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Live Theatre / Musicals

The past repeats. A&E cable tv, when it started, actually had a lot of Broadway shows & plays. Sadly, like many cable channels (History, Travel, Home & Garden, etc. ), they have
nearly completely strayed from their original concept.
 
I DO wish it was more normal for Broadway shows to be released in this format, especially after their Broadway run and national tours.

I'd love to see shows I missed because the Broadway run was so short and couldn't make it to NY in time, like King Kong, or some of my personal favorites, like The Addams Family, Beetlejuice, etc.
 
Watching a filmed recording is absolutely nothing like experiencing theater in person, but it's hard for me to argue that shows like this going onto Netflix and Disney+ is a bad thing. They will be seen more on streaming services more in a few days than an entire broadway run ever could expose people to. I hope Broadway bounces back, but things like this going to streaming services is actually a great thing for the exposure and access to live theatre.
Hamilton was filmed so well I honestly that I was in the theatre, and I actually had been to that one before! But also, everyone needs to understand the filming/cinematopgraphy aspect of the Hamilton recording is not how it will be for all of these. Not that they will be bad, but Hamilton is SO the peak. Not just because of the show itself either so this isn't just pure Hamilton love, the cinematography was incredible. Some pro-shots can be rough tho, with too many cuts that make it feel less and less real like a theatre show should. Im excited for more of these.

I think some straight plays need to do this too, they actually translate better than musicals do on screen imo.
 
I DO wish it was more normal for Broadway shows to be released in this format, especially after their Broadway run and national tours.

I'd love to see shows I missed because the Broadway run was so short and couldn't make it to NY in time, like King Kong, or some of my personal favorites, like The Addams Family, Beetlejuice, etc.
I shamelessly LOVE the Four Seasons and it makes me feel like I'm a kid with my parents/grandparents every time I listen, and the movie was garbage so,
GIMME JERSEY BOYS.
 
As much as I love Broadway, I'm all for letting more people experience these shows. Anyone saying that Broadway should stay in the same 4 block wide, $100+ ticket bubble it's been decaying in is just gatekeeping imo.
 
Id imagine producers make a little $$ off this too, probably sadly the cast doesn't and I'm sure the crew doesn't, at least not a substantial amount.

But, from a producing perspective, I'd look into this because most Broadway shows never make a profit anyways, may as well send your show over here! Jeremy O'Harris NEEDS to release Slave Play somewhere if it was filmed. Show America needs.
 
The biggest issue is going to be this: Live theater NEEDS a live audience to establish its rhythm. And not just applause after a number, but jokes and energy thrive off a give and take between the stage and the house. A lot of times, lines and moments that actors think will land one way land in a completely different way in a crowd. Because this being filmed before an audience has even seen the show, that pacing is going to be a mess.
 
A few times a year, PBS will have a broadway type play filmed on stage from NYC or London. Generally they air on Friday evenings. Watch the TV listings.
 
The biggest issue is going to be this: Live theater NEEDS a live audience to establish its rhythm. And not just applause after a number, but jokes and energy thrive off a give and take between the stage and the house. A lot of times, lines and moments that actors think will land one way land in a completely different way in a crowd. Because this being filmed before an audience has even seen the show, that pacing is going to be a mess.

I agree for the most part. I will say that I saw a valid comment elsewhere mentioning that older recordings such as the OG Cats and Passion both had great receptions despite being filmed without audiences.

I haven't really read any reviews on the production's pre-Broadway run, so I have no clue what to expect tone-wise from this, but I am glad that someone is at least taking the chance. I'm fine with a less desirable property (for my taste) being a test dummy for this kind of release. I don't think there's much to lose from this. I'd be far more concerned if it was something like Beetlejuice that relies heavily on humor and crowd laughter.

On a completely unrelated note, I was recently informed about a production of "Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet Of 1812" coming to Orlando in Spring 2021 (assuming it'll get delayed, but I digress) and I'm beyond excited to get another chance to see this show in person.

 
On a completely unrelated note, I was recently informed about a production of "Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet Of 1812" coming to Orlando in Spring 2021 (assuming it'll get delayed, but I digress) and I'm beyond excited to get another chance to see this show in person.

