Theater News

What's Streaming? Tune In and Bid at the Broadway Flea Market and Grand Auction

The annual fundraiser will benefit Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.

With theaters closed around the country, some companies are making their productions available online. Below, you'll find our weekly update of productions, videos, and other theater-related streaming content from across the US and elsewhere. Some streams are free, while others may charge a fee or request a donation. Either way, you're sure to find something to scratch your theater itch. Theaters may be dark, but the shows go on.


This Weekend

* A fundraising virtual table read of Fast Times at Ridgemont High, previously delayed due to technical difficulties, will now stream on Thursday, September 17, at 9pm ET. The cast comprises Jennifer Aniston, Dane Cook, Morgan Freeman, Henry Golding, Jimmy Kimmel, Shia LaBeouf, John Legend, Ray Liotta, Matthew McConaughey, Sean Penn, Brad Pitt, and Julia Roberts. Audiences will need to tune-in to find out which role each actor is playing. The live stream will be seen on CORE's Facebook and TikTok pages.

Jennifer Aniston, Julia Roberts, and Morgan Freeman
Jennifer Aniston, Julia Roberts, and Morgan Freeman
(© Joseph Marzullo/David Gordon)

Broadway On Demand will stream Anna Karenina — based on the novel by Leo Tolstoy and captured on film in front of a live audience at the Moscow Operetta Theatre — on Saturday, September 19 at 7pm ET. The musical production will be presented in Russian with English subtitles. For tickets and more information, click here.

This year, the Broadway Flea Market & Grand Auction, which benefits Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, will be held virtually on Sunday, September 20. Nearly 100 silent auction items are up for bid, including a Halloween costume worn by Tom Hiddleston, a signed edition of Barbra Striesand's Christmas CD, and more. Plus, Broadway stars will join the event for one-on-one video chats. To find out who'll be taking part and to place your bids, click here.


Upcoming

* That '70s Show stars Debra Jo Rupp and Kurtwood Smith will reunite for an online streaming preview of the new play Three Viewings. Presented by Barrington Stage Company, Jeffrey Hatcher's play will be broadcast September 23-26 for a minimum donation of $25. The streaming edition replaces an in-person staging, which was set to take place September 9-20. Directed by Barrington artistic leader Julianne Boyd, an in-person production is expected to happen at a later date.

Debra Jo Rupp and Kurtwood Smith
Debra Jo Rupp and Kurtwood Smith
(© David Gordon/Gage Skidmore)

* The musical Romantics Anonymous will stream on Saturday, September 26 at 4pm ET. Romantics Anonymous has a book and direction by Emma Rice and score by Christopher Dimond (lyrics) and Michael Kooman (music), and is based on the film Les Émotifs Anonymes. The show will be filmed live from the Bristol Old Vic, with the cast and creators each being tested for coronavirus before forming a bubble in Bristol. These rigorous measures mean that they will be able to perform the entire show without social distancing. For tickets and more information, click here.

* West End, Broadway, and television stars will join Shakespeare@'s radio play production of Shakespeare's The Tempest, which launches Thursday, October 1, at 7pm ET and is free to download and stream. The Tempest will air in four weekly parts. To see the cast and learn more, click here. Debut dates for parts 2, 3 and 4 are subsequent Thursdays in October at 7pm ET (October 8, 15, and 22). Donations are welcome and encouraged.

Under the Greenwood Tree, which chronicles the Public Works production of Shaina Taub's As You Like It, will stream here beginning October 8. Watch the trailer below:

* St. Ann's Warehouse will stream Phyllida Lloyd's all-female Shakespeare trilogy. Julius Caesar will run October 9-15, Henry IV will air October 16-22, and The Tempest will run October 23-29'''. It will also be seen over the course of one marathon weekend, October 30-November 1. For tickets and more information, click here.

* John Kevin Jones will bring his one-man stage production, Killing an Evening With Edgar Allan Poe, into viewers' homes this year. Jones will again bring four of Poe's best-known works to life from the Merchant's House Museum, New York City's only 19th-century family home preserved intact. This year, nine haunting performances will be streamed online, October 31-November 8. Tickets are priced at $45 and include the performance and post-show event. To find out dates and purchase tickets, click here. Ticket buyers will receive an event link by email on the day of the event.


