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Jonathan Groff in Just in Time, one of the Broadway musicals performing at Macy's Thanksgiving Parade. Photo by Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman.
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 ten best performances to stream Thanksgiving week for free or at low cost.
Streaming starting Tuesday, November 25 for $10.
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 an acclaimed revival of Cecil Philip Taylor's powerful political play Good about a liberal German professor during World War II (David Tennant) who is seduced by the Nazi party. 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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Airing on TV on NBC on Thursday, November 27 at 8:30 a.m. ET for FREE.
Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is back for its 99th annual edition. In addition to 34 balloons, 28 floats and 11 marching bands, you can watch lavish Broadway performances from the comfort of home. Tony-winning Wicked diva Cynthia Erivo kicks off the procession followed by numbers from Buena Vista Social Club, Ragtime and Just in Time starring Jonathan Groff along with performances by the Radio City Rockettes, Hamilton Tony nominee Christopher Jackson and New York City Ballet great Tiler Peck. Alumni and students from LaGuardia High School of the Performing Arts will also mark the 50th anniversary of A Chorus Line.
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Live-streaming Saturday, November 29 at at 7 p.m. for FREE.
Attention holiday haters: Erin McKeown totally gets you. The celebrated singer-songwriter is bringing her NC-17-rated anti-holiday extravaganza back to Joe's Pub, but it will also be live-streamed to unhappy at-home audiences. Enjoy naughty numbers, irreverent tales, surprise guests and plenty of anti-capitalist, pro-queer, radically progressive politics. Put the kids to bed first!
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Streaming until Wednesday, December 31 for FREE.
Marvel at the breathtaking dancers of New York City Ballet in this performance recorded live onstage at Madrid's Teatro Real in 2023. The lineup features Serenade, the first full-length ballet created by George Balanchine in the US, as well as the legendary choreographer's Square Dance. The Times Are Racing by NYC Ballet's resident choreographer Justin Peck rounds out the evening.
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Streaming until Wednesday, December 31 for FREE.
Acclaimed choreographer Kate Prince is behind this thrilling dance-theatre piece set to songs by rock icon Sting and his band The Police. Filmed live onstage at London's Sadler's Wells Theatre, this compelling performance follows a migrant family risking everything to find a new home. The score includes 17 hits by the Grammy-winning artist, including "Every Breath You Take," "Roxanne" and "Walking on the Moon."
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Streaming until Thursday, January 1, 2026 for a suggested donation of $25 or more
Get into the Christmas spirit a few weeks early! Every December, John Kevin Jones stars in this singular solo adaptation of Charles Dickens' holiday classic mounted at the 19th-century Merchant's House Museum in the East Village. In this historic setting, he plays Dickens performing all the characters in his ghost tale of redemption, just like the Victorian author did back in the day. If you can't make it to the in-person production this season, you can stream a recording at home.
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Streaming on All Arts for FREE.
More early Christmas cheer: Stream this magical mounting of Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker featuring The Royal Ballet. Peter Wright's sumptuous staging was inspired by Lev Ivanov's original choreography.
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Available to rent on Amazon for $1.
The Christmas spirit continues with Tony winner Jefferson Mays playing all the characters in this thrilling, one-man adaptation of Charles Dickens' classic, from Scrooge to Tiny Tim. Originally mounted at LA's Geffen Playhouse in 2018 and then on Broadway in 2022, the production was reimagined for digital consumption by Tony-winning director Michael Arden and costume and set designer Dane Laffrey, who restaged and recorded it during quarantine at the stunning United Palace theatre in Washington Heights. The result is a fresh and intimate take on Dickens' timeless tale featuring Mays in a tour-de-force performance—make that performances.
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Streaming on Amazon Prime for $4.
It was recently announced that Daniel Radcliffe is returning to Broadway next February in Every Brilliant Thing, Duncan Macmillan and Jonny Donahoe's interactive and empathetic solo show about caring for a depressed loved one and the power of hope. A hit Off Broadway a decade ago, that production starring Donahoe was filmed for HBO and you can rent it from Amazon for just a few bucks.
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Streaming online until Wednesday, December 31 for FREE.
I know I touted Shakespeare in the Park's starry Twelfth Night just two weeks ago, but if you haven't gotten a chance to watch, make time over the holiday! The Bard's sparkling comedy follows the romantic complications that ensue after fraternal twins are separated during a shipwreck. Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o and her real-life brother Junior Nyong'o play the siblings alongside Sandra Oh, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Daphne Rubin-Vega and Peter Dinklage in a riotous turn as the mercilessly mocked Malvolio.
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Raven Snook is the Editor of TDF Stages. Follow her on Facebook at @Raven.Snook. Follow TDF on Facebook at @TDFNYC.
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