I interviewed the director or Great Comet in Orlando, they are making plans for a socially distanced audience (but of course anything could happen before then...)
 
So happy this thread was finally created!

Big musical/live theater fan here, and am fortunate enough to be involved in my local scene too!

Some of my absolute favorites that I've been fortunate enough to see live include:
- Phantom (6 times, but never on Broadway. Say what you want about it being too commercialized, but I still get chills when the overture hits! It was the first musical I ever saw, and first musical recording I ever heard)
- Hadestown (this one was special to me, as I had been following it for years prior to it making it to Broadway, and then watched it finally get the recognition it deserved just as I was being diagnosed with cancer last year. My friend was over one day keeping me company while I was in recovery, and I introduced her to the soundtrack, and she fell in love. Fast forward 6 months and we both got to see it on Broadway with the original cast, me in full remission!)
- HP and the Cursed Child (The plot is basically a semi-competent Wattpad fan-fic, but good gravy the stage craft left my jaw on the FLOOR)
- Six (at the ART in Boston right before the Broadway transfer)
- Jagged Little Pill (In previews back in December)
- Sweeney Todd (have seen a few productions, but the immersive Pie Shop production in NYC a few years ago was unrivaled. Sondheim's greatest work [I said what I said, fight me], and in my opinion one of the most perfect works of theater ever)

To this day one of my absolute favorite theater experiences was getting to see Natasha Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 about a week before it closed. I was devastated I wouldn't get a chance to see it again, and the circumstances surrounding it closing are just such a bummer. I am SO looking forward to seeing some local theaters get the courage to step WAY outside their comfort zones and mount this, especially with the creative ways they could go about it!

Underrated shows:
- Chess (SUCH amazing music, but the book is a mess. The concert version with Adina Menzel and Josh Groban stands as the benchmark for this show, though, and to me is the definitive way the show should be performed)
- Big Fish (Actually saw this the night before it closed. The movie is my all time favorite, so there is some sentimental attachment there, but otherwise a criminally underrated show in my opinion)
- Natasha Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 (as stated above, closed WAY before its time. The people who are fans are MEGA fans, the rest of the populous couldn't care less)
- Curtains (The show kind of came and went with no fanfare, but is an awesome ensemble piece! Not to mention so much fun!)

Some of my favorite roles that I've been lucky enough to play (in my opinion solely by being: male, relatively young, and able to hold a semblance of a pitch, haha):
- Billy Flynn (Chicago)
- Officer Lockstock (Urinetown, another criminally underrated show)
- The Emcee (Cabaret; This was actually my second show after a 13 year hiatus from acting [7th grade on], and I was cast as Herman, then our lead broke his back 3 weeks before the show, so I had to learn to get reaaaal comfortable in nothing but leather briefs reaaaaal quick)
- Jason (Ordinary Days, yet another show practically no one has heard of, and yet resonates with me so emotionally)

I was also so grateful to get to be the specialty costume designer for Beauty and the Beast literally RIGHT before this whole pandemic started, and got to put my cosplay skills to work!

I will now conclude the Great American Novel, lol
 
On a completely unrelated note, I was recently informed about a production of "Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet Of 1812" coming to Orlando in Spring 2021 (assuming it'll get delayed, but I digress) and I'm beyond excited to get another chance to see this show in person.

Literally just posted my response before seeing this. I was fortunate to catch it very late in its run, and it will haunt me to the grave I never got to see it more than once!
 
Crap. I need to throw this in my favs not seen. The soundtrack friggin’ slaps in the best way. “Don’t Lose Your Head” is such a killer song. Really bummed its Broadway run is delayed.

I have to say, it didn't quite "click" for me until I finally saw it either. I knew the costumes were stunning, but I literally listened to the soundtrack for the first time the day of the show and sort of went in blind.

To top it off, I got majorly discounted seats because I went with friends but sat alone, and though I had bought 3rd row from the back...turns out it was 3rd row from the front, lol

There is such amazing character work on display, you really get a distinct sense of each of their personalities, and not to mention they're literally all on stage the entire time, talk about stamina!

