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Measure in Love

12/28/2020

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So, 2020, huh?! It has been a tumultuous, painful, bizarre year with so much loss, grief, and uncertainty. But on the other side of darkness, there is light. And if one good thing has come out of the pandemic, it’s that filmed live theatre content is more available than ever. From Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Shows Must Go Online, The National Theatre and Met Opera’s weekly streams, Disney+ releasing Hamilton, to smaller independent theatres like Southwark Playhouse, Wise Children, or Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe releasing previously filmed content, and creating new musicals to stream.
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This year I launched the Filmed Live Musicals podcast. I chatted with director and writer Al Monaco, Tony nominee Brenda Braxton, the founder of Scenesaver Caroline Friedman, the executive director of Sarasota’s Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe Julie Leach, dancer and engineer Lena Wolfe, actor and puppeteer David Colston Corris, actor and producer Kimberly Faye Greenberg, academic Kelly Kessler, dancer and associate choreographer Barry Busby, collector Robert Sokol, and the award-winning composer Paul Gordon! The Filmed Live Musicals podcast is available for download wherever you listen to podcasts, and transcripts are available for each episode.

The Filmed Live Musicals database currently has information on nearly 200 musicals. The list I’m currently working on has almost twice that! And that’s not even including musicals that have been filmed without an audience, or the new genre of “zoomsicals”, musicals performed over Zoom.

In 2021, I’m looking forward to continuing to grow the site, learning about new filmed live musicals, and spotlighting artists from all around the world who make them happen.
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My Favorite Things (2020)

To close out 2020, here's a list (in no particular order) of my favorite filmed live musicals released this year! 
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Wise Children 
Based on Angela Carter’s novel of the same name Wise Children tells the epic story of show biz twins Dora and Nora Chance. Produced by Emma Rice’s new company Wise Children and filmed live at the York Theatre Royal in March, 2019. It was briefly available online via the Bristol Old Vic and BBC iPlayer.

​Why I loved it: Whimsical, joyful, and heart-breaking story-telling, cross-gender and cross-racial casting.
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Your Arms Too Short to Box with God 
Based on the Book of Matthew, Vinnette Carroll’s soaring celebration in song and dance of the story of Jesus. Produced by Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe, and filmed live in 2020. Not currently available to view — although WBTT Executive Director Julie Leach mentioned on the podcast that it might be available again at Easter!

Why I loved it: Glorious music with outstanding performances. Even though the film was not super high quality, it beautifully captured the energy and joyousness of the performance.
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Passion Project in Concert
A song cycle about twelve unsung women from history who sing to their great loves: the object of their careers. An aviator sings to her airplane, an acrobat to her tightrope, an astronomer to her comet. Filmed live in 2019 at The Green Room 42. Available on Facebook.

​Why I loved it: A show about women and history, I’m sold! Written and produced by an all-female-identifying team. Great music with solid performances.
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Wasted
A “rocumentary,” or documentary rock musical, about the Brontë family. Filmed live at Southwark Playhouse in 2018. Not currently available to view.

Why I loved it: I’m a sucker for historical musicals re-told with rock music. The film did a great job of capturing the raw and gutsy energy of the show.
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Fabulous Fanny Brice
A one-woman musical about the life of Fanny Brice. Written and performed by Kimberly Faye Greenberg. Available to stream on select dates via Stellar.

​Why I loved it: KimberIy Faye Greenberg is a hoot (I even got to interview her on the podcast)! I learnt new things about Fanny Brice, and her songbook has some of the best songs of the 20th century!
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Only the Brave
Based on true stories, Only the Brave follows Captain John Howard and Lieutenant Denholm Brotheridge, and their wives Joy and Maggie, as the soldiers prepare for the D-Day landings. Filmed live at the Wales Millennium Centre in 2016. Available on Vimeo.

Why I loved it: A moving portrayal of harrowing events from World War II.
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Pinocchio
Chichester Festival Theatre have streamed several excellent shows this year, and it seems unfair to pick just one! Pinocchio is a new adaptation of the classic children’s book by Anna Ledwich, with music by Tom Brady. Produced by Chichester Festival Youth Theatre and performed and streamed live in December 2020. Not currently available to view.

​Why I loved it: Gorgeous staging, inventive, playful, and performed by an outrageously talented cast of young performers. The show itself was delightful, but made even more impressive by the fact that it was rehearsed and performed with a cast of over 50 kids during the pandemic with social distancing!
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Count Orlov
The Moscow Operetta Theatre’s epic musical set in 18th century Russia, telling the story of Count Orlov and his love affair with Elizabeth, who claims to be rightful heir to the Russian throne.

