This week on the podcast, host Luisa Lyons chats with Marc Teitler and Tim Phillips, the composers of the smash-hit British musical The Grinning Man.

Filmed live at the Bristol Old Vic in 2016, The Grinning Man is a dark and visceral musical based on Victor Hugo's The Man Who Laughed. Topics include the development of the musical, Marc and Tim's initial resistance to releasing the archival footage, how the musical came to be filmed with motion capture, and more!

The Grinning Man is currently available to stream on demand from the Bristol Old Vic. More tickets and info here.

Follow Marc Teitler on Twitter, and Tim Phillips on Twitter. 

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While some of us are spending the pandemic baking bread, binging Netflix, and staring into the void afraid and half-hopeful that this will now be life as we know it, folks across the world are jumping online to make art, and specifically, musicals. The rapid turnaround of these musicals and, more importantly, their immense popularity, is leading folks in the theatre community to wonder if virtual development is the future of musical theatre making.

The most prominent musical flavoring much of the discussion is Ratatouille The Musical, the world’s first musical “created entirely over TikTok.” Based on the 2007 Disney animation about a Parisian rat who loves to cook, the musical had a very short gestation period. It began life in October 2020, when a TikTok user Emily Jacobsen posted a love ballad for Remy the Rat that went viral. In December 2020 Seaview Productions (who got a shoutout in the December newsletter for their promising new partnership with Sony Productions) negotiated with Disney to put on a virtual production of Ratatouille the Musical as a benefit for the Actors Fund.

Ratatouille the Musical aired on January 1st, 2021, and was only available to stream for 3 days, followed by a one-off encore screening a week later. The cast featured the talents of Wayne Brady, Tituss Burgess, Kevin Chamberlin, André de Shields, Andrew Barth Feldman, Adam Lambert, Priscilla Lopez, Ashley Park, and Mary Testa, under the direction of Six writer and director Lucy Moss. The music was recorded by the recently formed The Broadway Sinfonietta, an all-female identifying, majority women of color orchestral collective. The event was viewed by over 200,000 people, and raised $2million, the most successful fundraiser in Actors Fund history.

While yet to be performed on a physical stage, Ratatouille the Musical already has a huge global following, was put together in a month, and for a budget of $200,000. When you think of the years, and millions of dollars, it normally takes to mount a Broadway show, it’s no wonder theatre folks are excited.

Director Lucy Moss has stated “I hope it opens the doors and/or eyes of producers and the gatekeepers to democratize theater even further, and to show them that something of real merit can be created not in the “traditional” way.” Writing for Forbes, Lee Seymour believes virtual productions could help bolster Broadway’s return — “crowdsourced projects could provide a solution, or at least an augmentation, especially to cultivate younger fans.”

A new in-the-works musical starting to generate some heat is Bridgerton the Musical, based on the recently released original Netflix series, Bridgerton. Composed by Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear, early songs have gone viral, with “Burn For You” reaching over 4.5 million views. The hashtag #BridgertonTheMusical has attracted over 2.5million views. Receiving some attention from Netflix itself, Barlow has claimed “…the gatekeepers that be are kind of no longer in power. The people have the power, and that’s an exciting thing.”

Another new created-virtually musical, or series of musicals, garnering attention is Averno. Created by 21-year-old Morgan Smith, Averno is “is a transmedia universe — think the Marvel universe, but with musicals (and comics and novels and more) about witches.” Through collaboration with a diverse group of young artists, Averno has created “13 musicals, 4 novels, a TV Show, a podcast, a concept album, a webcomic musical, virtual reality, and more.” The universe exists across various websites and social media platforms including TikTok, Instagram, Spotify, and YouTube. Broadway Records, one of theatre’s leading record labels, recently released three Averno musicals as concept albums — “Over and Out,” “Willow,” and “Bittersummer.”
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What do you think? Will Ratatouille be served up on Broadway? Could Bridgerton The Musical sit alongside Bridgerton on Netflix? Will the Averno universe come to rival that of Marvel?

