On episode 22 of the Filmed Live Musicals podcast, host Luisa Lyons chats with Susan Jamson, Press and PR Manager for the north London based inclusive theatre company Chickenshed.
Chickenshed is an inclusive theatre company that first began in 1974. Primarily based at their purpose-built venue in North London, they create theatre for all ages and run successful outreach projects, education courses and membership programmes throughout the year. As a result of lockdown, Chickenshed have made many of their past shows available for free online. In this moving chat, Susan shares some of the stories from her 30 years with Chickenshed, her experience of raising a child with down syndrome, how finding an inclusive theatre company changed her family's life, the origins of Chickenshed and how the company has grown over the years, how they adapted to lockdown, and the importance of filming theatre. Learn more about Chickenshed at www.chickenshed.org.uk and visit their YouTube channel to see some of their incredible work!
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This week host Luisa Lyons chats with Filipino-American artist Lourds Lane - book writer, composer, lyricist, arranger, and violin-playing co-star of the new rock musical SuperYou. The musical was scheduled to open off-Broadway in May 2020, but was postponed due to the pandemic. Instead, a concert version was performed on the back of pick-up trucks at a drive-in in upstate New York. The concert was filmed and is available to stream on Broadway on Demand!
We talk about how music inspires, how writing music for a touring rock band helped Lourds write a musical, the Medusa Festival, the intensely personal inspiration behind SuperYou, why the team defied industry malaise at the start of the pandemic and staged the drive-in concert, how the concert was filmed, and putting your work online. Learn more about Lourds Lane at www.lourdslane.com and SuperYou at www.superyoumusical.com. SuperYou is available to stream on demand until April 15, 2021 at Broadway on Demand.
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Thank you to the Filmed Live Musicals patrons Josh Brandon, Mercedes Esteban, Rachel Esteban, James Lane, David Negrin, Jesse Rabinowitz and Brenda Goodman, Al Monaco, David and Katherine Rabinowitz, and Bec Twist for your support.
Filmed Live Musicals is the most comprehensive online searchable database for musicals that have been filmed live on stage. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter. You can also support the site at Patreon. Patrons get early access to content, no matter how much you pledge. 
On episode 17 of the Filmed Live Musicals podcast, host Luisa Lyons chats with the Creative Director of HMDT Music, Tertia Sefton-Green.
We chat about HMDT Music's extraordinary children's theatre education program pre-pandemic, the fortuitous decision to downscale in 2019, and the new female-led musical Jina and the STEM Sisters. The musical is available to stream on demand worldwide until April 11. Book your tickets here! HMDT Music, twice winner of the prestigious Royal Philharmonic Society Award for Education and of the 2020 Excellence in Musical Theatre Award, is a leader in commissioning inspiring musical works embedding the arts across all areas of learning for young people. Key successes include: Trench Brothers commemorating ethnic minority soldiers in WW1; Shadowball ground-breaking baseball and jazz opera; Hear Our Voice international tour of a new work compiled from children’s Holocaust writings. HMDT runs an extensive Saturday Music Programme and arts-rehabilitation projects for young offenders. Their Creative Director Tertia Sefton-Green has created, commissioned, managed all their large-scale projects in addition to fundraising and writing some of the libretti. She also conducts their I Can Sing! music theatre programme. Learn more at www.hmdt.org.uk.
Thank you to the Filmed Live Musicals patrons Josh Brandon, Mercedes Esteban, Rachel Esteban, James Lane, David Negrin, Jesse Rabinowitz and Brenda Goodman, Al Monaco, David and Katherine Rabinowitz, and Bec Twist for your support.
Filmed Live Musicals is the most comprehensive online searchable database for musicals that have been filmed live on stage. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter. You can also support the site at Patreon. Patrons get early access to content, no matter how much you pledge. 
This week on the Filmed Live Musicals podcast, host Luisa Lyons chats with New York-based Australian director Benita de Wit.
