Top 5 Stage Performances to Stream This Weekend May 29-31
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, May 29 to Sunday, May 31, for free or at low cost.
Live from 54 Below: Melissa Errico: Back to Barbra (with Billy)
Live-streaming Friday, May 29 at 7 p.m. ET for $30.
While wildly different vocalists, the legendary Barbra Streisand and Broadway soprano Melissa Errico are both smart and stylish singers who tackle a lot of the same material. In this follow-up to her The Streisand Effect cabaret last fall, Errico revisits their shared repertoire, including songs by David Shire, Marvin Hamlisch, Michel Legrand and Stephen Sondheim, with the celebrated Billy Stritch accompanying her on piano. Streaming live from the cabaret hub’s swanky stage. If you prefer to attend in person, click here for info.
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PBS Great Performances: Broadway Musicals: A Jewish Legacy
Airing on PBS Thirteen on Friday, May 29 at 9 p.m. for FREE. Available to stream until Friday, July 31.
Revisit Michael Kantor’s wonderful 2013 documentary about the many Jewish composers and lyricists who helped shape Broadway musicals. Cabaret Tony winner Joel Grey narrates this tuneful celebration featuring songs by Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern, George and Ira Gershwin, Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II, Kurt Weill, Sheldon Harnick, Jerry Bock, Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim, Stephen Schwartz and Jule Styne. Enjoy excepts of iconic performances by David Hyde Pierce in Spamalot), Matthew Broderick and Kelli O’Hara in Nice Work if You Can Get It, Zero Mostel in Fiddler on the Roof, Nathan Lane in The Producers, Fanny Brice in The Great Ziegfeld, Barbra Streisand in Funny Girl, Dick Van Dyke in Bye Bye Birdie, Danny Kaye in Lady in the Dark, Ethel Merman in Gypsy, and Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel in Wicked.
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National Theatre at Home: Man and Boy
Streaming for $10.
In an era of unhinged moguls, Terence Rattigan’s rarely mounted finance drama takes on new relevancy. Ben Daniels gives an acclaimed performance as a Romanian-born investor in 1934 whose schemes may tank the stock market. But he’s hoping his estranged son (Laurie Kynaston) will give him sanctuary and support. Recorded live onstage in London earlier this year, the production is available to stream online on National Theatre at Home. This is just one of many fantastic shows you can watch, so be sure to browse the entire list. Captions are available for all offerings.
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Every Brilliant Thing
Streaming on Amazon Prime for $4.
Mariska Hargitay is now starring in Broadway’s Tony-nominated revival of 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. If you’re curious to see the original Off-Broadway mounting from 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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Death of a Salesman Starring Brian Dennehy
Streaming for FREE.
Nathan Lane, Laurie Metcalf and the current revival of Death of a Salesman are all up for Tony Awards. Revisit another acclaimed mounting of Arthur Miller’s landmark play starring Brian Dennehy. The production originated at Chicago’s Goodman Theatre before transferring to Broadway where it won four 1999 Tony Awards, including for Dennehy as the hapless never-was at the center of this American tragedy. Director Richard Falls and Elizabeth Franz as Loman’s devoted wife also won statuettes, and the mounting was preserved on film for Showtime.
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