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Kristin Chenoweth, who starred opposite Matthew Broderick in The Music Man, which you can stream for free.
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, September 5 to Sunday, September 7, for free or at low cost.
Streaming for FREE until Thursday, October 2.
Theatre legend Audra McDonald narrates this documentary about how William Shakespeare's pals and fellow players John Heminges and Henry Condell created The First Folio, ensuring the Bard's works weren't lost to history. In addition to speaking to academics, curators and well-known classical actors about the landmark collection, Making Shakespeare: The First Folio spotlights The Public Theater's recent reinventions of The Comedy of Errors with the Mobile Unit and Hamlet at Shakespeare in the Park, as well as middle school students studying Romeo and Juliet in the Bronx.
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Streaming until Thursday, October 2 for FREE.
If you can't score tickets to Twelfth Night in Shakespeare in the Park this summer, console yourself with recordings of productions past, like this Hamlet. Slave Play Tony nominee Ato Blankson-Wood stars as the moody monarch hell-bent on avenging his father's murder. Directed by Tony winner Kenny Leon and recorded live in 2023, it's a modern-day reimagining of the tragedy set in Georgia post-COVID. I quite admired it, especially Lorraine Toussaint as Hamlet's mother and the riveting John Douglas Thompson as his uncle-turned-stepfather. The ghost scene will truly haunt you!
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Streaming until Thursday, October 2 for FREE.
More recent Shakespeare in the Park! Danai Gurira headlines Robert O'Hara's radically inclusive Richard III, which was recorded live on stage in 2022. The Black Panther actor is riveting as the power-hungry and ruthless title villain and her costars include Oklahoma! Tony winner Ali Stroker as Anne and Tina Tony nominee Daniel J. Watts.
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Streaming for FREE.
Tony winners Matthew Broderick and Kristin Chenoweth (who'll both be back on NYC stages this fall) headline this enjoyable 2003 TV movie adaptation of Meredith Willson's The Music Man about an early 20th-century con man who's rehabilitated by love. The supporting cast isn't too shabby, either: Tony winner Debra Monk is Mrs. Paroo, Victor Garber plays Mayor Shinn and SNL's Molly Shannon is Mrs. Eulalie Mackecknie Shinn. Shipoopi!
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Streaming for FREE.
British stage legend Imelda Staunton won her third Olivier Award for her tour-de-force turn as Mama Rose in the Chichester Festival's lauded 2014 revival of Gypsy. The production transferred to London's Savoy Theatre, where this searing mounting of Stephen Sondheim and Jules Styne's musical about getting famous at all costs was filmed. Tony nominee Lonny Price (A Class Act, Sunset Boulevard) directs. Let them entertain you!
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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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