This week on the podcast host Luisa Lyons chats with Eliza Jackson, an Australian producer based in the UK whom The Stage recently listed as one of the Top 100 Theatre Makers of 2020. 
Topics including making the switch from acting to producing, the joys and challenges of producing virtual theatre content during the pandemic, paying artists during lockdown, the future of streaming, what it means to make theatre during this time, and Lambert Jackson Productions streams of The Last Five Years, Songs for A New World, [title of show], and the upcoming I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change. 

Australian born Eliza Jackson trained in Musical Theatre at the prestigious NIDA (National Institute of Dramatic Art) in Sydney. She moved to London in 2012 and since then, has worked in the theatre industry both on and off stage. 

In 2018, Lambert Jackson Productions was born and their first project was to take Eliza’s one-woman show to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. The show, The Voice Behind the Stars received 5-star reviews across the board and was then toured around Australia with much success. On her return, she took on the role of Creative Director of Lambert Jackson full time.

I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change will stream at select times between January 28-30, 2021. More info and tickets available from the London Coliseum. 

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This week on the podcast, I interview British director and producer Adam Lenson! We had a great time chatting about Merrily We Roll Along, what should we call filmed theatre, Signal Online, Alt+Right+Shift, making new work without a theatre, filming theatre without an audience, and more! 

Based in London, Adam Lenson is a director, producer, dramaturg, and musical theatre specialist. He was recently included in The Stage 100, a list recognizing theatremakers for their extraordinary achievements in 2020. He is the founder Signal and Signal Online, programs for incubating new musical theatre, Make Your Own Musicals which provides activity packs for children, and Theatrical Solutions which offers affordable solutions for theatrical livestreaming.

As a director, original works include WASTED (World Premiere, Southwark Playhouse), SUPERHERO (World Premiere, Southwark Playhouse), THE SORROWS OF SATAN (World Premiere, Tristan Bates Theatre), LOCK AND KEY (World Premiere, Vault Festival), THE LEFTOVERS (World Premiere, National Tour). Other works include THE RINK (Southwark Playhouse), THE STORM (Helios Collective/ENO),  35MM (The Other Palace), WHISPER HOUSE (The Other Palace), SONGS FOR A NEW WORLD (St James Theatre, 20th Anniversary Production), DISGRACED (English Theatre Frankfurt), DARK TOURISM (Park Theatre), GHOST (GSA), SEE WHAT I WANNA SEE  (Jermyn Street Theatre), REEL LIFE (Ustinov Theatre Bath and St James Studio), THE GOODBYE GIRL (Upstairs at the Gatehouse), WEST END RECAST (Duke of York’s Theatre, Phoenix Theatre), ORDINARY DAYS (Trafalgar Studios), LITTLE FISH and SATURN RETURNS (Finborough Theatre), COME FLY WITH ME (Salisbury Playhouse), THE DEAD GUY (English Theatre Frankfurt) and THE FAMILY (Old Vic US/UK Exchange, Public Theater, NY).

You can learn more about Adam at www.adamlenson.com and follow him on Instagram and Twitter.

Tickets to Public Domain, streaming live on Jan 15 and 16 2021, are available at Southwark Playhouse. ​

Two weeks ago in the post "Tickets, Please", we took a brief look at the new ways in which ticketing companies are attempting to reach theatre audiences as a result of the pandemic. Another solution to keep steering people back to the theatre is re-vamping the concept of the drive-in. Over the summer, drive-in theatres were popping up all over the place. 

Prague in the Czech Republic hosted a multi-genre drive-in theatre festival called Art Parking from May to through to June. The festival included live performance and cinema screenings, and was reportedly seen by 11,000 people. 

In September, Prima Theatre (who were featured on Episode 3 of the Filmed Live Musicals podcast) in Lancaster, Pennsylvania hosted a drive-in concert, Brave and Beautiful, featuring the music of all-female singers and singer-songwriters. Performed on the back of a 30-foot flatbed truck, the concert was also available for hire for neighborhood performances in Lancaster. 

Six, the smash hit West End musical about the wives of Henry VIII, had announced a drive-in tour taking place throughout the UK. The tour was unfortunately cancelled due to local restrictions, and I had hoped it would be a chance for a filmed live version to be released. Instead, the musical announced shortly after that it will now perform a limited 11-week engagement in the West End at the Lyric Theatre, commencing November 14th. The original London cast also reunited for a special pop concert that was streamed live on October 10. Give us the musical already! #SorryNotSorry. 

Kicking off at the end of September, Radial Park at Halletts Point Astoria Queens began “Broadway at the Drive-In”, a new drive-in cinema that includes live performances along with film screenings. New Yorkers without cars can rent picnic tables, which come with retro boom boxes. The first film on the calendar was Phantom of the Opera, filmed live not on Broadway but at Royal Albert Hall in London. The screening included in-person performances by Broadway performers Ali Ewoldt and Derrick Davis. 

Contract negotiations for filming live theatre often did not foresee digital content. Will they have room for the drive-in?

In episode of 4 of the Filmed Live Musicals podcast, host Luisa Lyons chats with dancer and performer, and former optical engineer, Lena Wolfe about virtual and augmented reality and how it can be used in theatre today. 

Lena Adele Wolfe is originally from Tucson, AZ and currently lives in NYC. She stayed in the sunny southwest city to graduate from The University of Arizona with a B.F.A in Dance and a B.S. in Optical Sciences and Engineering. Her performance credits include The Great American Dance Tour through eastern China with Art.If.Act Dance project, a yearly bout in Verlaine & McCann’s Through The Looking Glass: The Burlesque Alice and Wonderland, one performance wonder kicking off the holiday season with Saks Fifth Avenue: Theatre of Dreams and eye-high kicking Christmas in the Air at the Beau Rivage in Biloxi, MS. Before taking the plunge as a full time performing artist, Lena was an Optical Engineer on the display team for the original Microsoft HoloLens, the first consumer grade augmented reality device. She is currently investigating interactive media and digital performance spaces. Follow Lena on Instagram.

For info on Lena's favorite VR experience, check out Dear Angelica on Oculus Rift. 

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With the pandemic came a plethora of filmed live theatre content being released online. Many in the industry were genuinely surprised that audiences wanted to watch theatre on screen, and even pay for it! As discussed with Caroline Friedman - CEO of the new theatre streaming service Scenesaver - in this month’s podcast, we have been recording live theatre since the invention of the moving picture. 

Despite the fact that the first live broadcast of a musical took place in 1939, and even with the release of Hamilton last month, the theatre industry as a whole is still not savvy to the history, magic, and importance of filmed live theatre. In a recent interview for The TheaterMakers Studio, CEO and Editor-in-Chief of BroadwayWorld, claimed that “very little” has happened in the world of filmed live theatre despite decades of discussions. The nearly 200 musicals in the Filmed Live Musicals database heartily disagree! And that doesn’t even include the hundreds, possibly thousands, of operas, plays, ballets, and classical concerts that have been captured and enjoyed by literally millions of people around the world! 

After the release of Hamilton, Jon Kamen, CEO of RadicalMedia, reportedly claimed that with the filming of RENT: Live on Broadway in 2008, RadicalMedia had "developed the nomenclature and a whole style of filming it in a very cinematic fashion.” Again, the producers of Pacific Overtures (filmed live in 1976), Into the Woods (filmed in 1991), and the cinematographers for the Met Live in HD, founded in 2006, all might have something to say about that.
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We still have to answer questions of when to release films, and how to fairly pay the cast, crew, and creatives, but these should not be obstacles to documenting theatre. Filming live theatre provides access to theatre for people who may not be able to see a production due to geography, cost, or disability. It is an incredible educational tool, not just for students, but for historians, industry folks, and the wider public. Digital technology has made captures easier, more dynamic, and more watchable than ever. 

All of this is why I started Filmed Live Musicals. As a place to catalog the musicals that have been legally captured for the screen and publicly distributed, to provide a space for people to find that content, and to show the historic value of filmed live musicals. Ultimately, it is a way to capture ephemeral moments in time so that we may enjoy them, learn from them, and remember the musicals, even when the bodies inside the now-disintegrated costumes have turned to dust.

