Top 5 Stage Performances to Stream This Weekend October 17-19

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, October 17 to Sunday, October 19, for free or at low cost.

Live from 54 Below: Christine Andreas: S’Wonderful…

Live-streaming Saturday, October 18 at 7 p.m. ET for $29.

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Lucille Lortel Theatre: Out the Mud

As part of its commitment to emerging and mid-career playwrights, the Lucille Lortel Theatre is presenting a series of FREE public readings, including a few online. This month, catch Kristen Adele Calhoun’s Out the Mud, set on Juneteenth 1865, as a newly freed couple decides what to do with the rest of their lives. Keith Arthur Bolden and Crystal Dickinson star in this two-hander inspired by firsthand accounts from the Slave Narratives compiled in the 1930s by the Federal Writers’ Project. Tiffany Nichole Greene directs.

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PBS Great Performances: Next to Normal

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National Theatre at Home: The Brightening Air

In 2020, London’s lauded National Theatre launched its own streaming service featuring professional stage captures of its productions. While you can buy a subscription, shows are also available to rent individually. New to the roster is The Brightening Air, a mystical family drama written and directed by Conor McPherson about three squabbling siblings (Rosie Sheehy, Brian Gleeson and Chris O’Dowd) and assorted relatives fighting over a dilapidated farmhouse. Filmed live onstage at the Old Vic in London earlier this year. A 72-hour rental costs $10 and captions are available. It’s just one of many fantastic National Theatre shows you can stream, so be sure to browse the entire list.

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