Top 5 Stage Performances to Stream This Weekend May 31-June 2
Rita Moreno with cast members in Rodgers & Hammerstein’s 80th Anniversary concert, which is streaming for FREE courtesy of PBS Great Performances. Photo by Tristram Kenton.
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 curated list spotlights the five best options to stream this weekend, Friday, May 31 to Sunday, June 2, for free or at low cost.
PBS Great Performances: Rodgers & Hammerstein’s 80th Anniversary
Last December, musical theatre stars from both sides of the pond gathered at London’s Theatre Royal Drury for a special one-night-only concert celebrating the songs of Rodgers and Hammerstein. Now the performance is available to stream courtesy of PBS Great Performances. Directed and choreographed by Tony winner Christopher Gattelli, the tribute features six-time Tony Award winner Audra McDonald, Moulin Rouge! The Musical Tony winner Aaron Tveit, two-time Tony nominee Patrick Wilson, three-time Olivier Award winner Maria Friedman, two-time Olivier Award winner Michael Ball and Olivier nominee Julian Ovenden, plus special guests Rita Moreno and Andrew Lloyd Webber. A glorious, 40-piece orchestra accompanies the performers.
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Allegiance
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Can You Bring It: Bill T. Jones and D-Man in the Waters
This 2024 Peabody Award-winning documentary chronicles the history and legacy of Bill T. Jones’ powerful 1989 ballet D-Man in the Waters, which explores the fear, fury, grief and resilience the choreographer and his colleagues experienced at the height of the AIDS crisis as the virus claimed the lives of their friends and collaborators. Harrowing yet hopeful.
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The Wind in the Willows: The Musical
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Julie Taymor’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Celebrate the season with Julie Taymor’s enchanting 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 Shakespeare’s beloved romantic comedy about young lovers and magical sprites crossing paths in the woods. Taymor puts her creative stamp on the classic, which features projections, puppets and more than a dozen children as fairies.
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