Andrea Macasaet KILLS it, bringing those Avril Lavigne/Lilly Allen vibes to the max
 
Not the best source, but worth a mention:

NBC is planning to launch a splashy primetime Broadway special in October, Page Six has exclusively learned, in which casts from top Broadway shows will perform.

The network has reached out to all Broadway shows, we hear, to participate in the special so far. But theater insiders tell us there’s now backstage drama at some of the shows as producers scramble to participate, and their stars get ready for the big night.

 
Oh I'm so happy someone made this thread! I've been a theater geek since my middle school years, always fun to see other people who love it!

I'm gonna go a little bit stereotypical here and list Wicked first. Yes I agree it's a bit bubblegum, but it really does have heart and I love pretty much every song in it's soundtrack. It also helps that it's the first "real Broadway" musical I listened to the whole album for and managed to see pieces of online. Favorite song is probably No One Mourns the Wicked since it captures a semblance of the concept the novel really delved into.

I also love Sunday in the Park with George, it's a classic and a beautiful one at that. I made the mistake as a naive college freshmen of using Finishing the Hat for my audition to transfer to a four year college. Appreciation does not mean you possess the life experience required to perform that particular song, lesson learned :lol:

Heathers was an obsession in high school, really wished we had had the students in our little theater group and the kind of program needed to pull it off! Love the tone, love the songs, love the show! Beautiful is a brilliant song!

I see that everyone has kind of expressed some issues with this one but I do have to say Dear Evan Hansen spoke to me on some level - at least, some of the ideas behind it did. I get what people are saying about the awful behaviors the main character exhibited and the lack of consequences for them, and I agree that the show's plot addressed those poorly. But just to add my perspective as a young man with anxiety, a touch of depressive episodes, and on frequent occasions major self esteem issues, part of the point of the show to me was when you don't like yourself you make bad decisions that hurt other people. I think a 2 hour show tried to tell a very complex story involving some really difficult issues - Evan is a teenager in high school. Kids make stupid, hurtful mistakes at that age. The character should have had more consequences but I think the writing tried almost too hard to make us sympathetic toward him at the expense of creating depth for the character and the story at large.
Evan Hansen as he is written is not a likeable character. But people who say things like "I never let them see the worst of me - cause what if everyone saw. What if everyone knew - would they like what they saw? Or would they hate it too?" Are often unlikeable in that state of mind. That's not to justify the behavior exhibited and as someone who related to the character in that respect, there should have been a bigger plot point in Evan getting both therapeutic/psychiatric help.
TLDR - As someone who struggles with self esteem and anxiety, I appreciate the ideas behind Dear Evan Hansen while recognizing that the show has some major flaws.

Some of the shows I have been in -
Hairspray as Wilbur Turnblad, absolutely the most fun I've had on stage. This was my first musical and my first major role, and I could not have asked to have joined a better musical family when I performed it!

Rodger and Hammerstein's Cinderella as Prince Charming was my junior year musical and another absolute blast. This was my first leading role and it felt like a real recognition of how far my singing skills had come!

RENT was the first time I saw college kids who were serious about their craft and it was a really cool to see the amount of talent and dedication they all had to performing. I was an ensemble member and it was a great way to learn a lot of skills fast, helping out with all aspects of production and doing so in a matter of 4 weeks.

Glad to see lots of other theater peeps here!
 
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And I learned something.


Wasn't it Steinman who was working on some cracked-out musical version of 1989 Batman? I distinctly remember in one of my late nineties, post-widowed-depression Usenet trawls downloading a demo of a song he'd written called "Where Does He Get Those Wonderful Toys?"
 
Wasn't it Steinman who was working on some cracked-out musical version of 1989 Batman? I distinctly remember in one of my late nineties, post-widowed-depression Usenet trawls downloading a demo of a song he'd written called "Where Does He Get Those Wonderful Toys?"

Christ, I remember hearing this. They had Batman singing like Elton John about how Mommy and Daddy "left him there alone."
 
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