35+ Stage Performances to Watch Friday Through Sunday, July 24-26
Friday, July 24
The Royal Ballet: The Sleeping Beauty
On Friday at 2 p.m. ET, London’s Royal Ballet presents The Sleeping Beauty about a princess with a slumbering problem. Set to Tchaikovsky’s romantic score, this was the first work performed by The Royal Ballet when it launched in 1946. Recorded earlier this year, this mounting stars Fumi Kaneko as the title character and Federico Bonelli as her prince, and the choreography is an amalgam of Marius Petipa’s 19th-century steps and new movement created for the troupe by Frederick Ashton, Anthony Dowell and Christopher Wheeldon. Watch for free until Thursday, August 6 on YouTube.
Marilu Henner on Virtual Halston
On Friday at 5 p.m. ET, Julie Halston, and longtime friend to TDF, welcomes stage and sitcom star Marilu Henner to her weekly chatfest. We can’t wait to hear these two divas dish. Watch for free on YouTube.
Black Theatre United: Our Voices. Our Votes. Our Time.
On Friday at 7 p.m. ET, Black Theatre United presents a Town Hall about the importance of being politically active, moderated by Tony, Emmy and Oscar winner Viola Davis and featuring Fair Fight founder Stacey Abrams and her sister Dr. Jeanine Abrams McLean, the vice president of Fair Count. Register in advance to receive the free viewing link.
The Metropolitan Opera: Falstaff
On Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET, the Metropolitan Opera presents Verdi’s Falstaff featuring a libretto by Arrigo Boito inspired by Shakespeare’s comedy The Merry Wives of Windsor as well as scenes from Henry IV. Paul Plishka is the lascivious and louche title character, who’s outwitted by the clever ladies around him, played Marilyn Horne, Mirella Freni and Susan Graham. Franco Zeffirelli staged this 1992 production, and James Levine conducts. Watch for free for 23 hours after the start time on the Metropolitan Opera’s website. You can still stream yesterday’s opera, Roméo et Juliette, until 6:30 p.m. ET today.
Dixon Place HOT! Festival: Spanking Machine
On Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET, Dixon Place presents the centerpiece of its 29th annual queer culture festival: Marga Gomez‘s darkly comic memoir Spanking Machine about growing up brown and queer in Washington Heights. A celebrated stand-up comic who’s written and performed in 13 solo shows, Gomez recounts the good, the bad and the ugly about her life with insight and raunchy realness. Tickets are $20-$40.
Sierra Boggess on Stars in the House
On Friday at 8 p.m. ET, Sierra Boggess guest hosts Stars in the House, and the Little Mermaid and Phantom of the Opera star is bringing some as-yet-to-be-named pals with her. Watch for free on YouTube though donations to The Actors Fund are encouraged.
Aye Defy: Ole White Sugah Daddy
On Friday at 8 p.m. ET, the Aye Defy live reading series presents Ole White Sugah Daddy, written by and starring Obehi Janice as a Black woman coder trying to get her start-up off the ground while staying true to herself. Caitlin Sullivan directs and Alex Esola, Andy Lucien, Natalie Paul, Greg Stuhr and Madeline Wise round out the cast. Tickets start at $5 and proceeds go to Black Girls Code and The Kilroys. This won’t be available after-the-fact.
Ice Factory: Beginning Days of True Jubilation
On Friday at 8 p.m. ET, the New Ohio Theatre brings its 27th annual Ice Factory festival online with four premieres over four weeks. First up is Beginning Days of True Jubilation by Mona Mansour, whose The Vagrant Trilogy was about to open at The Public Theater when the pandemic hit. In this new ensemble satire, an inventor vows to devise a world-changing product and gets lots of smart folks to join her cult of out-of-control capitalists. Pay-what-you-can tickets start at $1.
Great Performances: She Loves Me
On Friday at 9 p.m. ET, PBS Thirteen is airing Roundabout Theatre Company‘s bewitching mounting of She Loves Me, Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick’s musical about the romantic entanglements and misunderstandings of clerks at a perfume shop in 1934 Budapest. Scott Ellis directed this Tony-nominated 2016 production, which stars Laura Benanti, Zachary Levi, Jane Krakowski and Gavin Creel. Watch for free on TV on PBS Thirteen. If you don’t live in NYC, check the schedule of your local PBS station.
