Measure in Love

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! 

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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!

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.

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?! 

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 

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.

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)

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.

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.

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​​

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!

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