We chat about creating pertinent work with college students during a pandemic, the LIU Post Sondheim cabaret One More Thing Not to Think About, what makes a good theatre capture, what makes theatre “live” and human, why a student production of Kiss Me, Kate stuck in Benita’s memory, the upcoming stream Alter/Ego and how Bowie is relevant to Gen Z, and what it means to theatricalize pop music. Benita de Wit is a New York-based Australian director of theatre and performance. They are the Associate Director for the international tour of “Bat Out of Hell” and have an MFA in Directing from Columbia University. Recent credits include “One More Thing Not To Think About” (Post Theatre Company), “The Laramie Project” (Pace University), “Slaughterhouse” by Anchuli Felicia King (Belvoir, 25A), “The Silence” (MIT, Associate Director), "The Moors" (Off Broadway, Assistant Director), "The Rape of The Sabine Women by Grace B Matthias". Benita is an Adjunct Professor at Pace University and an Associate Member of SDC. Learn more at www.benitadewit.com. Show Links One More Thing Not to Think About https://vimeo.com/jstudiosny/review/486420579/14dffcb021 Password: N3wSw!*LIU2020 The Laramie Project https://performingarts.pace.edu/current-season Alter/Ego https://www.facebook.com/liuposttheatrecompany/
Filmed Live Musicals is the most comprehensive online searchable database for musicals that have been filmed live on stage. Visit www.filmedlivemusicals.com to learn more. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter. You can also support the site at Patreon. Patrons get early access to content, no matter how much you pledge.
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. Available wherever you listen to podcasts! If you like what you hear, subscribe and leave a review!  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.  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.  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!
Filmed Live Without an Audience
Zoomsicals (musicals performed online/virtually)
Bonus Play
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! 
In this week's episode of the podcast, I chat with Kelly Kessler, Associate Professor of Cinema and Media Studies at DePaul University, about her new book Broadway in the Box: Television's Lasting Love Affair with the Musical.
We talk about Kelly's research, why television networks produce live musicals, the role of adverts, the first musicals on television, the first Broadway musical to air live on television (and who got to watch it), and why we should put musicals on television! Broadway in the Box: Television's Lasting Love Affair with the Musical is available at all major bookstores. About This Week's Guest Kelly Kessler is an Associate Professor of Cinema and Media Studies at DePaul University. Her work draws on three main areas: the American musical, the intersection of genre and gender, and the mainstreaming of lesbianism in American television and film. Her scholarship can be found in works such as Studies in Musical Theatre, The Journal of E-Media Studies, The Journal of Popular Music Studies, Television and New Media, Movies, Moves, and Music: The Sonic World of the Dance Film, Televising Queer Women: A Reader, and The New Queer Aesthetic on Television: Essays on Recent Programming. Kessler has published two books, including Destabilizing the Hollywood Musical: Music, Masculinity and Mayhem and Broadway in the Box: Television's Lasting Love Affair with the Musical.  Pride Month may be over, but that's no reason to stop celebrating, and definitely not a reason to stop advocating for LGBTQI rights and representation. While there is an ever-growing list of mainstream musicals where gay and lesbian characters are treated as more than the punchline, very few of these musicals have been filmed live and publicly released. Oh, how I wish Head Over Heels (which in 2018 featured the first openly transgender woman, Peppermint, originating a role on Broadway) and The Prom (telling the story of a group of Broadway actors who help a lesbian student bring her girlfriend to prom) had been filmed live during their Broadway runs. #MORELesbiansOnBroadway! In alphabetical order, here’s a look at some filmed live musicals with LGBTQ themes and central characters who identify as LGBTQ. Everybody’s Talking About Jamie Everybody’s Talking About Jamie tells the story of a gay teenager who lives in a Yorkshire council estate and dreams of becoming a drag queen. Composed by first-time theatre writers Dan Gillespie Sells (music) and Tom MacRae (book