When you consider the hundreds of musicals that have been nominated over the course of the Tony Awards’ 72 year history, it is easy to see that very few Tony Award nominated and winning musicals have been legally filmed live for public consumption. 

Broadway is an immensely influentially and highly coveted corner of the musical theatre world. Despite this, Broadway is inaccessible to millions of people around the world due to cost and, importantly, geography. This year’s Tony Awards broadcast worked to include some of those Broadway lovers around the world with the initiative #TonyDreaming. On Twitter, I wrote that filmed live musicals are an amazing way to help fuel the dreams of aspiring thespians.

What better way to reach out to millions of theatre lovers, aspiring actors, technicians, writers, and directors than by making legally filmed high quality captures of Broadway shows available to those people? Yes, the New York Public Library Theatre on Film and Tape Archive exists, but it is only available to people who live in New York, and each capture is only available to view once. 

We have come to expect cast recordings as normal for Broadway shows, I dream of the day when filmed live recordings are also a standard occurrence. As I looked at in a previous post, filmed live releases of Broadway shows do not negatively affect ticket sales. It doesn’t mean a filmed live recording needs to be released on opening night, or that every single musical should be recorded, but there is a hunger for Broadway, and we need a better solution to combat bootlegs. 

Of the 25 filmed live Broadway shows currently in the database, 20 are available to view, either in the cinema, on DVD, or online. As shown below, you can use the database to search for musicals and learn more about where to watch them.

​The great thing about filmed live musicals is that they are not limited to Broadway. Several Broadway productions have been filmed whilst on tour, such as the original production of Sweeney Todd or more recently, Disney’s stage version of Newsies. The database has plenty of musicals such as An American in Paris, Billy Elliot, and The Phantom of the Opera which have played on Broadway, but have been staged elsewhere and filmed live for public consumption.

From this year’s Tony batch, I’m keeping my fingers crossed that Live from Lincoln Center will film the gorgeous revival of My Fair Lady, and the capture of Once on This Island’s Tony Awards performance demonstrates that theatre in the round is ready to be filmed live. With Daddy Long Legs producer Ken Davenport at the helm, perhaps we will have another Tony Award winning revival to view on screen. Given that all the nominations for Best Musical were all based on movies, we can hope that filmed live musical versions of those musicals will also be possibilities.

Congratulations to all of this year’s nominees and winners, and let’s hope we will see more of them filmed live and available on a screen near us soon! ​​​

This morning I was watching the wonderful Lincoln Center concerts featuring Stephanie J. Block (who gave a killer performance in Falsettos) and Sutton Foster on BroadwayHD. The delightful Megan McGinnis made a guest appearance in Sutton’s concert, and it reminded me how much I love Daddy Long Legs, the first off-Broadway musical to be livestreamed. 

It got me thinking about the filmed live musicals that I've fallen in love with over the years, and so, in no particular order, here are a few of my favorites.

Company with the New York Philharmonic
Filmed live at Lincoln Center in 2011, the New York Philharmonic production features a starry cast including Neil Patrick Harris, Patti LuPone, Stephen Colbert, Martha Plimpton, and Anika Noni Rose.

I love this version for its slick production values, amazing performances, and because it was the first filmed live musical I saw in the cinema. It was also the inspiration for starting this database.

Into the Woods
The original Broadway production was taped in 1989, screened on PBS, and eventually made available on VHS and DVD. It was one of the first filmed live musicals I ever saw, and made the world of Broadway accessible to an aspiring theatre nerd who grew up 16,000 miles away.

The Digital Theatre capture of the 2010 Regent’s Park Open Air production of Into the Woods is also a highlight. Steam-punk inspired costumes, a clever use of the narrator, and a great capture that puts you right in the action.

Daddy Long Legs
When Daddy Long Legs was livestreamed in December 2015, I was recovering from treatment for leukemia. Low energy and a compromised immune system meant going to the theatre was not an option for me. It was thrilling to be able to watch an off-Broadway show from the comfort of my couch. The @BroadwayHD capture of this intimate show is top notch, as are the performances by the aforementioned Megan McGinnis and her real-life husband Adam Halpin.

