Command performances at a theater near you

Leave your opera glasses behind and grab some popcorn. Spectacular theater experiences from as near as Manhattan to as far as London’s West End are coming to a theater near you.

In the next few weeks alone, Long Islanders will have the chance to take in stage productions broadcast from across the pond including Rodgers and Hammerstein’s "The King and I," William Shakespeare’s "Antony and Cleopatra" and Alan Bennett’s "The Madness of George III." If opera's your thing, "The Met: Live" series will present performances of Julie Taymor’s dazzling take on Mozart’s "The Magic Flute" and a new production of Giuseppe Verdi’s "La Traviata."

Stage-to-screen performances regularly attract Alice and David Sprintzen of Syosset to the Cinema Arts Centre in Huntington, where the couple recently saw a National Theatre Live production of Bennett’s "Allelujah!" broadcast from London.

Alice, a retired Oyster Bay High School art teacher, said she often chats with other theatergoers during intermissions.  “We meet people here all the time — it’s a social experience,” she said.

Audiences ranging from 50 to 200 people have been attending live broadcasts by The Met Opera and The National Theatre of London for the last decade at Guild Hall in East Hampton. This past summer its John Drew Theatre was updated with a new Dolby sound system to improve telecast quality.

“This is top-notch theatre at the highest level of direction, acting and design, that our East Hampton audience would really have very little access to if it weren’t for our screenings,” says the theatre’s artistic director Josh Gladstone.  

Here are upcoming stage-to-screen broadcasts spanning Westbury to the Hamptons.

The King And I: From The London Palladium

WHEN | WHERE 7 p.m., Nov. 29 and Dec. 4, Regal Deer Park Stadium 16, UA Westbury Stadium, Farmingdale Multiplex, UA Farmingdale Stadium 10 and Island 16 Cinema de Lux, Holtsville

INFO $15; regmovies.com, showcasecinemas.com

The classic musical about an Englishwoman hired to teach the king of Siam's brood of children was recorded live at London’s Palladium Theatre, where it transferred in 2016 after a Tony-winning run at Lincoln Center's Vivian Beaumont Theatre. Ken Watanabe and Kelli O'Hara play the title roles and the memorable score features standards including "I Whistle a Happy Tune," "Getting to Know You" and "Shall We Dance?"

The Met: Live in HD — Mozart’s The Magic Flute

WHEN | WHERE 12:55 p.m., Dec. 1, Regal Westbury 12, Farmingdale Multiplex Cinemas

INFO $17-$26; fathomevents.com

Julie Taymor’s staging of the fairy tale set in a mythical land between the sun and the moon has become a holiday perennial at the Met. This English-language production features puppetry and, of course, Mozart’s delicious score.

National Theatre Live: Antony & Cleopatra

WHEN | WHERE 7 p.m., Dec. 6, Farmingdale Multiplex Cinemas, Westbury Stadium 12; 7 p.m., Dec. 11, Cinema Arts Centre, 423 Park Ave., Huntington

INFO $18-$25; 631-423-7611

Shakespeare’s play about one of the world’s great love affairs is being broadcast live from London’s National Theatre. Ralph Fiennes and Sophie Okonedo, a Tony winner for Broadway’s 2014 “A Raisin in the Sun,” emote — and die dramatically — in the title roles.

National Theatre Live Screening: The Madness of George III

WHEN | WHERE  7 p.m. Tuesday, Cinema Arts Centre and 7 p.m. Dec. 14, John Drew Theater at Guild Hall, 158 Main St., East Hampton

INFO (Guild Hall) $18, 631-324-0806, guildhall.org; (Cinema Arts Centre), $25, 631-423-7611, cinemaartscentre.org

The mental illness and court disarray suffered by King George III in the latter half of his reign is dramatized in this new production of Bennett’s 1991 play. The cast includes Mark Gatiss, aka Tycho Nestoris on "Game of Thrones."

The Met: Live in HD: Verdi’s La Traviata

WHEN | WHERE 1 p.m., Dec. 15, John Drew Theater at Guild Hall and 12:55 p.m. Dec. 15 and 19, Regal Westbury 12 and Farmingdale Multiplex Cinemas

INFO (Guild Hall) $15-$22; 631-324-0806, guildhall.org; (Westbury and Farmingdale) $17-$26, fathomevents.com

Let’s drink from the joyful cups again, as La Traviata’s most famous melody recommends. The Metropolitan Opera’s new production of Giuseppe Verdi’s opera, about a dying courtesan who finds true love, features a dazzling 18th century setting that changes with seasons.