Top 5 Stage Performances to Stream This July 4th Weekend
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 holiday weekend, Friday, July 3-5, for free or at low cost.
PBS: A Capitol Fourth
Live-streaming on Friday, July 3 at 8 p.m. for FREE.
TV personality and Broadway alum Alfonso Ribeiro (he was in The Tap Dance Kid) hosts this annual holiday concert from our nation’s capitol. The starry lineup includes Metropolitan Opera star Angel Blue, four-time Tony nominee Gary Sinise and the cast of Broadway’s Just In Time.
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PBS: America Made in Virginia: 250 Years Together
Airing on PBS Thirteen on Saturday, July 4 at 8 p.m. for FREE. Also available to stream.
Broadway stars celebrate our country’s semiquincentennial from Colonial Williamsburg. A blend of live performances and historical reenactments along with climactic fireworks, this two-hour program will feature singing by Tony winners Kelli O’Hara and Adrienne Warren, performer-pianist Michael Feinstein and Metropolitan Opera favorite Ryan Speedo Green, plus narration by Richard Thomas.
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National Theatre at Home: Hamlet
Streaming for $10.
Hiran Abeysekera (Broadway’s Life of Pi) stars as the vengeful title prince in this modern-day take on Shakespeare’s masterpiece, which earned solid reviews at London’s National Theatre before playing a brief engagement at BAM this spring. Director Robert Hastie (Operation Mincemeat) puts an unusually humorous spin on the Bard’s tragedy, which was recorded live onstage earlier this year. This is just one of many fantastic National Theatre shows you can stream, so be sure to browse the entire list. Captions are available for all offerings.
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1776
Streaming for FREE.
In honor of our nation’s landmark birthday, revisit the original revolutionary musical: Sherman Edwards and Peter Stone’s 1776 about the contentious events leading up to the signing of the Declaration of Independence. This 1972 movie adaptation features many members of the Broadway cast, including William Daniels, Howard Da Silva, Ken Howard and John Cullum as John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson and Edward Rutledge, respectively. Peter Hunt, who helmed the show on Broadway, directs.Â
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Bandstand on Broadway
Streaming for FREE.
Celebrate our country’s independence by watching Bandstand, a profoundly moving and sadly underrated musical starring Laura Ones and Corey Cott about World War II vets trying to win a music contest while grappling with PTSD. Richard Oberacker and Rob Taylor’s uplifting, jazzy score is juxtaposed against a serious exploration of what soldiers go through.
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