The research also shows that audiences can have strong emotional reactions to live theatre on screen. During real-time live broadcasts, audiences have reported feeling a part of the live experience, despite not being physically in the theatre.

Shakespeare scholar Erin Sullivan reiterates this in the newly published Shakespeare and the ‘Live’ Theatre Broadcast Experience, adding that audiences do not even need to be viewing a broadcast in real time in order to be moved by theatre on screen. Watching a live performance on screen, even years after the performance has taken place can still generate an emotional response. Sullivan also discusses how social media has allowed audiences to engage with content in a new way, making “spectatorship visible in a way that has not been previously possible.”

The internet is not only creating new ways of interacting with theatre, recent reports suggest that streamed theatre attracts a younger, and a more culturally, and economically, diverse audience. As columnist Christopher Zara has noted, “streaming media [makes] Broadway more accessible,… ultimately preserving it for the next generation.”

And what about the room where it happens? Is theatre on screen negatively affecting ticket sales in the theatre? The Audience Agency, a British charity aiming to help arts organizations use national data to understand audiences, recently found that there was “a small net increase in arts attendance in areas where there had been a screening.” In an earlier blog post, I took a look at how Broadway ticket sales are affected by filmed live theatre and found that ticket sales were not negatively affected.

In an article comparing the experience of watching Kenneth Brannaugh’s Romeo and Juliet on stage and screen, British theatre critic Peter Bradshaw noted “People watching a football match on TV as opposed to in the stadium can still have a great time – without worrying that it’s inauthentic, or that they have somehow made a wrong or disloyal choice.” While academics Bernadette Cochrane and Francer Bonner believe comparing live theatre to live sport on screen will reduce the “cultural capital” of theatre, the research is showing that live theatre on screen is a viable alternative to being in the room where it happens.

The magic of technology means we can experience theatre magic in a room thousands of miles from where the action is taking place. Will you be in the next room? ​

Musical lovers, we live in a whole new world. Not only can we stream filmed live musicals on demand, we can experience them in 360º.

Well, stand alone numbers, at least for now.

In the past few years, musical theatre producers have started filming production numbers in 360º and releasing them for free on YouTube. Although perhaps best experienced in VR, 360º captures are available to anyone through a regular screen or mobile device.

Let’s take a brief chronological tour of 360º musical theatre captures!

In October 2015, School of Rock released a first-of-its-kind promotional 360º video which attracted over 1 million views within 3 days. A month later, Disney released its own 360º video of the opening number from The Lion King, which was filmed in front of a live audience.

In the lead up to the 2016 Tony Awards, CBS released a 360º video of the Hamilton cast preparing for the ceremony.

In November 2016, The New York Times launched “The Daily 360,” a daily series of 360º videos as a way of providing readers with a “new way to experience” journalism. The series capitalized on the success of the newspaper’s 2015 launch of NYT VR, an app for viewing specially created VR content. Broadway themed videos have included rehearsal footage from Cirque du Soleil’s Broadway show Paramour, the chance to descend in Glinda’s bubble from Wicked, and “last looks” at Amelie and Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812.

Never afraid to use new technology to promote his shows, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera released a video of the Broadway cast experiencing scenes from the show in VR in August 2017.

In September 2017, Dear Evan Hansen released a 360º video celebrating fans of the show, though the video did not include footage from the musical. Carnegie Hall also jumped in on the 360º action with the release of “Cool” from a new production of West Side Story directed by Marin Alsop.

Since September 2017, NBC Nightly News has been releasing 360º clips from Broadway musicals including Come From Away, Anastasia, The Band’s Visit, School of Rock, Once on This Island, and Waitress.

To celebrate Wicked’s 10th anniversary in London in December 2017, TimeOut London released a 360º video featuring backstage footage from the Apollo Theatre.

In June 2018, Disney released another 360º video, this time featuring “Friend Like Me” from Aladdin. The video features bonus content activated by turning “over, sideways, and under” as you scroll around.

