With the introduction of sound on film, cinema underwent an identity crisis. What to call these new fan-dangled talking pictures? In 1928, film trade newspaper Exhibitors Herald and Moving Picture World led a campaign to try and come up with a new name. Common labels included “talkies,” “soundies,” “lispies,” “synchronized pictures,” and “audible pictures.” Suggestions ranged from “audien,” “cinelog,” and “dramaphone,” to “pictovox,” “viewvoice,” and, my personal favorite, “vivavox.” For the purposes of this site, I define a filmed live musical as a stage musical that has been legally captured and distributed to the public. The deeper question I would like to look at today is, what is the final product that is distributed? Is it theatre? Is it cinema? Filmed live musicals are distributed and advertised under different names, including “filmed live theatre,” “live cinema,” “transmission,” “HD transmission,” “cine-cast,” and “live capture.” Makers and distributors of filmed live theatre, including The National Theatre and Digital Theatre, describe filmed live theatre as a hybrid of theatre and cinema. “Filmed live” can be a confusing label. How do we distinguish between a musical that is broadcast live, and an encore screening of that live broadcast? Is it still “live” if the screening takes place months, or even years, after the actual event? I would love to find a new name for filmed live theatre that reflects this hybridity. Several studies show that audiences see attending filmed theatre at the cinema as an equally authentic way to experience live performance as going to the theatre. Recent studies also suggest that audiences have more emotional responses to filmed live theatre than they do in the actual theatre. As evidenced by the success of National Theatre Live, Met Opera Live, the growth of theatre streaming services like Digital Theatre, and BroadwayHD, and the persistence of bootlegs, audiences are craving filmed live theatre content. We need to clearly define filmed live theatre, and label it, to make it accessible and searchable. For now, “filmed live musicals” is the term I’m going with (hence the name of the site!), but I think it would be fun to come up with other terms that help filmed live musicals reach new audiences. What do you think? Share your suggestions on the Facebook page or on Twitter! Filmed Live Musicals is financially supported by the generosity of patrons
Mercedes Esteban-Lyons, Jesse Rabinowitz, and David and Katherine Rabinowitz. Become a patron today and support original research into filmed live musicals.
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What if I told you there was a place where you could legally access filmed live musicals for free? The answer will either make your eyes roll, or fill your heart with joy. It’s your local library. Libraries are treasure troves of information and resources. I have been an active member of 20 libraries in 4 different cities across 3 countries during my time on this planet. Libraries have allowed me to feed my potentially expensive habit of voracious reading and consumption of all things musical. Being a member of the New York Public Library is one of my greatest joys. Much of this very site has been researched, and written, from within the walls of the Performing Arts Library at Lincoln Center, and the many branches of the NYPL dotted across Manhattan. With my shiny red library card, I have access to countless books, recordings, databases, and expertise, all for free. In a world and time where seeing a live musical is often prohibitively expensive, I encourage you to visit your local library and see what they have on offer. There are currently 71 musicals in the database available on DVD. Check in at your local library to see if they have a copy, and if they don’t, see if you can request one. In my experience, libraries are accommodating to new requests, and chances are you are not the only person looking for the content. This post was written in celebration of the 60th anniversary of National Library Week in the United States. Producing this website is a labor of love that requires hours of time, and money to run the site and conduct research. If you enjoy what you find here, please consider becoming a Patron. You will be supporting research into filmed live musicals and allow me to continue growing the database.