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
The 2014 New York Philharmonic production directed by Lonny Price hands down has one of the best opening sequences ever filmed. This was another production I watched during my leukemia convalescence, and I literally squealed out loud in my lounge room. I’m so sad this capture is no longer available to view or purchase.

Les Miserables: The Dream Cast in Concert
Everything about this concert filmed live at Royal Albert Hall in 1995 is EPIC. The score. The cast of 250 artists and 100 musicians. Philip Quast as Javert. The finale with 17 Jean Valjeans singing “Do You Hear the People Sing?” in multiple languages. What is there not to love?!

When Hell Freezes Over I’ll Skate
The 1979 Theatre in America recording, now available on DVD, is a chance to see a unique “musical drama” and a tiny sample of the ground-breaking work by director and writer Vinnette Carroll. The capture feels a little dated, but it does a wonderful job of preserving some powerful performances. 

What are your favorite filmed live musicals? Share in the comments, or on twitter and facebook!

It’s an exciting time to be a lover of filmed live musicals. It sometimes seems like new shows are being announced every week, and in the coming months we will be able to enjoy recent Broadway and West End musicals on the big screen.  

Here is a list of recent releases and what is coming up in 2018.

Recent Releases
The Toxic Avenger 
Filmed live during its run at the Arts Theatre in London in 2017, The Toxic Avenger is a quirky and dark humored musical about New Jersey’s very own superhero. The musical was recently screened at the Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo, and is now available to stream on BroadwayHD.

The Wind in the Willows
Filmed live during its West End run in 2017, this new Stiles and Drewe musical was screened in cinemas throughout the UK during the Easter period in 2018. The Wind in the Willows is now available to stream on BroadwayHD.

Lazarus 
One of Bowie’s final projects was the off-Broadway musical Lazarus. The London production, starring Michael C. Hall, was filmed live during its run at the purpose built King’s Cross Theatre. The May 2 screening at the King's Theatre in Brooklyn featured live accompaniment by the original off-Broadway band.   

Coming Up in 2018
An American in Paris
The highly acclaimed and multi-award winning Théâtre du Châtelet production of An American Paris received Broadway and West End productions. The West End production was filmed live in 2017 and will be released in cinemas around the world on May 16, 2018. To find tickets, visit the musical’s official film website.

Everyone’s Talking About Jamie
Inspired by true events, Everyone’s Talking About Jamie is a musical about Jamie New’s coming-of-age on the Sheffield council estate, overcoming prejudice and finding the spotlight. More2Screen will screen the smash-hit West End musical in cinemas in the UK and Ireland on July 5, 2018. The rest of the world will be able to watch the popular musical in cinemas later in the year.

Bandstand
A Broadway musical about American soldiers returning home after World War II, Bandstand was filmed during its run at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre. The musical will be available in cinemas through Fathom Events on June 25 and 28, 2018.

Allegiance 
Inspired by true events from George Takei's life, Allegiance is a musical about the internment of Japanese American citizens in the United States during World War II.  A DVD release of the live capture has been announced, but a date has not yet been set.
​
Stage
A new streaming network dedicated to live theatre content is slated to launch in August. Learn more at http://www.thestagenetwork.com/.

myCinema
During the recently held CinemaCon in Vegas, digital content provider NAGRA announced the launch of myCinema. Similar to Fathom Events, myCinema will provide movie theatres with new alternative content, including live theatre. No announcements have been made about what offerings will be available through myCinema, but it’s exciting to see more platforms trying to make filmed live theatre content available to the world.

​Andrew Lloyd Webber is having quite a moment. To celebrate his 70th birthday on March 22, the prolific composer published a new memoir Unmasked, and released a “personally curated” 4-disc album, Unmasked: The Platinum Collectionfeaturing hit songs from across his 50-year career in musical theatre. On March 28, NBC aired the documentary Andrew Lloyd Webber Tribute to a Superstar, and on April 1 broadcast Jesus Christ Superstar in Concert live on national television. 

The Lord Lloyd Webber has composed 20 musicals, 18 of which have played on the West End, and 13 on Broadway. In 2017, Lloyd Webber became the first composer since Rodgers and Hammerstein to have 4 shows running concurrently on Broadway — Cats, The Phantom of the Opera, Sunset Boulevard, and School of Rock. 

