Top 5 Stage Performances to Stream This Weekend May 8-10
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 8 to Sunday, May 10, for free or at low cost.
PBS Great Performances: Suffs
Airing on PBS Thirteen on Friday, May 8 at 9 p.m. for FREE. Available to stream until Friday, June 5.
Shaina Taub’s enthralling Suffs won 2024 Tony Awards for her score and book and was, thankfully, filmed before it closed prematurely in January last year. Now audiences across the country can experience her brilliant musical about the American women’s suffrage movement. In a Hamilton-style power move, Taub also stars in the show as activist Alice Paul, who relentlessly rallies her peers to back the Nineteenth Amendment, which gave women the right to vote in 1920. Emily Skinner, Jenn Colella and The Book of Mormon Tony winner Nikki M. James play a few of her fellow feminists. Leigh Silverman (Violet) directs this history-inspired epic, which features an all-female-identifying and nonbinary cast.
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Live From 54 Below: Melissa Manchester: Fifty Threads: An Artist’s Journey
Live-streaming on Saturday, May 9 at 7 p.m. ET for $30.
Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter and former Bette Midler Harlette, Melissa Manchester, shares behind-the-scenes stories and hits from her 20-plus albums in this deeply personal concert. While she’s never been on Broadway herself, her songs have, and she recently played Mrs. Brice on the Funny Girl tour. Live-streaming from 54 Below’s swanky stage. If you prefer to attend in person, click here for info.
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National Theatre at Home: Audra McDonald: I Am What I Am
Streaming for $10.
Enjoy an expanded cut of this incredible Audra McDonald concert, which was recorded live onstage at the London Palladium in 2022. The legendary six-time Tony Award winner performs a diverse array of showstoppers, including “I Am What I Am” from La Cage aux Folles, “Summertime” from Porgy and Bess, “Being Alive” from Company and an electric “Rose’s Turn,” years before she starred in Gypsy on Broadway. 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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National Theatre at Home: Oklahoma!
Begins streaming on Thursday, May 7 for $10.
Oh, what a beautiful recordin’! National Theatre at Home is once again streaming its 1998 multi-Olivier Award-winning revival of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! Directed by Trevor Nunn and featuring choreography by Susan Stroman, this production stars a pre-Hollywood Hugh Jackman as Curly and Shuler Hensley as Jud, a role he reprised on Broadway, earning a Tony. 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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PBS Great Performances: Rodgers & Hammerstein’s 80th Anniversary
Streaming until Monday, June 1 for FREE.
More great Golden Age songs! Stream this glorious, one-night-only tribute to Rodgers and Hammerstein, which was recorded live onstage at London’s Theatre Royal Drury in 2023 and features stars from both sides of the pond. The lineup includes six-time Tony Award winner Audra McDonald, Moulin Rouge! The Musical Tony winner Aaron Tveit, two-time Tony nominee Patrick Wilson, three-time Olivier Award winner Maria Friedman, two-time Olivier Award winner Michael Ball and Olivier nominee Julian Ovenden, plus special guests Rita Moreno and Andrew Lloyd Webber. A 40-piece orchestra accompanies the performers.
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