TDF Stages

While in-person theatre is back in NYC, there are still wonderful shows to stream at home. Below are performances you can watch online this Mother's Day weekend, Friday, May 6 to Sunday, May 8, for free or at low cost.

Saturday, May 7

Live from Feinstein's/54 Below: Andrea McArdle & Friends Celebrate the 45th Annieversary
On Saturday at 7 p.m. ET, even though Feinstein's/54 Below has reopened for in-person performances, the swanky cabaret club continues to stream select shows live from its stage. Tonight, catch Tony nominee Andrea McArdle, the original redheaded orphan Broadway belter, in a concert celebrating 45 years of Annie. For this landmark anniversary, she'll be joined by special guests from the original cast and beyond, including Shelley Bruce and Donna Graham. Expect songs like "Tomorrow" and stories about yesterday! Tickets are $25. If you prefer to attend in person, click here for info.

Sunday, May 8

Live from Feinstein's/54 Below: A Very Broadway Mother's Day
On Sunday at 1:30 p.m. ET, even though Feinstein's/54 Below has reopened for in-person performances, the swanky cabaret club continues to stream select shows live from its stage. Today, enjoy a special Mother's Day concert featuring leading ladies from Broadway crooning uplifting tunes alongside their children. The lineup includes Anne Runolfsson (Les Misérables) and her daughter Tess Adams; Jessica Hendy (Cats, Aida) and her son Beckett Hendy; and Mary Donnelly Haskell (The Light in the Piazza) and her daughter Mary Lane Haskell. Tickets are $25. If you prefer to attend in person, click here for info.

Live from Feinstein's/54 Below: Goodbye New York Starring Arielle Jacobs
On Sunday at 7 p.m. ET, even though Feinstein's/54 Below has reopened for in-person performances, the swanky cabaret club continues to stream select shows live from its stage. Tonight, enjoy a concert performance of the new musical Goodbye New York, about a spirited young woman (played by Aladdin star Arielle Jacobs) with a secret who reconnects with her lost love the day before she must leave the Big Apple forever. With music by Andrew Beall, lyrics by Evan McCormack and a book by David Don Miller, the show costars Brad Standley (Waitress, In Transit) and Ben Jeffrey (The Lion King). Tickets are $15. If you prefer to attend in person, click here for info.

Live from Feinstein's/54 Below: Holly Ann Butler: Uncovered
On Sunday at 9:45 p.m. ET, even though Feinstein's/54 Below has reopened for in-person performances, the swanky cabaret club continues to stream select shows live from its stage. Tonight, enjoy a concert by seasoned Broadway understudy Holly Ann Butler, who helped Come From Away keep going during December's omicron surge just days after closing Diana! The invaluable performer commands the spotlight in this intimate set, crooning tunes from her career along with special guests Brian Gonzales (Mr. Saturday Night), Pearl Sun (Come From Away), L. Steven Taylor (The Lion King) and Alysha Umphress (On the Town). Tickets are $25. If you prefer to attend in person, click here for info.

All Weekend

Broadway on Demand: Allegiance
Broadway on Demand presents Allegiance, a landmark musical about an American family forced by the US government into a Japanese internment camp during World War II. The show was loosely based on the life of Star Trek's George Takei, who stars alongside Katie Rose Clarke, Telly Leung and Tony winner Lea Salonga. A 48-hour rental costs $12 and the recording is viewable until Tuesday, July 5 at 10:30 p.m. ET.

American Conservatory Theatre: Fefu and Her Friends
San Francisco's lauded American Conservatory Theater recently presented an in-person production of Fefu and Her Friends, but you can also watch a recording at home. María Irene Fornés' rarely revived masterpiece is set in 1935 at a well-appointed New England country house where the title character and seven of her pals come together to plan an educational fundraiser. In-person audiences actually joined the actors on stage as these women discussed their hopes, desires and the ways the patriarchy restricts them. But this intimate streaming version provides a similar virtual experience. Pam MacKinnon directs the all-women cast. Tickets are $15 and the recording is viewable until Sunday.

HBO Max: Spring Awakening: Those You've Known
More than 15 years after the critically acclaimed, Tony-winning musical Spring Awakening bowed on Broadway, the original cast and creative team reunited for a one-night-only concert in November 2021 to benefit The Actors Fund. This new documentary chronicles their dramatic journey back to the stage as the performers, including Lea Michele and Jonathan Groff, reconnect and rediscover the musical that catapulted them to stardom. HBO Max subscribers can watch for free.