At the time of writing, The Phantom of the Opera and School of Rock are playing on Broadway and the West End, while Love Never Dies and Jesus Christ Superstar are on national tours of the United States. The Woman in White continues to run on the West End, and Sunset Boulevard, Evita, and Starlight Express are being performed throughout the UK and Europe. 

In honor of NBC’s triumphant Jesus Christ Superstar in Concert, let’s take a look at all the Lloyd Webber musicals that have been filmed live and released to the public. 

Filmed Live Musicals 
Jesus Christ Superstar

• The 2012 Jesus Christ Superstar Arena Tour was filmed live in Birmingham. The production starred Tim Minchin as Judas, Melanie as Mary Magdalene, and Ben Forster as Jesus.
• NBC’s Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert was a departure from previous live television musicals as it was filmed in one location, and with a live audience.
• The 1992 Australian production starring John Farnham as Jesus, and Kate Cebrano as Mary was filmed live, but has not been officially released. A highlights album was released in 1992.

Tell Me On a Sunday

• The initial production was a made-for-tv special taped live at the Royalty Theatre, London on Jan 28, 1980. It aired on the BBC on Feb 12 and March 9 1980, and again a year later. The show starred Marti Webb performing with the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

Song and Dance

• A special performance of Song and Dance starring Sarah Brightman was held at the Palace Theatre, London on April 28, 1984. It was taped by the BBC and aired on August 27, 1984.

Love Never Dies

• The 2011 Australian production was filmed live in Melbourne. It was released in cinemas and on DVD.

The Phantom of the Opera

• The 25th anniversary gala at Royal Albert Hall was broadcast live to cinemas around the world. Footage from three performances was combined and released on DVD, and on American television.
• On the 30th anniversary of both the Broadway and West End productions, special curtain calls were livestreamed on Facebook. ​

​Other Films/Live Recordings 
Aspects of Love

• The Australian production directed by Gale Edwards was filmed in November 1992. The film is held at the University of New England Stage and Screen Collection.

Evita

• John Snelson’s biography on Andrew Lloyd Webber lists an “audio visual presentation of original recording” of Evita that was presented at the Sydmonton Festival in 1976.

School of Rock

• In October 2015, School of Rock became the first Broadway musical to release a 3D promotional clip. Filmed in a classroom, the clip featured cast members performing “You’re in the Band.” Within 3 days, the clip had been viewed over 1 million times on YouTube.
• In December 2017, NBC Nightly News visited School of Rock on Broadway and filmed another 3D video of “You’re in the Band.”

Starlight Express

• Selections from the long-running Bochum production were presented on German television in 1989. The Bochum production, which in 2018 will be celebrating it’s 30th anniversary, has released two live albums, one in 1989, and the second in 2013.

Film Versions
In addition to filmed live musicals, several of Lloyd Webber’s shows have been adapted into film versions. 

By Jeeves

• Made for television version produced by the Canadian Broadcasting Company, Really Useful Films, and Tapestry Pictures in 2001

Cats

• Directed by David Mallett, the film version of Cats was released in 1998. The film featured actors from both the London and New York original casts.

Jesus Christ Superstar

• Directed by Norman Jewison, the first film adaptation was released in 1973.
• A second film adaptation based on the Broadway revival directed by Gale Edwards was released in 2000.

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

• Also directed by David Mallett, the 1999 film starred Donny Osmond, Maria Friedman, Richard Attenborogh, and Joan Collins.

The Phantom of the Opera

• Directed by Joel Schumaker, the 2004 film version starred Gerard Butler as the Phantom, and Emmy Rossum as Christine Daae.

To Andrew Lloyd Webber, thank you for your immense contributions to musical theatre, and for making so much of your work available to audiences around the world through the screen. 

Am I missing any productions? Remember bootlegs are not included in 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.

Happy birthday Sondheim. May your day be filled with color and light.  

