‘A Christmas Carol’
Stream it at Summoners Ensemble Theater in New York City and the Alley Theater in Houston.
In New York, an immersive production of the holiday classic from London’s Old Vic offers storytelling and song-singing to audiences at the Perelman Performing Arts Center. And the annual, intimate staging returns at the Merchant’s House Museum, which is available for streaming. Transport to the 19th century via the house’s parlor room, decked out in period furnishings and candlelight, where John Kevin Jones stars as Mr. Dickens. A $25 ticket includes unlimited views through Jan. 1.
Or catch Houston’s venerated repertory resident theater, the Alley — which has hosted premieres from the likes of Rajiv Joseph, Tony Kushner and Lawrence Wright — streaming its own live version of the Dickensian story of redemption, replete with elaborate Victorian sets and costumes. A $39 ticket includes 24-hour replay; performances only on Dec. 19 and 20.
‘The Snow Queen’
Stream it at the Wilma Theater.
The Wilma Theater in Philadelphia, known for its bold productions, including works by Tom Stoppard, James Ijames and Paula Vogel, was honored for its innovation with a Tony Award for regional theater. Now, children can experience the magic too. For its first family production, the Wilma is staging the Russian playwright Evgeny Schwartz’s “The Snow Queen,” an adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen’s whimsical tale — and the story that inspired Disney’s musical blockbuster “Frozen.” Yury Urnov, an artistic director at the theater, directs this odyssey of a girl named Gerda who sets out over icy turf to save her brother, proving the power of love to thaw a world turned cold (perhaps a message we all could use). Mystical and mischievous adventures ensue. The recording is available through Dec. 21.
‘Every Brilliant Thing’
Daniel Radcliffe, who last year won a Tony Award for “Merrily We Roll Along,” will star on Broadway in the solo play “Every Brilliant Thing” come February. It’s a show in which the audience participates, a rare format for Broadway. The play was written by Duncan Macmillan with the British comedian Jonny Donahoe, who originated the role. In the run-up to Radcliffe’s debut, you can stream the live capture of Donahoe’s tear-inducing performance as a son who creates a list of things worth living for in hopes of lifting his suicidal mother from the grips of depression. (No. 5: “things with stripes”; No. 45: “hugging”; No. 999,997: “the alphabet.”) The critic Ben Brantley, writing in The New York Times, called Donahoe “skilled in the art of disarming.” He added, “you may have to restrain yourself from out-and-out bawling.”
‘Sick in a Hospital Town’
Stream it on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
The Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter Ginger Thompson — and the managing editor of ProPublica — spent the last five years reporting on Albany, Ga., where the Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital fuels the city’s economy and politicking. Why then, do residents of Albany have some of the highest rates of treatable diseases? In collaboration between Theater of War Productions and ProPublica, Thompson’s investigation, released in a five-part audio series, examines one of the country’s darkest paradoxes: Why does the United States, with its ultra expensive health care system, have a population that’s so sick? An original score by Teese Gohl, direction by Bryan Doerries and a team of actors bring the story to life.
‘Dead Outlaw’
Fancy a deadpan ghost story? “Dead Outlaw,” about a bandit whose mummified body was exhibited for years before becoming spooky décor in an amusement park, might do the trick. The Broadway show, which was nominated for seven Tonys, including best new musical, is based on the true story of Elmer McCurdy, who died in a shootout with law enforcement, and whose embalmed, unclaimed corpse toured carnivals for decades. The musical was met with glowing reviews for its macabre fun, and for its leading man, Andrew Durand. Durand plays McCurdy — both alive and dead. It’s an unusual role, one that required remaining stone still in a casket for half the show and not blinking for long stretches. An energetic band onstage doubles as the narrator, threading the story as a raucous journey through the American West, and a romp through time.
‘Sorry for Your Loss’
Michael Cruz Kayne’s solo show isn’t just a comedy, it’s a comedy about reckoning with the death of his son. Kayne, a comedian and staff writer on the “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert,” warns audiences that they might cry, adding, “If you don’t, that’s rude.” In 2019, Kayne wrote about grief on Twitter on the 10th anniversary of the death of his son, who died from sepsis at 34 days old. His tweet went viral, and became the genesis for Kayne’s show. “It’s a subtle, moving performance that finds beauty in the trying,” the critic Jason Zinoman wrote of “Sorry for Your Loss,” which was directed by Josh Sharp and recorded live at the Minetta Lane Theater in 2023. “You get the sense that it’s what allows him to laugh at things he shouldn’t.”
Rachel Sherman reports on culture and the arts for The Times.
The post ‘A Christmas Carol’, ‘Dead Outlaw’ and More Theater to Stream appeared first on New York Times.