WP Theater: The Pipeline Festival: plural (love)
WP Theater's lauded The Pipeline Festival features five new works created by five collaborative teams from the company's two-year Lab residency. All participants are women+ (cis and transwomen, nonbinary or gender-nonconforming individuals) from diverse backgrounds, and while four of the premieres are in person, plural (love) is debuting online. Written by Haruna Lee and Jen Goma, this new work flirts with the boundaries of desire, power and responsibility, as the writers layer political, cultural and social theory with their own experiences of wanting and being wanted. Register to receive the free viewing link.

Andrea Marcovicci: Spring Song
Cabaret legend Andrea Marcovicci presents an encore stream of this uplifting seasonal concert featuring tunes by Frank Loesser, Johnny Mercer and other American Songbook greats. Brad Ellis accompanies her on piano. Watch for free until Sunday on YouTube though donations to The Actors Fund are encouraged.

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 great way to get psyched for the upcoming Shakespeare in the Park season! Watch for free on All Arts' website.

Russian Troll Farm: A Workplace Comedy
Last chance! Wisconsin's Overture Center for the Arts is presenting an in-person production of Russian Troll Farm: A Workplace Comedy, but you can also watch a recording at home. Although foreign manipulation of our populace and our elections via social media is no joke, playwright Sarah Gancher mines the phenomenon for humor in this dark comedy about the Russian workers who are paid to sow discord and doubt online among Americans. What happens to your grasp on the truth when your whole job is lying? Tickets are $34 and the recording is viewable until Sunday.

Ma-Yi Theater Company: Vancouver
The innovative Ma-Yi Theatre Company presents Vancouver, a timely new play written and directed by the troupe's producing artistic director, Ralph B. Peña. Centering on a mixed race family portrayed by breathtaking puppets, the one-act examines their move from Japan to the Pacific Northwest and their quest to find a place that truly feels like a welcoming home. Watch for free until Tuesday, May 31 on Ma-Yi's website.

Donmar Warehouse: Constellations
London's acclaimed Donmar Warehouse presents Nick Payne's Constellations, a time-bending two-hander that explores the notion of the multiverse by replaying key moments in one couple's romance. Michael Longhurst, who helmed the play on Broadway, directed this production, which was filmed on stage with four different casts alternating in this trippy tale. The pairings are Sheila Atim and Ivanno Jeremiah; Peter Capaldi and Zoë Wanamaker; Omari Douglas and Russell Tovey; and Anna Maxwell Martin and Chris O'Dowd. Tickets are £7.50 for each cast, approximately $9.50. Or you can watch all four for £20, approximately $25. The recording is viewable until Wednesday, May 25, and closed captions and audio description are available. You must create a Donmar Warehouse account to watch.

TheatreSquared: The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity
Last chance! Arkansas' TheatreSquared is currently presenting an in-person production of The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity, but you can also watch a recording at home. Kristoffer Diaz's 2010 play centers on a middle-rank pro wrestler whose chance to become a star involves exploiting cultural stereotypes. The insightful dramedy was a hit for Second Stage Theater a decade ago, where it won Obie and Lucille Lortel Awards for best new play. Tickets start at $25 and the recording is viewable until Sunday.

Baryshnikov Arts Center: Omar Román De Jesús
Last chance! The dance-centric Baryshnikov Arts Center continues its 2022 season with choreographer Omar Román De Jesús' new dance film, a series of 10 surreal scenes featuring a family navigating the global forces that impact their everyday decisions. De Jesús' 12-minute film Los Perros del Barrio Colosal is also on the program. Watch for free until Monday at 5 p.m. ET on BAC's site.

The New Victory Theater: Step Afrika!: Stono
NYC's premiere family theatre, The New Victory, was supposed to present an in-person production of Stono this month, but COVID had other ideas. The good news is you can stream this powerful dance performance. Originally conceived for digital consumption during the shutdown, the piece uses Step Afrika!'s signature blend of percussive, traditional African and contemporary dance to evoke the Stono slave rebellion of 1739 in South Carolina. A great way to learn about this undertaught history. Tickets are $15 and the recording is viewable until Sunday, May 22.

National Theatre at Home: Trouble in Mind
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 for 72 hours. New to the roster is Trouble in Mind, which was staged last fall in London at the same time Alice Childress' 1955 play was having its belated Broadway debut. A prescient examination of racism in the theatre industry, it centers on a Black actress starring in an anti-lynching drama on Broadway who challenges the show's white director. Talk about timely! Trouble in Mind costs $10. Captions are available. It's just one of many fantastic National Theatre shows you can stream, so be sure to browse the entire list.

---

Raven Snook is the Editor of TDF Stages. Follow her at @RavenSnook. Follow TDF at @TDFNYC.

Top image: Andrea McArdle, Broadway's original Annie, celebrates the 45th anniversary of the musical in a live-streamed concert on Saturday.