and lyrics), it was inspired by the 2011 BBC documentary Jamie: Drag Queen at 16. The musical opened on the West End in 2016. It was filmed live in 2018, and broadcast in cinemas throughout the UK and Ireland, and in the North America. A movie adaptation was due for release this year, but has been postponed due to COVID. I really hope they release the filmed live version, because it is GLORIOUS. Falsettos Adapted from earlier William Finn works, Falsettos tells the story of a dysfunctional but loving Jewish New York family in the late 1970s. Marvin leaves his family, wife Trina and young son Jason, when he falls in love with another man, Whizzer. Trina ends up with the family psychiatrist Mendel, and the “family” is completed by lesbian neighbors Dr. Charlotte and Cordelia. When Whizzer is diagnosed with AIDS, the whole family comes together. The musical first opened on Broadway to rave reviews at the Golden Theater in 1992. Lincoln Center staged a highly praised revival in 2016, which was filmed live in 2017 for Live from Lincoln Center and later broadcast in cinemas across North America. The musical was also broadcast on PBS, and is now available to stream on BroadwayHD. Fun Home Composed by Jeanine Tesori and Lisa Kron, and based on Alison Bechdel’s best-selling graphic novel of the same name, Fun Home is an intimate musical in which grown-up Alison looks back on her life in relation to her closeted father’s suicide shortly after she came out as a lesbian. After an award-winning run at the Public Theater in 2013, the musical transferred to Broadway where it played a the Circle in the Square Theatre and became the first musical to win a Tony Award for Best Original Score by an all-female writing team. Victory Gardens Theater in Chicago staged a production well-received production in 2017 which was recorded for archival purposes. In response to the COVID-19 shutdown, Victory Gardens Theater streamed the archival recording for a limited time in May. Kinky Boots Inspired by a true story, Kinky Boots tells the story of Charlie, who reverses the sinking fortunes of his family’s shoe business after meeting Lola, a drag queen in need of a sexy but sturdy shoe. With a score by Cyndi Lauper and book by Harvey Fierstein, the musical adaptation opened on Broadway in 2013 starring Billy Porter in the role of Lola. The West End production opened in 2015 and was later filmed live by BroadwayHD. It was aired in cinemas in 2019, and is now available to view on BroadwayHD. Pieces of String Pieces of String is an original musical set both in 1940 and the present day. When Jane returns to the family home after her father’s funeral to begin clearing out the house, she unfolds a devastating secret, the ramifications of which stretch across generations. Writer and composer Gus Gowland was inspired to create Pieces of String after seeing a BBC documentary that briefly mentioned gay relationships in the UK and USA during World War II, and modern day stories of gay men being unable to donate blood. Gowland sought to widen the scope for the way gay male characters are portrayed in musical theatre (a topic which he later explored in his PhD dissertation), and attempted to ensure women were also equally represented in the musical. Pieces of String premiered at the UK’s Mercury Theatre Colchester in 2019 where it was filmed live. The musical is currently available to rent on Digital Theatre. RENT A modern re-interpretation of Puccini’s La Boheme, RENT tells the story of a group of friends and artists living in the East Village in New York in the late 1980s. The musical features several gay characters, including Tom Collins, a college professor who is gay and HIV positive, Angel Dumott Schunard, a drumming drag queen who is also HIV positive, Maureen Johnson, a bisexual performance artist, and Joanne Jefferson a public interest lawyer and lesbian. Following a sold-out run at the New York Theatre Workshop, RENT transferred to Broadway in 1996 and went on to play 5123 performances before closing in September 2008. The final night of the original Broadway production was filmed live, and RENT: Filmed Live on Broadway is widely available on DVD, YouTube, Amazon, VUDU, and Google Play. Taboo Taboo the Musical is a love story set against the artistic backdrop of the New Romantic period in 1980s England, interweaving autobiographical elements from the lives of Australian-born performance artist Leigh Bowery, and unashamedly-out pop star Boy George. The musical opened on the West End in 2002, and despite lukewarm reviews, was a smash hit with audiences. The original London production was filmed in 2003 and is available on DVD (Region 2 only). Yank! YANK! tells the story of male soldiers falling in love, depicting the gay world that “thrived just beneath the surface of the US Army in the 1940s.” The musical was a hit of the NY Musical Theatre Festival in 2005, and had a successful off-Broadway run in 2010. Below 54th hosted a 10th anniversary concert earlier this year, and the video is currently available on YouTube. Extra content: These musicals are not specifically focused around LGBT storylines, but feature LGBT characters or themes. Bad Girls: The Musical Based on the award-winning British drama, the musical premiered in 2006 before transferring to the West End in 2007. It was filmed live during its West End run is now available to rent on Vimeo. Naked Boys Singing A revue-style musical, with, as the title suggests, a group of men singing in a state of undress. Although the musical was a long-running off-Broadway staple, the filmed live version was panned by critics. If watching a bunch of naked dudes singing about things that affect dudes is your thing, you can watch it on Amazon. The Rocky Horror Show The cult-phenomenon started life as a stage show in 1973 that was put together in just three weeks. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Royal Court Theatre in 2006, a special production of The Rocky Horror Tribute Show was staged featuring original cast members from stage and screen. The event was filmed live and is now widely available on DVD. A 40th anniversary gala production was staged at the Playhouse in London in 2015. and the event was livestreamed in cinemas across Europe and the UK. It was later briefly available in the USA on BBC America. The film has not yet been officially released. Victor/Victoria Starring Julie Andrews and based on the 1982 film of the same name, the musical tells the story of Victoria Grant, an out-of-work British soprano who unsuccessfully auditions for a jazz club in Paris. She befriends Toddy who convinces her to disguise herself as a man pretending to be a woman. Filmed live on Broadway for Japanese television in 1995 with the original cast, the musical is widely available on DVD and Blu-Ray. Bonus Audio Content Queer Music Heritage has an excellent list of musicals queer-centric musicals that received commercial cast recordings. Filmed Live Musicals is a labor of love that takes many hours of research and hundreds of dollars to run.
Thank you to patrons Mercedes Esteban-Lyons, Jesse Rabinowitz & Brenda Goodman, David & Katherine Rabinowitz, and Bec Twist, for financially supporting the site. Become a patron and support original research into filmed live musicals. Tiers start at $1/month. $5+ patrons receive early access to content with a monthly newsletter, and $10+ patrons will also receive early access to the new Filmed Live Musicals podcast.  The title of this week's blog is a line from the 1979 filmed live musical When Hell Freezes Over I’ll Skate. The musical is one of less than a dozen filmed live musicals with Black people in the creative team, and also one of less than twenty musicals in the current database with a female director. Filmed Live Musicals is a space for documenting stage musicals that have been legally filmed and publicly distributed. Writing as a white cisgender female, I recognize my biases of being drawn to things that look like me, and that in the past I have skimmed over the fact that much of musical theatre is created by white people, and, usually white men. Due to the fact that I am only fluent in one language, English, the database does not currently have any musicals in languages other than English. Going forward, I am committed to making Filmed Live Musicals a space for addressing white male dominance in musical theatre by amplifying non-white voices, and amplifying musical theatre created by non-white artists and creatives. Over time, I will be updating the database to state when a musical is lacking gender and racial diversity in its creative team and/or cast, and providing a search function that will allow visitors to the site to find musicals by non-white, and female-identifying, writers and directors. I also plan to add a Search by Subject feature which will include Kid Friendly musicals. This work is a labor of love. It is detailed, on-going, and necessary. I am thankful to my Patreons for financially supporting the site. Recent studies show we still have a long way to go to shifting the dominance of white bodies, voices, and creatives, in American theatre.
In an earlier post, History Has Its Eyes, I spotlighted filmed live musicals with Black actors in lead roles. This month, I’m taking a look at filmed live musicals with at least two Black people on the production team. Black lives matter, and it matters who gets to create the theatre that we consume and the stories that we tell. Researching the racial make-up of creative teams is a tricky task as bios, articles, and websites often do not mention ethnicity. I have used self-identification, my own knowledge, and pictures. This method is not always reliable or accurate. For a start, it is possible for a person to pass as white, but still identify as Black. Another difficulty is that producers are sometimes listed as companies, rather than as individuals, so, although statistically small, it is possible that shows and people have been missed as a result. If I have misidentified, or left off, a person from this list, please let me know and I will rectify the error. Here is a chronological list of filmed live musicals with at least two Black people in the production team. When Hell Freezes Over I’ll Skate Producer: Urban Arts Corps Director: Vinnette Carroll Music: Cleavant Derricks and Clinton Derricks-Carroll Musical Director: Cleavant Derricks Based on poetry by: lindamichellebaron, Julian Bond, Linda Cousins, Countee Cullen, Walt Delegal, Paul Laurence Dunbar, Jacqueline Earley, Paula Giddings, Sam Greenlee, Langston Hughes, Saundra Sharp, and Quincy Troupe. Founded by Vinnette Carroll in 1967, the Urban Arts Corps had the goal of developing the careers of Black and Hispanic actors in New York City, and creating accessible art for Black, Puerto Rican, and under-served communities. Carroll was a multi-talented and highly influential actor, director, and writer who found success in both the UK and the United States. She was the first, and still remains the only, African American nominated for a Tony Award for Best Director. Staged at the Urban Arts Theater in 1979, When Hell Freezes Over I’ll Skate was a musical drama featuring the poetry of Black poets. The show was directed by Vinnette Carroll, and filmed live for Theater in America in 1979. The recording released on VHS in 1999, and DVD in 2003. Ain’t Misbehavin’ Music and Lyrics: Fats Waller Musical Director and Orchestrations: Luther Henderson Set in a Harlem nightclub, Ain’t Misbehavin’ is a musical revue featuring the music of stride pianist Fats Waller. The Broadway production opened at the Longacre Theatre in May 1978. It won the 1978 Tony Award for Best Musical, and went on to play 1604 performances before closing in 1982. NBC aired a filmed live recording of the musical in June 1982. It hasn’t officially been released, but a copy has been uploaded to YouTube. Sophisticated Ladies Based on a concept by: Donald McKayle Music: Duke Ellington Musical Director: Mercer Ellington Orchestrations: Al Cohn Dance arrangements and incidental music: Lloyd Mayers Vocal Arrangements: Malcolm Dodds and Lloyd Mayers Choreography: Donald McKayle Co-Choreography and Tap Choreography: Henry LeTang Sophisticated Ladies is a revue celebrating the music of Duke Ellington. The musical opened on Broadway in March, 1981, and in November 1982, it became the first Broadway musical to air on pay TV. Due to difficult contract negotiations, and fears the telecast would affect ticket sales, most of the Broadway cast did not appear in the taping. The telecast was released on DVD in 2005, and it is currently available on BroadwayHD. The Gospel at Colonus Producer: Yvonne Smith Make-Up Design: Toy Russell The Gospel at Colonus is a re-telling of Sophocles’ Oepidus at Colonus through a pentecostal sermn. It was filmed live during the American Music Theater Festival in 1985 and aired on PBS’ Great Performances. The cast included Morgan Freeman, Carl Lumbly, Robert Earl Jones, The Institutional Radio Choir, Clarence Fountain and the Five Blind Boys of Alabama. It was released on DVD in 2008. Passing Strange Producer: Spike Lee Book/Music/Lyrics/Orchestrations: Stew Loosely based on the life of rock musician Stew, Passing Strange is a rock musical about a young man who leaves his conservative Californian home to find “the real” in Europe. The musical opened on Broadway at the Belasco Theatre in February 2008. Spike Lee filmed the Broadway production shortly before it closed in July 2008. Passing Strange: The Movie was released in 2009 to much acclaim. The film was aired on PBS in 2010, and also released on DVD. Passing Strange: The Movie is available to view on DVD. FELA! Producer: Jay Z, Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith Book: Bill T. Jones Music & Lyrics: Fela Anikulapo-Kuti Director/Choreography: Bill T. Jones Hair, Wig, and Make-Up Design: Cookie Jordan FELA! is a biographical musical about the pioneering Nigerian musician Fela Kuti. The musical was directed by choreographer and director Bill T. Jones, and featured Sahr Ngaujah in the title role. When FELA! opened in London in 2010, it became the first National Theatre musical production to be concurrently running on Broadway. The London production was filmed live for the National Theatre’s NT Live program, and broadcast in cinemas around the world. It is disappointing that the National Theatre did not release FELA! as part of its National Theatre at Home programme. The musical is not currently available to view. Memphis Musical Director: Kenny Seymour Orchestrations: Daryl Waters Costume Design: Paul Tazewell Stage Manager: Alexis Shorter Conductor: Kenny Seymour Memphis is an original musical about the power of music to overcome racial divides in 1950s America. Despite lackluster reviews, the musical won 4 Tony Awards, including Best Musical and played on Broadway for three years. Memphis was the first Broadway musical to be released in cinemas whilst playing on Broadway. It was subsequently released on Netflix, DVD, and Blu-Ray, and aired on PBS’ Great Performances. Memphis is now available to stream on BroadwayHD and YouTube. Rockin’ Down Fairytale Lane Producer: Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe Book: Nate Jacobs & Joey James Music & Lyrics: Nate Jacobs Concept & Director: Nate Jacobs Musical Director: James “Jay” Dodge II Choreography: Donald Frison Scenic Design: Annette Breazeale Costume Design: Angela Franklin-Mayo Lighting Design: Michael Pasquini Stage Manager: Juanita Munford Videography/Editor: Bill Wagy Think Into the Woods meets The Wiz. Written by Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe’s artistic director Nate Jacobs. The 2018 production was performed at the Donnelly Theatre in Florida and was streamed throughout most of June on the WBTT website. Your Arms Too Short to Box With God Producer: Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe Book: Vinnette Carroll Music & Lyrics: Alex Bradford and Micki Grant Director: Harry Bryce Musical Director: Jay Dodge II Choreography: Donald Frison Scenic Design: Michael Newton-Brown Costume Design: Adrienne Pitts Lighting Design: Nick Jones Stage Manager: Juanita Munford Based on the Book of Matthew, Your Arms Too Short to Box With God is gospel-infused re-telling of Jesus’ final days. Written by the aforementioned Vinnette Carroll with Alex Bradford and Micki Grant providing music and lyrics, the musical originally opened on Broadway in 1976. The Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe staged a production in March 2020 as part of their 20th anniversary season celebrating Black women. The musical was filmed live and released as a result of the COVID-19 shutdown. Due to licensing and Equity agreements, the musical was only available until April 19th, 2020. Filmed Live Musicals is a labor of love that takes many hours of research and hundreds of dollars to run.
Thank you to Star patrons Mercedes Esteban-Lyons, Jesse Rabinowitz & Brenda Goodman, and David & Katherine Rabinowitz, and Bec Twist, for financially supporting the site. Become a patron and support original research into filmed live musicals. Tiers start at $1/month. $5+ patrons receive early access to content with a monthly newsletter, and $10+ patrons will also receive early access to the new Filmed Live Musicals podcast.  British actress and writer Carrie Sutton. Photo by Samuel Black. The following interview was originally published in the July edition of the Filmed Live Musicals Patron newsletter. When you become a patron, you will be supporting the running of this site, and original research into the ever growing field of filmed live musicals. Previous newsletters include content on upcoming screenings, new movie technology, and 360º captures. Star Patrons also gain access to filmed live musical reviews. To gain access to Patreon-only content, become a Patron today! British actor and writer Carrie Sutton has performed in many West End musicals including Sister Act: The Musical, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Little Women, Cabaret, Imagine This, and Kiss Me, Kate. She also worked as a dresser on the recent West End musical The Wind in the Willows. You can catch Carrie performing as Laurey in Oklahoma! later this month at the Gordon Craig Theatre in Stevenage. Imagine This, Kiss Me, Kate, and The Wind in the Willows were all filmed live. I recently chatted with Carrie about her experiences working on these filmed live musicals. What difference is there between acting for camera and acting on stage? How does that translate when you’re filming a live stage show? You’re still giving a theatrical performance, but there is an awareness of the camera. It’s a different scale. I aimed for the middle of the audience rather than the back, and in close-up moments, I tried to be still. The audience is