Streaming Channels

* Netflix will release Joe Mantello's film remake of Mart Crowley's The Boys in the Band on September 30. The company is made up of Jim Parsons (Michael), Zachary Quinto (Harold), Matt Bomer (Donald), Andrew Rannells (Larry), Charlie Carver (Cowboy), Robin De Jesús (Emory), Brian Hutchison (Alan), Michael Benjamin Washington (Bernard), and Tuc Watkins (Hank). Take a look at the trailer below:

* Amazon will release Julie Taymor's Gloria Steinem biopic The Glorias, written by Taymor and Sarah Ruhl, on its Prime Video platform beginning September 30. Spanning five decades, the film has multiple actors playing Steinem at various ages: Ryan Kira Armstrong as Young Gloria, Lulu Wilson as Teen Gloria, Alicia Vikander as Gloria ages 20-40, and Julianne Moore as Steinem through the present. The cast also includes Bette Midler as Bella Abzug, Janelle Monáe as Dorothy Pitman Hughes, Timothy Hutton as Leo Steinem, Lorraine Toussaint as Florynce Kennedy, Enid Graham as Ruth, Kimberly Guerrero as Wilma Mankiller, Monica Sanchez as Dolores Huerta, and Margo Moorer as Barbara Jordan.

Julianne Moore in The Glorias
Julianne Moore in The Glorias
(© Dan McFadden)

* Lin-Manuel Miranda's blockbuster musical Hamilton streams on Disney Plus, featuring the original cast, led by Miranda as Hamilton, Leslie Odom Jr. as Aaron Burr, Daveed Diggs as Marquis de Lafayette/Thomas Jefferson, Renée Elise Goldsberry as Angelica Schuyler, Christopher Jackson as George Washington, Jonathan Groff as King George, Phillipa Soo as Eliza Hamilton, Jasmine Cephas Jones as Peggy Schuyler/Maria Reynolds, Okieriete Onaodowan as Hercules Mulligan/James Madison, and Anthony Ramos as John Laurens/Philip Hamilton. To find out how to watch, click here.


Available for a Limited Time

* Originally scheduled to run during Olney Theatre's 2019-2020 Season, the physical production of Stephen Karam's Tony-winning play The Humans has been transformed into a unique version of the family dramedy from quarantine, filmed with the actors in six different locations. The stream will be available through October 4. To learn more and purchase tickets, click here.

The ensemble of The Humans: Jonathan Raviv, Dani Stoller, Kimberly Gilbert, Sherry L. Edelen, Catie Flye, and Mitchell Hébert
The ensemble of The Humans: Jonathan Raviv, Dani Stoller, Kimberly Gilbert, Sherry L. Edelen, Catie Flye, and Mitchell Hébert

* The final three episodes of the world premiere digital musical A Killer Party: A Murder Mystery Musical have been released and will be available for purchase through October 1.
The company includes Jessica Keenan Wynn as Detective Case, Michael James Scott as Varthur McArthur, Krystina Alabado as Lily Wright, Carolee Carmello as Justine Case, Drew Gehling as Cameron Mitchelljohn, Jackie Burns as Joan McArthur, Laura Osnes as Vivika Orsonwelles, Jarrod Spector as George Murderer, Alex Newell as Shea Crescendo, Miguel Cervantes as Clarke Staples, and Jeremy Jordan as…Jeremy Jordan. The nine-episode series can be purchased for $12.99 here. Also available: a 20-track original cast recording from Broadway Records.

* PBS's Great Performances is streaming the Public Theater's 2019 Shakespeare in the Park production of William Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing. This bold interpretation of Shakespeare's comedic masterpiece features Danielle Brooks and Grantham Coleman as the sparring lovers Beatrice and Benedick. Tony Award winner Kenny Leon directs, with choreography by Tony Award nominee Camille A. Brown. Available through September 11. To watch, click here.

Grantham Coleman and Danielle Brooks star in the Shakespeare in the Park production of Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing.
Grantham Coleman and Danielle Brooks star in Shakespeare in the Park's 2019 production of Much Ado About Nothing.
(© Joan Marcus)

* Bette Davis Ain't for Sissies streams through September 24. Written and performed by Jessica Sherr, this new 80-minute live streaming version is directed for the small screen by Karen Carpenter. Tickets are $19.50 each and are available here.


Videos

* The Lion King's Brad Gibson has released his video for "Fool," which he dedicates "to the little Black boys left in the margins." Watch the video below: