YouTube has some terrific free channels with exclusive content being posted during the shelter-in-place/Quarantine timeframe we’re in. Here are some suggestions for you:
- Andrew Lloyd Weber started THE SHOWS MUST GO ON as a way to keep live theater alive during a time when Broadway and other theaters are closed. He aired filmed productions of all his theatrical hits, from JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT to CATS. (If you have a chance to catch the 2012 arena production of JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR, it’s fantastic — and stars Sporty Spice from the Spice Girls).
Now that they’ve aired all of Weber’s work, the channel has continued by airing other filmed theater shows, such as the made-for-TV live productions of The Wiz, Peter Pan, and Hairspray.
It’s important to note that these shows are typically announced on Monday/Tuesday for the coming week, and the streams are only available on Friday-Saturday. If you snooze, you’ll miss out. Let’s hope that they continue to keep this tradition alive.
Watch THE SHOWS MUST GO ON here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdmPjhKMaXNNeCr1FjuMvag - The UK’s NATIONAL THEATRE COMPANY has been airing their productions for a week. While you may think that there’s going to be a lot of stuffy Shakespeare, you won’t be totally wrong — but the productions have been fantastic. Some of the shows they’ve aired include the terrific Tony-winning comedy from James Corden ONE MAN, TWO GUVN’RS, and a production of FRANKENSTEIN, where the lead actors (Benedict Cumberbatch! Jonny Lee!) switched roles from night to night between Dr Frankenstein and Frankenstein’s Monster
Watch the National Theatre here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUDq1XzCY0NIOYVJvEMQjqw - Cooking clips on YouTube are all the rage these days. MTV mainstay JOHNNY BANANAS, who recently wrapped up a stint on the Celebrity edition of FOOD NETWORK’s WORST COOKS IN AMERICA, has decided to embrace what Chef Tyler Florence and Chef Anne Burrell taught him — and he’s now posting quick “see how easy it is to cook good food at home” videos. As amateur cooking tutorials go, Johnny’s pretty entertaining to watch – all those years on MTV’s Real World and The Challenge have certainly taught him how to talk to the camera and make things interesting. Sure, there’s wine involved… but shouldn’t there always be wine involved when you’re cooking?
Watch Johnny Bananas’ COOKING IN QUARANTINE here: https://www.youtube.com/user/effinbananas - BON APPETIT has chefs cooking “back to back” with celebrities and other non-professional cooks, to see how well the average person can keep up with a cooking lesson that’s done in real time. Chefs include GORDON RAMSEY and BOBBY FLAY, while the “average” people are folks like AL ROKER, NATALIE PORTMAN, ELIE KEMPER, and Modern Family’s ERIC STONESTREET.
Watch the BACK TO BACK series here: https://www.bonappetit.com/video/series/back-to-back-chef