From Here to Eternity (2014)

• director: Tamara Harvey
• A musical based on the novel of the same name. Filmed live during its West End run and released in cinemas. Now available to view on BroadwayHD and on DVD. ​

Merrily We Roll Along (2012)

• director: Maria Friedman
• producer: Debbie Bindo, Sonia Friedman, Tanya Bink
• scenic & costume design: Soutra Gilmour
• musical director: Catherine Jayes
• The Menier Chocolate Factory’s smash hit 2012 production. Filmed by Digital Theatre, and released in cinemas and online. Not currently available to view. ​

When Hell Freezes Over I’ll Skate (1979)

• director: Vinnette Carroll
• Musical featuring poetry by people of color set to music. Conceived and directed by trailblazer Vinnette Carroll. Taped live and aired on Channel 13’s Theater in America. Now available on DVD. ​

This week's blog title comes from Langston Hughe's poem "Note on Commercial Theatre," which is spoken by  Brenda Braxton in the 1979 musical When Hell Freezes Over I’ll Skate. ​In researching last week’s blog post, History Has Its Eyes, I was fascinated by the biography of the musical's director, Vinnette Carroll, and decided to spotlight her incredible career in this week's post. 

Carroll was one of the first African American women to direct on Broadway, and the West End. She was nominated three times for a Tony Award, and was the first (and regrettably, still the only), African American woman to be nominated for a Tony Award for Best Director. She was an Obie and Emmy Award winner, and celebrated in her lifetime as a driving force for theatre by, and about, African American people.

Over the course of her career, Vinnette Carroll created and wrote 16 musical plays, many of which were written with long-time collaborator Micki Grant. Carroll also collaborated with Alvin Ailey and Langston Hughes. Her work has been credited with launching the careers of actors such as Cicley Tyson, Clarence Williams III, James Earl Jones, Jennifer Holliday, Brenda Braxton, and Cleavant Derricks, among many others.

Born in New York in 1922, Carroll spent most of her childhood in Jamaica. She returned to New York City to attend high school and, thanks to her father’s thriving dental practice, enjoyed a rich cultural life attending theatre and receiving music lessons.

To satisfy her father, Carroll trained to be a psychologist. Shortly after leaving her PhD program at Columbia University in 1948, Carroll sought to pursue her true passion as an actor. She attended the New School and the Actors Studio, training with Erwin Piscator, Lee Strasberg, and Stella Adler.

Upon completion of her actor training in the early 1950s, Carroll found regular acting work, but was frustrated by the limited range of roles made available to her as an African American woman: maids, and roles that reinforced negative stereotypes of people of color. In response, Carroll created her own work and successfully toured a one woman show.

Carroll began teaching acting at the High School for the Performing Arts in 1955, a position she held for 11 years. During this time, Carroll developed a passion for directing.

In 1964, Carroll won an Emmy Award for the television production Beyond the Blues, a dramatization of works by African American poets.

In 1968, Carroll joined the New York State Council on the Arts as the new director for the Ghetto Arts Program. The Ghetto Arts Program (GAP) sought to provide collaborative theatre experiences for African American and Hispanic communities in New York, and establish a new repertory company that created new work.

In her capacity as director of GAP, Carroll founded the Urban Arts Corps (UAC). Within a few years Carroll left GAP and became the artistic director of the UAC. The UAC trained a troupe of actors from African American and Hispanic backgrounds, who wrote and performed original material. Later knowns the Urban Arts Theatre, the UAC worked in schools, colleges, and prisons to bring theatre, and theatre training, to minority audiences.

Throughout her 10 years with the Urban Arts Corps, Carroll directed over 50 productions. Musical highlights include But Never Jam Today, Don’t Bother Me I, I Can’t Cope, and Your Arms Too Short to Box with God.

Don’t Bother Me, I Can’t Cope, which first opened at the UAC in 1970, opened on Broadway at the Playhouse Theatre in 1972. The musical earned Carroll a Tony nomination for Best Director of a Musical and played 1065 performances. It will be performed in 2018 as part of Encores! Off Center’s summer program.

Your Arms Too Short to Box with God transferred to Broadway in 1976, earning Carroll her second Tony nomination for Best Director. The musical was revived on Broadway in 1980, 1982, and 1996.

But Never Jam Today, was an adaptation of Alice in Wonderland featuring gospel and calypso-infused music. The musical adaptation began life as Alice, and after much re-working and several off- and off-off-Broadway runs opened on Broadway in 1979. It was a commercial flop and closed within a week of opening.

In 1984, living in Florida in “semi-retirement,” Carroll founded the Vinnette Carroll Repertory Company. The company was renamed the Metropolitan Diversity Theatre at Carroll's request in 2000 after she suffered a debilitating stroke. The theatre is now the home of Fort Lauderdale’s Cinema Paradiso.

