Top 5 Stage Performances to Stream This Weekend January 6-8
Even though in-person theatre and dance are back in full swing, in the name of accessibility, we’re continuing to round up performances to watch online from the comfort of home. Our carefully curated list spotlights the five best options to stream this weekend, Friday, January 6 to Sunday, January 8, for free or at low cost.
Theater of War Productions: Philoctetes
Live-streaming on Saturday, January 7 at 1 p.m. ET for FREE but you must reserve your spot to receive the Zoom link
Theater of War Productions, a company that uses classical texts to examine contemporary issues, presents a reading of scenes from Philoctetes followed by a town hall-style discussion with the audience. Military veterans and professional actors, including four-time Oscar nominee and experimental theatre stalwart Willem Dafoe, will perform sequences from Sophocles’ tragedy, and then director-adapter Bryan Doerries will facilitate a conversation about how the play’s themes relate to the trauma soldiers experience.
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The Green Room 42: Natalie Joy Johnson: A Very Wintry Belt
Live-streaming on Saturday, January 7 at 9:30 p.m. ET for $26
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All Arts: King Lear Starring James Earl Jones
Here’s a gem from the vaults: All Arts is streaming a 1974 mounting of King Lear headlined by James Earl Jones! Filmed live on stage at the Delacorte Theater for the New York Shakespeare Festival (now known as Shakespeare in the Park), the production also features Raul Julia, Rosalind Cash and Paul Sorvino. A thrilling reminder of why this acting icon !
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All Arts: Julie Taymor’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream
All Arts presents Julie Taymor’s critically acclaimed mounting of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, which was recorded live on stage at Brooklyn’s Theatre for a New Audience. Stage stalwarts Tina Benko, David Harewood and Max Casella lead the cast of this enchanting romantic comedy about young lovers and magical sprites crossing paths in the woods. Taymor puts her creative stamp on the Shakespeare classic, which features projections, puppets and more than a dozen children as fairies.
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Top image: Willem Dafoe, who’s participating in a live-stream reading of Philoctetes on Saturday evening.