This Broadway musical will be the first ever to be live-streamed
Later this month, a Broadway production will be live-streamed for the first time. Live musicals have returned on network TV, while the Royal National Theatre in London has been bringing its productions to movie theaters and other venues for some time.
'She Loves Me' stars Laura Benanti (l.) and Jane Krakowski (r.).
Andy Kropa/Invision/AP
The Broadway show “She Loves Me” will become the first musical from the Great White Way to be live-streamed.
“Loves,” which first appeared on Broadway in 1963 and which currently stars Tony-nominated actors Zachary Levi, Laura Benanti, and Jane Krakowski, is based on the Miklós László play “Parfumerie” and is most likely familiar to the general public as following the same storyline as the 1998 romantic comedy “You’ve Got Mail” starring Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks, which was also based on “Parfumerie.”
The current version of “She Loves Me” debuted this spring. The live-stream will happen on June 30 and viewers can pay $9.99 to watch the show on BroadwayHD (or the production is free if viewers already subscribe to the site).
The live-stream plan echoes that of the filmed productions at the Royal National Theatre in London. Through the theater’s program, viewers have been able to watch shows like “Phèdre” with Helen Mirren, “A Streetcar Named Desire” with Gillian Anderson, and “Macbeth” with Kenneth Branagh at a movie theater or other venue that is participating.
Meanwhile, Lin-Manuel Miranda, the creator and star of the smash hit musical “Hamilton,” recently announced that the current incarnation of the show will be filmed before he departs the production this July, though how and when the filmed performance will be released has not yet been announced.
Live musicals have also recently been entering America’s homes with the recent network TV productions of shows like “The Wiz” (NBC), “Peter Pan” (NBC), and “Grease” (Fox). These shows have been ratings successes, though some have done better than others, and the reception of the more recent productions, “Wiz” and “Grease,” in particular was positive. NBC is airing a live version of “Hairspray” this December starring Harvey Fierstein, Jennifer Hudson, Martin Short, and Maddie Baillio.