​Why I loved it: The COSTUMES. The EMOTIONS. The POWER BALLADS. Truly, it was so pretty to look at.
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Hamilton
The Broadway smash hit about Founding Father Alexander Hamilton. Told through a blend of hip-hop, musical theatre, and featuring a racially diverse cast. Filmed live at the Richard Rodgers Theatre in 2016.

​Why I loved it: One of the biggest Broadway musicals of the 21st century captured live with most of the original cast and streamed on a platform available at an affordable price across the planet?! What's not to love?! 
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Beardo
An early musical by Dave Malloy (Great Comet, Octet) about the life of Rasputin. Filmed live for archival purposes in 2011 at Ashby Stage.

​Why I loved it: Much like Rasputin himself, the musical was dark, creepy, and disturbing. Even though it was filmed with one camera at the back of a black box theatre, it was so great to be able to see this little gem.
Filmed Live Without an Audience 
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Papi Piernas Largas
Spanish language production of Daddy Long Legs filmed live in Mexico City. Not currently available to view.

​Why I loved it: Daddy Long Legs is one of my favorite musicals, and the chance to see it in Spanish was wonderful.
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Fiver
A new musical about the life of a £5 note as it is passed through the hands and pockets of people in London. Presented in concert by Southwark Playhouse. Not currently available to view.

Why I loved it: The energy of the cast was palpable. Great score, with some killer vocals.
Zoomsicals (musicals performed online/virtually)
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Who’s Your Baghdaddy?
Australian virtual production of the off-Broadway satirical musical about a support group for the people who started the Iraq War. Available to stream via Curveball Creative and BroadwayHD.

Why I loved it: Hands down one of the best zoom-musicals made in 2020. A technical and artistic feat with an incredible cast.
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Into the Woods by Deaf Broadway
A split-screen stream of the original Broadway production of Into the Woods, with actors performing in American Sign Language (ASL). Not currently available to view.

Why I loved it: Actors who can sign are incredibly watchable. The production was inventive, beautifully performed, and best of all, made a piece of iconic theatre more accessible to people in the Deaf community.
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Where Did We Sit on the Bus?
Not exactly a “musical,” but it had to go on the list. Produced by Actor’s Theatre of Louisville, this one person piece by Brian Quijada comprises spoken word, rap, and hip-hop to explore the experience of growing up in an immigrant family and finding identity in making art. Available to stream until May 31, 2021 via Actor’s Theatre of Louisville.

Why I loved it: Satya Chávez is phenomenal. The piece is a brilliant intersection of music, art, history, and commentary on American politics.
Bonus Play​​
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Emil!a
A play about Emilia Bassano, the woman who may have been Shakespeare’s muse. Filmed for archival purposes in the West End at the Vaudeville Theatre. Not currently available to view.

​Why I loved it: A historic woman of color reclaiming her voice through the centuries? Yes please! The play is visceral and moving, with gorgeous use of music on stage. Coupled with powerhouse performances, and you have a brilliant night of theatre. 
What did you see this year that you loved?
Let me know in the comments, or on Twitter and Facebook!

​Don’t want to miss upcoming streams?
​Sign-up for the weekly Filmed Live Musicals newsletter!

Thank you to patrons Josh Brandon, Rachel Esteban, Mercedes Esteban-Lyons, Al Monaco, Jesse Rabinowitz & Brenda Goodman, David & Katherine Rabinowitz, and Bec Twist, for financially supporting Filmed Live Musicals.

No matter what level you pledge, patrons receive early access to content, including the Filmed Live Musicals podcast! Become a patron today to support the site!

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Ep 12 - Robert Sokol

12/21/2020

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It's the final episode for 2020 of the Filmed Live Musicals podcast!

This week, I chat with writer, designer, and publisher Robert Sokol. We talk about Robert’s extensive cast recording collection, cast recordings in languages other than English, how changing the language affects a musical, the pros and cons of recordings going digital, Japanese takarazuka theatre, watching theatre online, and more!

Robert Sokol is a writer, designer, publisher, and producer. Credits include leadership roles with the San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle, the TBA Awards program, and the American Theatre Critics Association (ATCA), as well as concerts, conferences, and other events from New York to Los Angeles. Robert and his husband Ron Willis own VIA MEDIA, which provides playbill publishing and other creative services as BAYSTAGES. A Munich native, he has been collecting musical cast recordings for half a century and specializes in translations of Broadway and West End musicals. You can follow Robert on Facebook. 

