Virtual Performances Worth Watching That are Coming to Raleigh This Spring

Here are 10 art, music, and theatre shows streaming from the Triangle come spring.
by Kayla Guilliams and Brian Rosenzweig

Venues, theatres, and concert halls may be closed, but there are still plenty of virtual performances being put on across Raleigh that you can enjoy from home. From concerts to ballets to musicals, make time for these virtual performances and art events this spring. 

Theatre in the Park’s The Complete History of Comedy 

From Aristophanes and Shakespeare and Molière to Vaudeville and Charlie Chaplin to The Daily Show, The Complete History of Comedy (abridged) covers comedy through the ages. Based on the smash Broadway hit, it’s coming to Theatre in the Park as a fun, fast-paced 90-minute showing. It’s outrageous, bawdy, and is sure to have something to make you laugh. 

Streaming Feb. 26 – March 14; $16 per ticket; see website for times and details

Carolina Ballet’s Macbeth

Straight “from the vault,” don’t miss this one-night screening of the original cast performance of Carolina Ballet’s Macbeth. Macbeth made waves when it first emerged in 2016 as a visionary retelling of the Shakespeare classic in ballet form, being heralded by publications across the Triangle as innovative and singular. 

Feb. 26; see website for screening details

Carolina Performing Arts A Thousand Ways (Part One) 

Carolina Performing Arts is presenting A Thousand Ways (Part One), the first in a series of interactive experiments by experimental theatre duo 600 HIGHWAYMEN that’s a “map for finding each other, even when we’re apart.” The new, virtual show connects you with another audience member over the phone for an hour-long experience of “conversational directives.” Described by one patron as “an exercise in hope,” this highly interactive experience is inspiring, personal, and profound.

March 1 – 14 at various times; free but donations encouraged; see website for details

Raleigh Little Theatre’s A Number

Based on the award-winning 2002 play by Caryl Churchill, this psychological thriller tackles startling scientific realities of cloning alongside striking portrayals of family issues and complex relationships. Available for streaming from March 5 – 13 via Broadway on Demand, don’t miss this stunning and experimental science fiction thriller in a unique online format.

Available on-demand March 5 – 13; starting at $10 for single links; see website for streaming details

Justice Theater Project’s The River Speaks of Thirst 

This collection of audio poems written by NC Poet Laureate Jaki Shelton Green documents the real experiences of African American people, past and present. Each poem is a separate vignette that uses various mediums including music, dance, song, and dramatic interpretations to illustrate themes like race, oppression, emancipation, religion, and grief. “As I listened to each poem, there wasn’t one that did not connect with some aspect of my upbringing as an African American woman growing up in Baton Rouge, Louisiana,” says director and choreographer Kristi V. Johnson. “Additionally, the poems about the young Black men who died from police brutality reminded me of the anger, fear, and pain I feel as a mother of a young, brown boy.”

March 5; tickets starting at $10; see website for details

WRAL’s Big Night in for the Arts 

Big Night in for the Arts is a fundraiser for the performing arts community that will showcase a diverse range of North Carolina artists. A brainchild of the combined arts councils of Chatham, Durham, Orange, and Wake County, the event will showcase Tony-nominated actress and Raleigh native Ariana DeBose; country music artist Scotty McCreery, originally from Garner; Branford Marsalis, the Durham-based, internationally renowned saxophonist; nationally acclaimed actor and playwright Mike Wiley, based in Chatham County; Chapel Hill folk duo Mandolin Orange and more. 

March 11 at 7 p.m.; Broadcast and live-streaming, WRAL-TV; see website for details

Carolina Ballet’s Vivaldi’s Four Seasons 

Featuring four new works by Founding Artistic Director Robert Weiss, the Carolina Ballet is presenting Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. Two solos and two pas de deux will be performed by the ballet’s company members and by guest artists from New York City Ballet. 

March 17-21; available for streaming until midnight on March 21; see website for details

Roger Day’s Zookeeper’s in the House!

This online musical experience with Roger Day is a perfect performance for families to enjoy. Day is a two-time Parent’s Choice Gold Award winner and uses his trademark wit, whimsy and wordplay in this show that celebrates zookeepers. Through interactive and energetic songs, Zookeeper’s in the House! encourages young audience members to observe, reflect, question and decide as they learn about animals at the zoo and the dedicated team of scientists who take care of them every day. The show was filmed partly at the Birmingham Zoo and includes video clips of animals and their handlers.

March  20 at 10 a.m; free; see website for details

PlayMakers Repertory Company’s Edges of Time 

Starring Kathryn Hunter-Williams, this one-woman show will take you into the life of Marvel Cook, the first Black woman journalist to have her own byline in a major U.S. newspaper. Her trailblazing journey to becoming a successful journalist and passionate activist in the midst of a national reckoning resonates with audiences today. 

March 23 – April 4; available for streaming until midnight on April 4; see website for details

Where Can I Go? Wake County Holocaust Survivor Interviews presented by Justice Theatre Project

Executive produced by Raleigh-Cary Jewish Family Services in partnership with The Justice Theater Project, this documentary film event debuts on Yom Ha’Shoah/ Holocaust Remembrance Day and features a group of Holocaust survivors, filmed during the 2020-21 pandemic, sharing their experiences of trauma and resilience in an urgent effort to ensure we never forget. The adults portrayed in the film participated in Kesher, a Raleigh-Cary Jewish Family Services program that uses creative arts therapy to help Holocaust survivors improve their mental health and reduce their social isolation.

April 8 at 7 p.m; see website for tickets and details

Theatre in the Park’s Buyer & Cellar

This one-man show tells the story of Alex More, a struggling actor in L.A. who takes a job working in the Malibu basement of a beloved megastar. An outrageous comedy, Buyer & Cellar is a show about the price of fame, the cost of things, and the oddest of odd jobs. 

April 9-10, 15-17, 23-24 at 7:30 p.m; April 11, 18 and 25 at 3 p.m; see website for details. 

Carolina Ballet’s Mozart Symphony No. 40 

With choreography from Carolina Ballet fixtures Zalman Raffael and Robert Weiss, this inventive ballet to Mozart’s Symphony No. 40 is sure to bring a breath of springtime delight to all who see it. This virtual performance will go live for two nights – April 21 and 22nd – and will be accessible to patrons through the 25th.

April 21-22, accessible through the 25th; see website for details.

North Carolina Symphony’s Ragtime Kings

Live-streaming from Meymandi Concert Hall, this lively performance will feature ragtime-era favorites from the likes of Scott Joplin and Jelly Roll Mortin. With timeless classics like The Entertainer, Maple Leaf Rag, and King Porter Stomp (if you think you haven’t heard these songs, trust us, you have), this live performance of an iconic catalog is a great way to add some bounce into a springtime evening.

April 22  at 8 p.m.; see website for details

PlayMakers Repertory Company’s As You Like It

This blues-infused reinvention of Shakespeare’s The Forest of Arden is a hilarious comedy by company member, actor, and director Tia James. Featuring love at first sight, cross-dressing heroines, and a parade of foolish lovers, the show combines bluesy music and hilariously-questionable poetry for a show bound to entertain. 

May 3-16; available for streaming until midnight on May 16; see website for details as they become available

North Carolina Theatre’s On Your Feet! 

North Carolina Theatre is kicking off their 2021-2022 season with On Your Feet! The Story of Emilio and Gloria Estefan. From their humble beginnings in Cuba to their rise to the top of the pop music world, this show is an uplifting celebration of the legendary artists and the heart-stopping beats of the Miami Sound Machine.

May 4-9; see website for tickets and details