How to Watch Your Favorite Broadway Shows and Musicals Online
Broadway might be closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, but you can bring the theater right to your living room.
Every item on this page was chosen by a Town & Country editor. We may earn commission on some of the items you choose to buy.
Last week, the state of New York closed all Broadway theaters in response to the coronavirus pandemic. But the show will go on, as the community has rallied to put many productions online. The Actors Fund announced that they would be producing online mini-Broadway shows every day at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. (the shows are free, but viewers can consider donating). You can also stream many classic productions on BroadwayHD. A free trial lasts seven days, after which you pay $8.99 per month. Below, we've rounded up the best shows and musicals to watch now.
The Actors Fund: Stars in the House
Support the Actors Fund by watching daily shows at 2:00 and 8 p.m. EST. Each star will be “singing a mix of their hit songs and/or something unexpected.” Kelli O’Hara (from Kiss Me, Kate, South Pacific, The Kind and I, and many more) kicked off the performances. You can watch on YouTube.
The beloved musical, which ran on Broadway for 22 years, won the Tony Award for Best Musical and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. You can watch on Amazon Prime.
Cats: The Musical
One of the longest-running hits in the history of Broadway (and a recent, somewhat controversial, film remake). You can watch on BroadwayHD.
If you're looking for a behind-the-scenes peek at one of Broadway's most beloved veterans, this 2013 documentary is one to watch. The film tells Elaine Stritch's life story, featuring a host of famous friends like James Gandolfini. It's especially poignant to see this later footage of her, since she passed away a year after the film's release.
For something bingeable, go to NBC.com and watch the 2012 drama, Smash. The show—featuring an incredible ensemble cast with Debra Messing, Jack Davenport, Katharine McPhee, Christian Borle, Megan Hilty, and Anjelica Huston—revolves around the chaotic personal and professional lives of Broadway stars.
Sunday In The Park With George
The original production of Sunday in the Park with George, starring Mandy Patinkin and Bernadette Peters, is available for rent on iTunes. Though revived in 2017 to acclaim in a production starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Annaleigh Ashford, the original production of Sunday remains a particular favorite among theater fans. Tony Straiges’s Tony-winning scenic design stands up over 30 years later for how brilliantly it realizes impressionist painter Georges Seurat’s iconic painting A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte, and it doesn’t hurt that the original cast included Bernadette Peters and Mandy Patinkin. Available to stream on Hoopla and for rent or purchase on iTunes.
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Celebrate composer Stephen Sondheim's 90th birthday this month with a viewing of Sweeney Todd. The original Harold Prince-directed Broadway production was filmed during its national tour and you can watch it on Amazon Prime. Though the full original cast was not captured, the 1982 recording does feature the Tony-award winning performance by Angela Lansbury, Ken Jennings, and Edmund Lyndeck.
Liz Cantrell is the assistant to the Editor in Chief of Town & Country, covering arts and culture, and has previously written for Esquire.
Watch Next
A Complete List of the 2024 Tony Nominees
Meet Broadway's Newest Stars
Gayle Rankin on Playing Sally Bowles 'Cabaret'
Why is Tamara de Lempicka Everywhere Right Now?