It might be a little while until we can experience 360º captures of full-length musicals, but in the meantime, let’s hope more more producers allow us to take virtual spins through musical worlds.

We live in exciting times. There are now multiple companies offering what is essentially Netflix for theatre. While we still can’t stream currently-running Broadway or West End shows, there is plenty of filmed live content out there for us to (legally) get our theatre fix! 

Here, in alphabetical order, are companies providing online streaming of filmed live musicals content. All subscription prices are in America dollars, except for Digital Theatre which is listed in British pounds. ​

Amazon
Search "live musicals" on AmazonPrime, and you can find many filmed live musical titles including Spongebob, Newsies, and RENT: Filmed Live on Broadway. 

Subscription Cost: Varies - some are included with an AmazonPrime subscription, some are available to rent or buy
Where to Watch: www.amazon.com

​BroadwayHD 
Founded in 2015 by Broadway producers Stewart F. Lane and Bonnie Comley, BroadwayHD aims to provide “the best of Broadway and beyond!” The service currently has over 50 filmed live musicals in the catalogue, with content from Broadway, off-Broadway, the West End, and regional American performances. Other content includes documentaries, plays, Cirque du Soleil, theatre in languages other than English, and concerts. Some titles can also be accessed through an Amazon Prime subscription. 

Subscription Cost: $8.99 per month or $99.99 for 1 year 
Free Trial: 7 days 
Where to Watch: www.broadwayhd.com

Cennariam 
Founded in 2014 by Brazilian producer Harry Fernandes, Cennariam offers “Performing arts from around the world in high definition for you to watch anytime, from anywhere.” The site currently has 10 musicals on offer, and claims to be adding new content every week. Titles include Dangerous Liasions, Debussy Alone on Stage, and Tanguera, the Argentine Musical. Most musicals are in languages other than English with subtitles. In addition to musical theatre, Cennariam offers circus, comedy, concerts, dance, documentary, drama, interviews, and opera. 

Subscription Cost: US$9.97 per month or $95.64 for 1 year 
Free Trial: 10 days 
Where to Watch: www.cennarium.com. Some productions are also available on Amazon Prime in the US. ​

Digital Theatre 
Founded in 2009 by British entrepreneurs Robert Delamere and Tom Shaw, Digital Theatre is a leader in providing on-demand theatre content. The site currently has 5 filmed live musicals, including the Regent’s Park Open Air production of Into the Wood, two in-development Perfect Pitch productions, and a new musical, Pieces of String. Other theatre content includes productions from the RSC, and Stage Russia, and content from the West End and across the United Kingdom.

Subscription Cost: £9.99 a month, or rent individual productions for £7.99 
Free Trial Offer: not available 
Where to Watch: www.digitaltheatre.com ​

Kanopy
Founded in 2007 by Australian entrepreneur Olivia Humphrey, Kanopy partners with universities and public libraries to provide free movie streaming. There are over 30 movie musicals currently available through the site, though no filmed live musicals. In addition to a wide range of cinema titles (including 400 titles from the Criterion Collection), there is plenty of theatre content, including Shakespeare, Chekhov, and productions from Stage Russia. 

Subscription Cost: free with a library card
Free Trial: n/a 
Where to Watch: www.kanopy.com  (To find theatre content, go to Browse: The Arts: Performing Arts: Theatre Performance) ​

Stage 
Founded by Rich Affannato, Stage offers a range of theatrical content in the form of original series, interviews, and documentaries. 

Subscription Cost: $47.88 annual subscription, or $4.99 per month. Use code GETWELLSOON for 50% off (valid until Broadway re-opens!). 
Free Trial: 7 day trial
Where to Watch: www.watchstage.com/ ​

If you’re a student, check if your institution has access to the platforms below to gain access to more streamable theatre content!

Alexander Street
A plethora of resources from around the world including scripts, performance videos, and design archives. The site also provides access to some BroadwayHD content.

Digital Theatre + 
Digital Theatre for educational institutions includes lesson planning and behind-the-scenes content and interviews. ​

Know of other (legal) streaming sites? Let me know in the comments, on Twitter, or on Facebook!