What Are YOU Doing New Year's Eve 2021? What to Watch!
Tune in for programming with Broadway favorites like Billy Porter, Cyndi Lauper, Josh Groban and more!
By: Nicole Rosky Dec. 31, 2020
What are YOU doing New Year's Eve? As the world prepares to celebrate New Year's Eve a bit differently this year, there are still plenty or ways to keep busy while you await the stroke of midnight. Below, BroadwayWorld is rounding up streaming options for your 2021 New Year's festivities!
Dick Clark'S NEW YEAR'S ROCKIN' EVE WITH Ryan Seacrest
When/Where: 8pm ET on ABC
This year marks the 49th anniversary of "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve," America's go-to annual New Year's tradition which celebrates the year's very best in music. The show sets the stage to ring in the new year with more than five and a half hours of dynamic performances airing until 2 a.m. EST and giving viewers a look at New Year's celebrations from around the globe. As previously announced, Ryan Seacrest returns for his 16th year as host, and will be joined by Lucy Hale, Billy Porter, Cyndi Lauper and Jennifer Lopez in Times Square. Ciara will once again oversee the Los Angeles festivities, returning to the show for her fourth year.
New Year's Eve Live
When/Where: 8pm ET on CNN
Ringing in the new year together for the fourth time, Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen will co-host CNN's New Year's Eve Live from New York City's Times Square. Cooper and Cohen will help us say goodbye to 2020 and usher in 2021 on Thursday, December 31st starting at 8pm ET. At 12:30am ET, they will hand over to CNN's Brooke Baldwin and Don Lemon, who will continue the celebration as the Central Time Zone rings in the New Year. CNN encourages all to watch from the safety of their own homes, as there is no public audience for this in Times Square. CNN performances and appearances will include John Mayer, Snoop Dogg, Patti LaBelle, Jimmy Buffett, Carole Baskin, Josh Groban, Leslie Jordan, Dulce Sloan, Desus & Mero, Kylie Minogue, Aloe Blacc, Goo Goo Dolls and Jon Bon Jovi.
FOX'S NEW YEAR'S EVE TOAST & ROAST 2021
When/Where: 8pm ET on FOX
Ken Jeong and Joel McHale are teaming up to "Toast & Roast" ALL THAT was 2020 during the most anticipated New Year's Eve of all time! Ken Jeong, from FOX's THE MASKED SINGER, I CAN SEE YOUR VOICE and THE MASKED DANCER, and comedian and actor Joel McHale kiss 2020 goodbye as they co-host FOX'S NEW YEAR'S EVE TOAST & ROAST 2021. Jeong and McHale will commemorate the past year from coast-to-coast with a live, three-and-a-half-hour "Toast & Roast" to 2020.
Metropolitan Opera New Year's Eve Gala
When/Where: 4pm EST (and on demand for 14 days) on the Met's website
Featuring performances by Met stars Angel Blue, Javier Camarena, Matthew Polenzani, and Pretty Yende, from the Parktheater, a stunning example of neo-Baroque architecture situated in Augsburg, Germany. The New Year's Eve Gala program will include arias, duets, and ensembles from Donizetti to Puccini, as well as arrangements of operetta and Neapolitan songs. The ornate Parktheater, a marvel of glass and cast-iron, opened in 1886 and was designed to evoke the English pleasure gardens of the 18th and 19th centuries. The gala will be shot with multiple cameras, linked by satellite to a control room in New York City, where host Christine Goerke will be situated. Gary Halvorson, the Met's award-winning director of the company's Live in HD cinema transmissions, will direct.
The Best of Pajama Cast Party
When/Where: On Demand at https://events.broadwayworld.com
The upcoming New Year will be rung in differently than any we've celebrated in the past. In lieu of friends, family and festivities, celebrations will be limited to those in our own households. But just because it's a different kind of holiday doesn't mean we can't dress up, pour some bubbly, and surround ourselves with some of the most talented and entertaining people! Jim Caruso, host of the virtual variety show "Pajama Cast Party," has selected clips from his weekly show, which has been keeping homebound audiences entertained since March. During those thirty-seven episodes, the show has celebrated hundreds of folks from the Broadway, jazz and cabaret worlds. This "Best of Pajama Cast Party" will feature memorable performances by Broadway stars Ariana DeBose, Laura Osnes, Charl Brown, Sierra Boggess, Kate Baldwin, Telly Leung, Diana DeGarmo, Ace Young, Tony Yazbeck, country star Pam Tillis, and jazz and cabaret legends Michael Feinstein, Debbie Wileman, Gunhild Carling, Josh Bouwer, Naiika Sings and YouTube superstar Colleen Ballinger. The show will be produced by Ruby Locknar, who will also cohost.
SPEAKEASY ON DEMAND
When/Where: 7pm and 9pm ET at https://www.speakeasyondemand.com
Broadway On Demand will present their inaugural New Year's Eve Celebration offering, Speakeasy on Demand, the first-of-its-kind at-home virtual theatrical party experience. In addition to the virtual performance, Speakeasy on Demand will deliver ten finely crafted cocktails right to your door to be enjoyed while watching this electrifying new theatrical performance featuring a diverse roster of the world's hottest burlesque, cirque, and stage stars, including Autumn Miller, Big Will Simmons, Miss Miranda, Hazel Honeysuckle, Dan Sperry, Christian Stoinev and Scooby, Mike Peele, Ivan "Flipz" Velez, Dushaun Thompson, DJ Brynn Taylor, and many more.
A CHRISTMAS CAROL, starring Jefferson Mays
When/Where: On Demand at www.achristmascarollive.com
Experience A Christmas Carol unlike any other - past, present or future. The timeless tale of Ebenezer Scrooge comes to thrilling new life as Jefferson Mays plays over 50 roles in a virtuosic, master class of a performance that must be seen to be believed. This theatrical achievement comes from the haunting vision of one of Broadway's most imaginative directors, Michael Arden. Staged exclusively for this film and captured live with breathtaking clarity, this must-watch streaming event conjures the powerful spirits of Christmas and brings all the magic of live theatre home for the holidays.
Irish Repertory Theatre's Meet Me in St. Louis
When/Where: 3pm at https://irishrep.org
In this heartwarming holiday musical, based on the beloved 1944 film of the same name, the Smith family grapples with life changes and new love in a bustling St. Louis on the brink of the 1904 World's Fair. This special digital adaptation from Charlotte Moore will include favorite tunes, including "The Trolley Song," "The Boy Next Door" and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," along with the romantic suitors, comedic misunderstandings and jovial pranks that make this classic musical a holiday treat for families of all ages, no matter where you're celebrating this year.
BroadwayWord Events On Demand
Where: https://events.broadwayworld.com
Watch performances from Radio Free Birdland, 54 Below Premieres, The Space and other exclusive programming from performers like Betsy Wolfe, Christine Pedi, Norm Lewis, Broadway Princess Party and more!
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