30+ Stage Performances to Watch This Weekend May 7-9
Friday, May 7
The Shows Must Go On!: Before the Interval
On Friday at 2 p.m. ET, The Shows Must Go On! presents the satirical dance-theatre piece Before the Interval, the sequel to After the Interval centering on three dancers and their career aspirations. Luca Silvestrini conceived of and directed the work, which was recorded at London’s Linbury Studio Theatre in 2014. Watch for free all weekend on YouTube.
Southwark Playhouse: Preludes in Concert
On Friday at 3:45 p.m. ET, London’s Southwark Playhouse presents a concert performance of Preludes, a musical about legendary composer Sergei Rachmaninoff by Dave Malloy, the creator of Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812. Once again, Malloy looks to Russia for inspiration as he explores the mind of this celebrated wunderkind, who became paralyzed by depression and paranoia at age 21. The score fuses melodies by Rachmaninoff and Malloy for a powerful meditation on the healing power of music. Tickets are £15, approximately $21.
Mike Daisey: Scott and Andy and All the Boys
On Friday at 7 p.m. ET, even the pandemic can’t keep master monologist Mike Daisey down! The performer-playwright (The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs, If You See Something Say Something) returns to The Kraine in the East Village for his second searing solo piece this year: Scott and Andy and All the Boys. Performed live on stage to an all-vaccinated audience but also streamed to at-home viewers, this new work is a candid examination of our love-hate relationship with powerful but abusive men like disgraced producer Scott Rudin and scandal-prone Governor Cuomo. Daisey even turns his unflinching critical eye on his own behavior and how toxic masculinity is embedded into our culture. Tickets are $15.
The Metropolitan Opera: Wozzeck
On Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET, the Metropolitan Opera presents Berg’s Wozzeck about a tormented soldier whose madness drives him to violence. South African artist William Kentridge designed and directed this 2020 production, which stars Peter Mattei as the title character alongside Elza van den Heever, Tamara Mumford, Christopher Ventris, Gerhard Siegel, Andrew Staples and Christian Van Horn. Watch for free until Saturday at noon ET on the Metropolitan Opera’s website. You can still stream yesterday’s opera, Norma, until 6:30 p.m. ET today.
PBS Great Performances: Uncle Vanya
On Friday at 9 p.m. ET, PBS Great Performances presents Conor McPherson‘s adaptation of Uncle Vanya, Anton Chekhov’s heartbreaking tale of loneliness and longing. Toby Jones stars in the title role, an unhappy man who believes life has unfairly passed him by. Richard Armitage, Rosalind Eleazar, Aimee Lou Wood, Anna Calder Marshall, Dearbhla Molloy, Roger Allam and Peter Wight costar in this stage-cinema hybrid, which was filmed live on stage in August 2020 at London’s Harold Pinter Theatre, where the production had enjoyed a critically acclaimed but truncated run due to the pandemic. Watch for free on TV on PBS Thirteen or the channel’s website.
Saturday, May 8
Southwark Playhouse: Preludes in Concert
On Saturday at 11:15 a.m. and 3:45 p.m. ET, London’s Southwark Playhouse presents a concert performance of Preludes, a musical about legendary composer Sergei Rachmaninoff by Dave Malloy, the creator of the Tony-nominated musical Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812. Once again, Malloy looks to Russia for inspiration as he explores the mind of this celebrated wunderkind, who became paralyzed by depression and paranoia at age 21. The score fuses the melodies by Rachmaninoff and Malloy for a powerful meditation on the healing power of music. Tickets are £15, approximately $21.
Metropolitan Opera Stars Live in Concert: Wagnerians in Concert
On Saturday at 1 p.m. ET, the Metropolitan Opera presents a quartet of superstar vocalists performing soaring selections by Wagner and Strauss live from the glorious Hessisches Staatstheater in Wiesbaden, Germany. Accompanied by piano, sopranos Christine Goerke and Elza van den Heever, tenor Andreas Schager and baritone Michael Volle will sing excerpts from Tannhäuser, Parsifal, Die Walküre, Die Frau ohne Schatten as well as Wagner’s complete Wesendonck Lieder. Tickets are $20 and a recording will be viewable until Friday, May 21.
The Metropolitan Opera: Madama Butterfly
On Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET, the Metropolitan Opera presents Madama Butterfly, Puccini’s beloved tragedy about a young geisha (Patricia Racette) abandoned by her lover, a callous American naval officer (Marcello Giordani). Anthony Minghella staged this 2009 production. Watch for free for 23 hours after the start time on the Metropolitan Opera’s website. You can still stream yesterday’s opera, Wozzeck, until noon ET today.
ONE Archives Foundation: The Normal Heart
On Saturday at 8 p.m. ET, the LGBTQ nonprofit ONE Archives Foundation presents a one-night-only virtual reading of The Normal Heart, Larry Kramer’s groundbreaking autobiographical play about the early days of the AIDS epidemic in New York City. Emmy winner Paris Barclay directs a predominately BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and people of color) and LGBTQ cast, including Sterling K. Brown, Laverne Cox, two-time Tony nominee Jeremy Pope, Vincent Rodriguez III, Guillermo Díaz and Jake Borelli. Afterward, stick around for a live Q&A with the actors. Tickets start at $20.
Sunday, May 9
Andrea Marcovicci: Spring Song
On Sunday at 7 p.m. ET, cabaret legend Andrea Marcovicci celebrates the season with an uplifting concert featuring tunes by Frank Loesser, Johnny Mercer and other American Songbook greats. Brad Ellis accompanies her on piano. Watch for free until Saturday, May 15 on YouTube though donations to The Actors Fund are encouraged.
The Metropolitan Opera: Agrippina
On Sunday at 7:30 p.m. ET, the Metropolitan Opera presents Agrippina, Handel’s satirical take on the games the people surrounding Roman emperor Claudius play, including his wife, portrayed by Joyce DiDonato. Sir David McVicar‘s mounting was recorded in early 2020 and costars Brenda Rae, Kate Lindsey, Iestyn Davies, Duncan Rock and Matthew Rose. Watch for free for 23 hours after the start time on the Metropolitan Opera’s website. You can still stream yesterday’s opera, Madama Butterfly, until 6:30 p.m. ET today.
All Weekend
Great Barrington Public Theater: Four American Women
Massachusetts’ Great Barrington Public Theater presents Four American Women, a quartet of brand-new monologues by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright David Mamet (Glengarry Glen Ross, Speed-the-Plow) featuring the eclectic stories of an aviator, a lawyer, a psychiatrist and real-life journalist Dorothy Kilgallen. Heidi Sulzman, Yolonda Ross and Mamet’s wife Rebecca Pidgeon bring these diverse voices to life. Tickets are $24 but use promo code FOURTDF2021 to buy $11 tickets. The recording is viewable until Sunday.
Feinstein’s/54 Below: Jeremy Jordan: Carry On
Feinstein’s/54 Below presents Newsies Tony nominee Jeremy Jordan in Carry On, a profoundly personal concert that explores his life as a father as well as his own complex childhood. Although the show debuted in 2020 before the shutdown, this edition has been reimagined for digital consumption and was recorded on stage during the pandemic at the celebrated cabaret club. The lineup includes numbers from the musicals he’s known for, including the TV series Smash, plus pop songs and personal favorites. Tickets are $35 and the recording is viewable until Thursday, May 27.
San Francisco Ballet: Romeo and Juliet
California’s acclaimed San Francisco Ballet presents Romeo and Juliet choreographed by the troupe’s artistic director, Helgi Tomasson. This archival recording of Prokofiev’s passionate ballet features Davit Karapetyan and Maria Kochetkova as the star-crossed lovers. Tickets are $29 and the recording is viewable until Wednesday, May 26.
Irish Repertory Theatre: Little Gem
On Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 3 and 8, and Sunday at 2 p.m. ET, it’s your last chance to catch Irish Rep‘s Little Gem, Elaine Murphy‘s delicate play about three North Dublin women from different generations, each facing a major life change. Brenda Meaney, Lauren O’Leary and four-time Oscar nominee Marsha Mason reprise their critically acclaimed performances from the theatre’s hit 2019 production, with each actor taping her part remotely. Marc Atkinson Borrull once again directs. Tickets are required to receive the free viewing link though a $25 donation is suggested. Closed captions are available.
Bedlam: Mary Stuart
On Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 7:30 p.m. ET, Bedlam, a NYC theatre company lauded for its reinventions of classics (Sense & Sensibility, The Crucible), presents Mary Stuart, Friedrich Schiller’s history play about the power struggle between Mary Queen of Scots and Queen Elizabeth I of England. Directed by Zachary Elkind and recorded in his fourth-floor Brooklyn apartment, the drama has been adapted for a cast of four, with Shirine Babb and Violeta Picayo as the warring royals. All performances are followed by a post-show talkback with the cast. Tickets are $30.
All Arts: Whitman in the Woods
Celebrate spring with drag legend, MacArthur genius and Pulitzer finalist Taylor Mac as he performs the poetry of Walt Whitman in Whitman in the Woods. Recorded outdoors in the Lower Hudson Valley, this fabulous short features Mac in a stunning array of nature-inspired costumes as he recites the words of the groundbreaking poet and gay icon. Watch for free on All Arts’ website.
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Top image: Ethan Hawke, who’s starring opposite John Leguizamo in a new digital production of Waiting from Godot for The New Group.
RAVEN SNOOK