In the final week of Women’s Month, let’s take a look at the producers. In an earlier post, I took a look at the representation of women in the production teams of filmed live musicals. After costume design, the area where women had the highest representation was producing. In the current database, a total of 53 women have produced 34 filmed live musicals. Many musicals credit companies rather than people as producers, so these numbers may actually be higher. Four of these women, Ellen M. Krass, Iris Merlis, Dione Orrom, and Bonnie Comley have been instrumental to bringing filmed live musicals to the world. Between them, these women have produced 19 filmed live musicals, which is 55% of all the musicals produced by women, and 15% of all the musicals currently in the database. Many of the musicals were Broadway or West End productions, and, in a fun tidbit related to last week’s post on Sondheim, nearly one-third of female produced musicals were written by Sondheim. Ellen M. Krass In a career spanning over 30 years, Ellen M. Krass has been instrumental in bringing theatre to film and television. Krass worked as an executive producer for RKO/Nederlander before forming her own company, EMK Productions. She has won 2 Emmy Awards, including the Outstanding Classical Music-Dance Program for Sweeney Todd in Concert in 2002 (shared with Iris Merlis and several others). Her filmed live musical credits include Sweeney Todd (1982 and 2001), Candide, Company, Gypsy, and She Loves Me. Krass also produced the 1985 concert production of Follies. Dione Orrom Dione Orrom has worked as a producer for film, opera, and live music concerts, with The English National Opera, Cirque du Soleil, The Three Tenors, Tina Turner, Elton John, and Cher among her many credits. Orrom has worked extensively in bringing live theatre to cinema and television. Her filmed live musical credits include the 25th anniversary productions of The Phantom of the Opera and Les Miserables, Billy Elliot, Miss Saigon, and The War of the Worlds. Iris Merlis Since graduating from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in 1961, New York native Iris Merlis has worked as a stage manager, production consultant, and producer for film, television, and theatre. With credits spanning the ABC, HBO, and PBS, Merlis has been instrumental in producing theatre for television and film. Her filmed live musical credits include Candide, Into the Woods, Sunday in the Park with George, Sweeney Todd. Along with Ellen M. Krass, and several other producers, Merlis won an Emmy for Sweeney Todd in Concert. Bonnie Comley Bonnie Comley has worked as an actor, and producer for film, television, and Broadway. Over the past 14 years, Bonnie Comley, along with her husband Stewart F. Lane, has produced over 20 Broadway shows, including A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, Bloody, Bloody Andrew Jackson, and Legally Blonde the Musical. In 2015, Comley and Lane launched BroadwayHD, a subscription-based streaming service for live theatre productions. The site features musicals such as Billy Elliot, Daddy Long Legs, Les Miserables, Jesus Christ Superstar, and most recently The Wind in the Willows. I hope women and girls see the work of these tremendous women and are inspired to become producers themselves. Producing this website is a labor of love that requires hours of time, and money to run the site and conduct research. If you enjoy what you find here, please consider becoming a Patron. You will be supporting research into filmed live musicals and allow me to continue growing the database.
Last week I was fortunate enough to attend the inaugural Women’s Day on Broadway. The day featured 5 panels covering various aspects of the representation of women on Broadway. I live-tweeted the day, and you can catch up here! Several panelists made reference to the fact that women purchase over 60% of Broadway tickets, yet make up only 17% of the creative teams on Broadway. With this in mind, I wanted to take a look at the representation of women in the production teams of filmed live musicals. I made a record of the production positions for each musical, including stage director, film director, producer (film only), book writer, composer (music/lyrics), choreographer, lighting design, sound design, scenic design, costume design, orchestrator, musical director, and stage manager. From this record, I made a list of all the women currently in the Filmed Live Musicals database. While the 124 filmed live musicals represent a tiny sample of all musical theatre offerings (and does not yet include musicals in languages other than English), it provides insight into the gender disparity in the industry as a whole. Over half, 75 of 124, filmed live musicals have at least 1 named woman in the production team. Not a single musical had an entirely female production team, and only one, Bad Girls, could claim half the production team was comprised of women. Comparing each production position, women were more likely to be the costume designer, producer, or choreographer.
It is worth noting that musicals with female producers also had the highest number of women in key creative positions.
Only 6 musicals (0.04%) had both producers and directors who are women, including Legally Blonde, Ernest Shackleton Loves Me, Merrily We Roll Along, When Hell Freezes Over I’ll Skate, Pippin, and Bad Girls. A tiny total of 10 filmed live musicals (0.08%) had a female stage director, and just 3 musicals (0.02%), had a female film director. Vinnette Carroll was the only female to serve as both film and stage director (for When Hell Freezes Over I’ll Skate). When it comes to writing the musicals, the representation of women is incredibly low.
The music of filmed live musicals is also lacking in female representation.
Representation of women in the design team is sorely lacking.
While over half of the filmed live musicals in the database have at least 1 female in a named production position, the above figures show that women do not have equal representation in the production teams.
Just a few days ago, on March 16, 2018, The League of Professional Theatre Women launched an initiative entitled #OneMoreConversation. The initiative aims to encourage theatre decision-makers to have “one more conversation” with a woman before finalizing hiring to try and bring more women in the process. While the number of women in the Filmed Live Musicals database reflects the low representation of women on Broadway, it is important to note that Broadway musicals only make up a small portion, 17%, of the musicals in the database. It will be interesting to see if the low representation of women changes as more musicals, and more musicals from a wider range of countries, are added to the database. Let's hope with the continuation of Women's Day on Broadway and #OneMoreConversation, we will see more women in musical theatre production teams, and more of those musicals being filmed live for a wider audience to enjoy. |
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