Despite Carroll’s immense body of work, just one of her shows was filmed live for public distribution: When Hell Freezes Over I’ll Skate. The musical had a short run at the UAC in January 1979, before being presented as part of the Lincoln Center’s Black Theatre Festival in May of the same year. An hour-length version of the musical co-directed by Carroll was presented on PBS in June 1979. When Hell Freezes Over I’ll Skate was released on VHS in 1999, and on DVD in 2003. Sections of the musical are currently available on YouTube.

In the capture of When Hell Freezes Over I'll Skate, we get a mere glimpse of Carroll’s incredible talent as a writer and director. One wonders if Carroll had been born white, and a male, how much more of her work we could have continued to enjoy watching today. 

One of the most commonly cited reasons for not filming stage musicals and distributing them to the public is that the availability of filmed live versions will supposedly stop people from attending the theatre in person. 

I thought it would be fun to take a look at the numbers and see if that is actually the case. 

This week, we’re going to focus on Broadway. 

Of the hundreds and hundreds of musicals to open on Broadway, only 24 have been legally filmed live and released to the public. Just 5 of the 24 captures were released or aired while the show was still running on Broadway: Sophisticated Ladies, The Will Rogers Follies, Victor/Victoria, Legally Blonde the Musical, and Memphis.

Additionally, live captures of another 2 musicals, She Loves Me, and Holiday Inn, were aired within two weeks of the show’s previously announced closing date. 

That gives us a total of 7 Broadway musicals to have been filmed live and made available to the public while the show was still running on Broadway. 

To get a sense of immediate effect on the box office, I looked at the Broadway League statistics on audience capacity for each show two weeks before, one week before, the week of, one week after, and two weeks after, the filmed live release date. ​

Sophisticated Ladies was the first Broadway musical to air live on national television whilst still running on Broadway. It aired on pay TV, at $15 per view, and was only available in cities where the musical would not be touring, or had already played. It was not made available in New York City. Unfortunately, we don’t have publicly available audience attendance data for Sophisticated Ladies on Broadway, so we can’t say how the television airing affected ticket sales.

The Will Rogers Follies and Victor/Victoria were both filmed for distribution on Japanese television. It’s not clear when The Will Rogers Follies aired on Japanese television, though one blog refers to a broadcast in 1995. Given the widely reported agreement between Japanese network WOWOW and the Broadway producers to air The Will Rogers Follies in Japan over three years (and release the musical on video), was made in 1991, it seems strange that the program was not aired for another four years.

Victor/Victoria was taped live and aired on Japanese television on December 23, 1995 (it did not air on American television until 2001, well after the Broadway production had closed). The ticket sales at the box office were strong in the weeks leading up to, and following the broadcast, though this may be due to the fact that Victor/Victoria had only opened two months before. It is also worth noting that the end of December is normally a high season for Broadway ticket sales. More research needs to be done to determine if there was a boost in ticket sales specifically from the Japanese market in the months, and years, following the broadcast.

In 2007, Legally Blonde: The Musical became the second Broadway musical to air on American television whilst playing on Broadway. It aired on MTV on October 13, 2007. Two weeks prior to the MTV broadcast, ticket sales were at 64% capacity. In the week before the broadcast, capacity rose to 79%, and in the week of the broadcast it rose again to 81%. Capacity stayed steady around 80% for a few more weeks before dipping again the following the month.

On April 28, 2011, Memphis became the first musical to be released in cinemas while also playing on Broadway. In an interesting precedent, the film was also made available in New York City. Capacity at the Shubert Theatre was at 86% two weeks before the release, and jumped to 98% the week before the release. During the week of the cinema release, capacity dropped back down to 87%, where they remained for the next few weeks.

She Loves Me and Holiday Inn were both streamed live on BroadwayHD in the final weeks of their Broadway runs. Audience capacity increased for both musicals in the week of the livestream, though it is difficult to say whether this was due to a normal end-of-run bump or the livestream.

For the five shows for which we have data, the filmed live release did not negatively affect capacity. For 4 of the 5 shows, capacity either increased in the week before the release of the filmed live version (presumably due to extra marketing), or increased after the release.