Top 5 Stage Performances to Stream This Weekend September 1-4
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 Labor Day weekend, Friday, September 1 to Sunday, September 4, for free or at low cost.
Live from 54 Below: Brenda Braxton: Stars Tonight!
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Stars in the House Labor Day Telethon!
Live-streaming Monday, September 4 at 7 p.m. ET for FREE
Seth Rudetsky and James Wesley’s celebrity-filled Stars in the House series was must-watch viewing during the pandemic shutdown. Now the musical mavens are back with a special four-hour Labor Day live-stream, a starry benefit for The Entertainment Community Fund. Annette Bening cohosts this incredible lineup of stage and screen favorites sharing stories and songs, including Jason Alexander, Kate Burton, Joely Fisher, Marilu Henner, Cheyenne Jackson, Kevin Pollak, Caroline Rhea, Sarah Silverman, Jean Smart, John Tartaglia, Nia Vardalos, Steven Weber, Henry Winkler and Noah Wyle.
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National Theatre at Home: The Wife of Willesden
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 Wife of Willesden, the acclaimed playwriting debut of best-selling English novelist Zadie Smith (White Teeth, On Beauty). Claire Perkins stars in this vivid reimagining of The Wife of Bath section from Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, which centers on Alvita, a much-married, middle-aged, Jamaican-born British woman captivating strangers in a London pub. 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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Julie Taymor’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Bid adieu to 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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American Songbook at NJPAC: Marin Mazzie and Jason Danieley
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Top image: Clare Perkins in The Wife of Willesden at the National Theatre. Photo courtesy of the theatre.