friends. Najla Said and Rohina Malik codirected this digital production. Tickets are $20 and the recording is viewable until Sunday, June 20.
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RAVEN SNOOK