recorded too, and that energy translates on camera. For “Kiss Me, Kate” and “The Wind in the Willows,” we did pick-ups after the performance. For example, a mic went down during the show, so afterwards we re-recorded some scenes out of sequence. You knew Kiss Me, Kate was going to be filmed from the outset. Did you rehearse for the stage or for the camera? We rehearsed it as a piece of theatre, and it was filmed as a piece of theatre. In fact, John Wilson [the conductor], told us to “chip your teeth on the words” because Royal Albert Hall is so big. You really have to work hard to make yourself understood in that space. So we definitely worked for the live performance of it. We had rehearsals at the Town Hall in Belsize Park, and then the camera guys would come in and see the work. They would check angles and close-ups, and compare it to marked-up scripts. There is a lot of back and forth between the director, the DP [director pf photography], and the choreographer. It’s very much a group effort. "Kiss Me, Kate" aired during prime time on Christmas Day. That was so exciting for me. A real bucket list item. Stage musicals are sometimes altered when the cameras come in. What aspects of Imagine This were changed for the filming? Some slight blocking changes were made to accommodate the cameras, but from the actors’ perspective very little was changed. What was it like working as a dresser on “Wind in the Willows”? It was filmed over three days. We had a dress rehearsal for close-ups, and where they got pick-up footage for when things go wrong in live filming, like a child screaming in the audience, or costume failure. The costumes had to be immaculate — it has to be perfect for film. What passes on a regular show won’t pass on a recording. Socks have to be level, ties have to be straight. There is extra attention to detail on quick changes because all the clothes use velcro, ties are stuck on with velcro, shirts do up with velcro, it has to be exact or it doesn’t look right. How do contract negotiations work for filmed live musicals? All the negotiations are done through the producer. For “Imagine This” we were given a fee for filming, or perhaps we waived it, and were bought out for the broadcasts. “Kiss Me, Kate” was all done prior and we just signed a standard BBC contract. If you had a step out, you received extra. You get reimbursed for royalties. It’s all worked out with the cast and crew and everyone is allocated points based on how much you work during the rehearsals and during the show. Like in “The Wizard of Oz,” we ended up distributing points based on word count. The female ensemble had a lot more to do in that show, so we were given more points. EPKs [Electronic Press Kit] are included in new contracts. We spend around a day in the theatre shooting scenes for promotional copy. The scenes are different from what’s in the show, we learn new blocking that works better for the camera, like a dance will be more spaced out, or the angles will be slightly different. “The Wizard of Oz” were on Children in Need. We did a montage specifically for that show. It was covered in the EPK as “reasonable promotion.” What do you think of filmed live musicals or filmed live theatre in general? It’s both theatre and film. It’s a record. It is important to have records of shows. People who would otherwise never be recorded are able to have a record of their work, especially ensemble members. It creates revenue for the production. It brings art back to the people. It makes the West End accessible to people who are far away. Do you have a favorite filmed live theatre event? The entire Kenneth Branagh season. I saw it filmed live, and I watched the films. I loved the Royal Ballet’s “Alice in Wonderland.” I felt really involved in the production, even though I was watching it in the cinema. Also the RSC’s “Henry” plays. Why are filmed live musicals important? The “Imagine This” DVD potentially gives that show a future life. It honors the work of the all the people that create the show, all the creatives, and the cast. The level of work that went into the show is incredible. Everything was handmade for the production, and every moment of work is captured. It was just a flash in the pan, but all the work, and commitment, and artistry, it isn’t lost. Learn more about Carrie at www.carriesutton.com and http://www.londonvoiceover.com/carrie-sutton/. This site is financially supported by the generosity of patrons
Mercedes Esteban-Lyons, Jesse Rabinowitz and Brenda Goodman, and David and Katherine Rabinowitz. Become a patron today and support original research into filmed live musicals. |
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Musicals are not available to watch on this site, but links are available where possible.
Musicals are not available to watch on this site, but links are available where possible.