Available wherever you listen to podcasts! If you like what you hear, make sure to subscribe, and rate and review us! 
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I Dreamed a Stream

12/14/2020

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When I wrote my Masters thesis on Filmed Live Musicals back in 2012, there was exactly ONE online platform dedicated to streaming musical theatre, the UK’s Digital Theatre. Over the past nine years, especially the past year, online streaming has boomed. There are now over a dozen streaming services providing filmed live theatre content including BroadwayHD, Broadway on Demand, Streaming Musicals and more! 

Two new platforms have launched in the past month, Stage2View and stream.theatre.

Stage2View is a new pay-per-view streaming service based in the UK. Launched in mid-November, the platform is aiming to provide live theatre and music content.

The platform was founded by Austin Shaw, Joshua Andrews, and Stuart Galbraith, a team with quite a bit of experience in filmed live musicals. Shaw also runs Stage2View Films, which co-produced the captures of The Phantom of the Opera, The King & I, 42nd Street and Kinky Boots. Andrews and Galbraith are the founders of Kilimanjaro, the UK’s leading music act promoters, who also Kilimanjaro Theatrical which co-produced An American in Paris. Their other other Broadway and West End credits include Pretty Woman, Noises Off, 9 to 5 The Musical, Hadestown, and Mrs Doubtfire.

The Stage2View catalogue currently only contains 9 titles (all of which are already available on BroadwayHD), however the catalogue is expected to grow once theatres re-open for business. Current titles include 42nd Street, Kinky Boots, From Here to Eternity: The Musical, An American in Paris, The Wind in the Willows: The Musical, Hetty Feather, Ruthless! The Musical, and The Toxic Avenger.

stream.theatre is the British division of Broadway on Demand. Launched in September 2020, the company aims to be provide an accessible platform for streaming theatre content. Current titles include NAMT’s 32nd Annual Festival of New Musicals, Falling Stars, The Last Five Years,  two concerts filmed live at St Paul’s Church A West End Christmas and We Need a Little Christmas, and E15 Jazz Sessions recorded live from Stratford Circus Arts Centre.

It’s not a platform (yet), but Sony have announced they now have a 50% ownership of Seaview, the theatre company behind the Broadway productions Slave Play and Sea Wall/A Life. Between the two companies, upcoming stage productions include Sing Street, a musical adaptation of the film that was scheduled to open on Broadway just after the shutdown, and Lempicka, a new musical directed by Rachel Chavkin about the life of artist Tamara de Lempicka. I have a pretty good feeling that Sony will be jumping into the streaming market before too long. 

What platforms are you using to watch filmed live theatre? Since the beginning of the pandemic, I've been keeping a running list of where to find streams. Visit Filmed Live Musicals to learn more. 
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Ep 11 - Paul Gordon

12/7/2020

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This week on the podcast, I chat Tony nominated composer Paul Gordon. 

Topics include Jane Eyre, Daddy Long Legs, how union rules impact artists, the differences between subscription and pay-per-view models, why filming musicals is important, and making theatre more accessible, sustainable, and fair.

Paul Gordon was nominated for a 2001 Tony Award for composing the music and lyrics to the musical Jane Eyre. He won the 2015 Jeff Award for Best New Work for his book, music and lyrics for Sense and Sensibility, commissioned by Chicago Shakespeare Theatre. His critically acclaimed stage musicals, EMMA and PRIDE AND PREJUDICE are available to stream on Amazon Prime. He is the recipient of the 2009 Ovation Award for his music and lyrics to Daddy Long Legs which has had productions all over the world, including Off-Broadway, where it was nominated for 2 Drama Desk Awards, an Off-Broadway Alliance Award and 3 Outer Critic Circle awards. Daddy Long Legs was also the first off-Broadway musical to be livestreamed. No One Called Ahead was filmed and released in June of 2019.  Knight’s Tale, written with John Caird, opened at the Imperial Theatre in Tokyo in 2018 while the concert version debuted in 2020 with the Tokyo Philharmonic. His other shows include: Being Earnest, Estella Scrooge: A Christmas Carol with a Twist, Analog and Vinyl, Stellar Atmospheres, The Front, Juliet and Romeo, Sleepy Hollow, The Circle and The Sportswriter. In his former life, Paul was a pop songwriter and wrote several number one hits.  

Learn more about Paul Gordon at www.paul-gordon.weebly.com/ and follow him on Twitter. 
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