What's Streaming? Broadway Bares, #WhileWeBreathe
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
* PBS will broadcast Moritz von Stuelpnagel's 2017 revival of Noël Coward's Present Laughter, starring Kevin Kline, Kate Burton, Kristine Nielsen, and Cobie Smulders on Friday, July 31 at 9pm ET. Check local listings.
(© Joan Marcus)
* Virtual event venue Looped will host #Ham4Change, a series of fundraisers organized by the original cast of Hamilton to benefit organizations that are working to end systemic racism. The first event will take place Saturday, August 1, 1pm-4pm ET. It will be hosted by Sasha Hutchings, with Andrew Chappelle, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Jonathan Groff, Neil Haskell, Christopher Jackson, Thayne Jasperson, Jasmine Cephas Jones, Morgan Marcell, Javier Muñoz, Phillipa Soo, Seth Stewart, Betsy Struxness, and special guests Brian d'Arcy James, Rory O'Malley, and Andrew Rannells. Benefitting Black Emotional and Mental Health Collective, Law Enforcement Accountability Project, and When We All Vote, tickets can be purchased here. Future events will take place August 9 and 15.
* TheaterMania will stream the 2020 virtual edition of the popular Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS benefit Broadway Bares on Saturday, August 1, at 9:30pm ET. The stream is free, but donations are welcome. Every dollar donated will help those across the country affected by HIV/AIDS, COVID-19, and other critical illnesses receive healthy meals, lifesaving medication, emergency financial assistance, housing, counseling and more. The donations also support and champion organizations focused on social justice and anti-racism. TheaterMania will provide more information about how to watch the stream on our site in the coming weeks.
* Source Material will present the world premiere of In These Uncertain Times, a digital performance piece devised by the company and directed by artistic director Samantha Shay. It is a new dramaturgy defined by dystopia, and it is a love letter to the art of theater. Performances will take place on Saturday, August 1 at 7pm ET and Sunday, August 2 at 2pm ET. For more information about tickets, donations, and the show, click here.
* Rachel Chavkin will direct a Play-PerView reading of The TEAM's RoosevElvis on Saturday, August 1 at 5pm ET, featuring Libby King and Kristen Sieh. Purchase tickets here.
* International recording artist Brian Kennedy will host a live Facebook concert on Saturday, August 1 at 3pm ET. This special intimate event is designed to allow fans to enjoy the most dynamic of solo music performances and send in their song requests all in real-time. Watch here.
(© Khara Pringle)
Upcoming
* Dulé Hill and Jennifer Mudge will recreate their performances from the 2007 Cherry Lane Theatre revival of Amiri Baraka's Dutchman on Play-PerView on Saturday, August 8 at 7pm ET. Chris Myers will costar, with Robert Barry Fleming directing. Purchase tickets here.
(© Manuel Harlan)
* Fleabag's Andrew Scott will star in the world premiere of Three Kings, a new play written for him by Stephen Beresford and created especially for the Old Vic: In Camera series. Directed by Matthew Warchus, Three Kings will be streamed live nightly from the Old Vic stage with the empty auditorium as a backdrop. After a recent hospitalization that forced the rescheduling of the run, it will now take place August 7-8. For tickets, click here.
Streaming Channels
* The documentary We Are Freestyle Love Supreme is currently streaming on Hulu. To subscribe to Hulu and Disney Plus, click here.
* 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.
(© Jeremy Daniel)
* In Dominique Morisseau's play Pipeline, a public school teacher (Karen Pittman) must face the trauma of her son (Namir Smallwood) as a young black man when an incident threatens to get him expelled from a prep school. Pipeline streams on BroadwayHD. Read our critic's review here.
* Spike Lee directs a filmed version Antoinette Nwandu's provocative play Pass Over, which tells the story of two young black men (Jon Michael Hill and Julian Parker) dreaming of escape from a racist world. A startling and disturbing riff on Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot, Pass Over now streams on Prime Video. Read our critic's review here.
* Tony and Pulitzer Prize nominee Anna Deavere Smith wrote and stars in Notes From the Field, her solo play in which she probes the lives of students, parents, and teachers caught in the school-to-prison pipeline. The show streams on HBO.
Available for a Limited Time
(© Carol Rosegg)
* Transport Group's filmed performance of its world premiere musical Broadbend, Arkansas began streaming Monday, July 20 for four weeks. An original cast recording will be released by Broadway Records in July. Audiences can view the stream, hosted by Tony Award winner Chuck Cooper, free of charge here. In lieu of a ticket fee, the company encourages contributions be made to the Black Theatre Network.
* 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.
* PBS streams of Anna Deavere Smith's drama Twilight: Los Angeles through August 7. Filmed by Marc Levin in 2001, Smith stars in a solo show that explores the aftermath of the 1992 Rodney King riots in Los Angeles. To watch, click here.
* Geffen Playhouse has extended The Present, its world-premiere live, virtual, and interactive theatrical experience written and performed by master illusionist, storyteller, and Geffen alum Helder Guimarães. The show will now run through October 10. A mystery package will be sent to you inside a USPS Priority Mail box before the show, so you must purchase tickets at least seven days in advance. To purchase tickets, click here.
* The world premiere of The Gifts You Gave to the Dark, written by Darren Murphy specifically for digital media in reaction to the ongoing COVID-19 health crisis, premiered on Wednesday, May 27 at 6pm ET and will remain online through October 2020. For more information, click here.
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