Saturday, July 25
National Theatre of Greece: The Persians
On Saturday at 1 p.m. ET, the National Theatre of Greece presents a live performance of The Persians, Aeschylus’ tragedy about the defeat of Xerxes’ navy at the Battle of Salamis. This is the first time an ancient Greek drama will be streamed globally from the theatre of Epidaurus, and the storied venue itself is a real showstopper, which is why they’re starting the stream an hour early so you can gawk at the place! The play will be performed in Greek with English subtitles. Watch for free on YouTube.
Stars in the House: Misalliance
On Saturday at 2 p.m. ET, Stars in the House continues its popular live play reading series with George Bernard Shaw’s Misalliance, a satire about romantic rituals set on an action-packed Saturday afternoon. Master Shaw interpreter David Staller directs a cast that includes Midori Francis, Peter Francis James, Thom Sesma, Ryan Spahn and Sharon Washington. Watch for free on YouTube though donations to The Actors Fund are encouraged.
Play-PerView: Knife to the Heart
On Saturday at 5 p.m. ET, the live reading series Play-PerView presents Knife to the Heart, a culture-clash comedy by a pair of sitcom vets, Stan Zimmerman (The Golden Girls) and Christian McLaughlin (Married… with Children) about the prickly subject of a bris. TV star Wendie Malick stars as a Jewish mama making decisions for her son (Josh Zuckerman) and pregnant shiksa daughter-in-law (Andrea Bowen). The performance takes place on the free app Zoom, which you’ll need to download in advance. Tickets start at $5. This won’t be available after-the-fact.
Paul Giamatti in I, My Ruination
On Saturday at 7 p.m. ET, the Cape Cod Theatre Project presents a starry reading of I, My Ruination, Kevin Artigue‘s history-inspired drama about director Elia Kazan and playwright Arthur Miller, who took different paths when they were called to testify in front of the House Un-American Activities Committee during the communist witch hunts of the 1950s. The performance features Paul Giamatti, Corey Stoll, Arian Moayed, Pedro Pascal and Tony winner Nina Arianda, and is helmed by the company’s artistic director Hal Brooks. Tickets are $50. This won’t be available after-the-fact.
The Metropolitan Opera: Der Rosenkavalier
On Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET, the Metropolitan Opera shares Der Rosenkavalier, Strauss’ comedy of love and errors starring Renée Fleming, Susan Graham, Christine Schäfer and Kristinn Sigmund. Filmed for the Met’s Live in HD series in 2010, it’s 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, Falstaff, until 6:30 p.m. ET today.
Dixon Place HOT! Festival: Spanking Machine
On Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET, it’s your last chance to see the centerpiece of Dixon Place‘s 29th annual queer culture festival: Marga Gomez‘s darkly comic memoir Spanking Machine about growing up brown and queer in Washington Heights. A celebrated stand-up comic who’s written and performed in 13 solo shows, Gomez recounts the good, the bad and the ugly about her life with insight and raunchy realness. Tickets are $20-$40.
Ice Factory: Beginning Days of True Jubilation
On Saturday at 10 p.m. ET, the New Ohio Theatre brings its 27th annual Ice Factory festival online with four premieres over four weeks. First up is Beginning Days of True Jubilation by Mona Mansour, whose The Vagrant Trilogy was about to open at The Public Theater when the pandemic hit. In this new ensemble satire, an inventor vows to devise a world-changing product and gets lots of smart folks to join her cult of out-of-control capitalism. Pay-what-you-can tickets start at $1.
Sunday, July 26
Other Than We
On Sunday at 10:30 a.m. ET, the Earth Institute at Columbia University presents a live brunch-time reading of Karen Malpede‘s musical fable Other Than We, a work of climate fiction about a trio of scientists and a linguist who band together to try to save the planet. The cast features Fun Home Tony nominee Beth Malone, George Bartenieff, Emily Fury Daly and Tommie J. Moore. Watch for free on YouTube.
Stars in the House Presents Winter Break
On Sunday at 2 p.m. ET, Stars in the House continues its reading series for young audiences with A Simpler Time, a series of vignettes written by various emerging playwrights. Watch for free on YouTube though donations to Philadelphia Young Playwrights are encouraged.
Jason Robert Brown and Molly Cate Brown in Concert
On Sunday at 6 p.m. ET, Tony-winning songwriter Jason Robert Brown, whose shows include Parade, 13 and The Bridges of Madison County, plays piano for his very talented daughter, Molly Cate, in a live concert to benefit TADA! Youth Theater, where she is a Resident Youth Ensemble member. The budding singer-actor will perform a wide variety of songs, perhaps a few by her famous dad. (Full disclosure: I can personally vouch for her talent as my daughter is in TADA! with her!) Watch for free on Jason Robert Brown’s Facebook page though donations to TADA! Youth Theater are encouraged.
Two River Theater: Your Blues Ain’t Sweet Like Mine
On Sunday at 7 p.m. ET, New Jersey’s lauded Two River Theater kicks off its new live play reading series with Your Blues Ain’t Sweet Like Mine about a stormy interracial relationship. Written and directed by Tony-winning actor Ruben Santiago-Hudson, the drama had its world premiere at the theatre in 2015, and this event reunites original cast members Brandon J. Dirden, Andrew Hovelson, Merritt Janson and Roslyn Ruff with the addition of Glynn Turman. Tickets are $25.
The Metropolitan Opera: La Fanciulla del West
On Sunday at 7:30 p.m. ET, the Metropolitan Opera presents La Fanciulla del West, Puccini’s colorful romance set during the California Gold Rush, as a charming outlaw wins the heart of a gun-toting saloon owner. Eva-Maria Westbroek, Jonas Kaufmann and Željko Lucic star in this 2018 mounting. Watch for free for 23 hours after the start time on the Metropolitan Opera’s website. You can still stream yesterday’s opera, Der Rosenkavalier, until 6:30 p.m. ET today.
Playdate Theater
On Sunday at 8 p.m. ET, Playdate Theater, a new virtual theatre festival featuring 15-minute world-premiere “screen-plays,” kicks off with a pair of playlets. Jack Spagnola‘s You and Me and the Space Between examines the challenges of online dating and stars Royal Pain‘s Mark Feuerstein and Michaela Watkins. Lauren D’Errico‘s Are You Still? explores the addictiveness of screens, especially during quarantine. Tickets start at $5.
Ice Factory: Beginning Days of True Jubilation
On Sunday at 8 p.m. ET, the New Ohio Theatre brings its 27th annual Ice Factory festival online with four premieres over four weeks. First up is Beginning Days of True Jubilation by Mona Mansour, whose The Vagrant Trilogy was about to open at The Public Theater when the pandemic hit. In this new ensemble satire, an inventor vows to devise a world-changing product and gets lots of smart folks to join her cult of out-of-control capitalism. Pay-what-you-can tickets start at $1.
All Weekend
Patrick Page in Shakespeare in Vegas
A pair of West Coast theatre companies present a reading of Shakespeare in Vegas, Suzanne Bradbeer‘s wacky comedy that reimagines the Bard’s poetry as punnery. Hadestown‘s Patrick Page and Tony winner Karen Ziemba lead the cast as a wise guy from the Vegas Strip and a classical actress from NYC who team up to realize a dream. Watch on TheatreWorks Silicon Valley’s YouTube channel though donations are encouraged.
The Transport Group: Broadbend, Arkansas
Stalwart NYC theatre company The Transport Group presents Broadbend, Arkansas, a two-person musical about a Black father and daughter grappling with the personal impact of racial oppression three decades apart, first in the ’60s, then in the ’80s. The show had its but its themes feel even more urgent in the current moment. Reserve your free ticket to receive the viewing link; donations to the Black Theatre Network are encouraged. The recording is available until August 16.
Graeae Theatre Company: Reasons to Be Cheerful
Back in the ’70s and ’80s, Ian Dury became one of the first rockers with a disability to break through to mainstream success with his New Wave band The Blockheads. In 2017, London’s Graeae Theatre Company, which showcases artists with disabilities, produced a gleefully raucous musical about his life, Reasons to Be Cheerful, filled with songs from his career, including his in-your-face anthem “Spasticus Autisticus.” Watch for free until Monday, August 3 on Graeae Theatre Company’s YouTube channel. There’s also an audio-described version.
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Top image: Jon Cypher and Julie Andrews in Cinderella.
RAVEN SNOOK