Curtain Call: Surprising Premieres, Virtual Runs and New Etiquette for Theaters
Broadway: Hamilton is making its way to the small screen. Disney recently announced that the Tony Award winning musical will premiere via the Disney+ streaming service on July 3rd. This marks a change of plans after Disney previously disclosed it would premiere the filmed version of the musical in theaters on October 15, 2021.
Lin-Manuel Miranda joined Disney Executive Chairman Robert Iger to make the official announcement on Good Morning America. The filmed version of Hamilton is directed by Tommy Kail, who directed both the stage version and the movie, and consists of three live performances with some setup shots in order to provide a full experience for the audience. Following the announcement, it was heavily debated by fans if this would be the case due to Disney previously censoring or changing content as their platform is committed to provide family-friendly content.
CBS sparked outrage among the Broadway community after announcing that the 2020 Tony Awards would be replaced by a Sing-a-Long of the classic 1978 musical Grease, starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John. Artists like Jeremy Jordan, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Gideon Glick, Jennifer Tepper, among others joined on social media to showcase their disagreement, with many stating that a Tony Awards special would have been more appropriate. The ceremony was scheduled to air on June 7th, but was postponed due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic that still has the Great White Way on a pause.
In response, the Broadway On Demand streaming service will present a one hour celebration of theater and the Tony Awards. The special will be directed by Lonny Price and will also stream on the Tony Awards website on June 7th. Proceeds of this stream will benefit The Broadway League and The American Theater Wing in their Education and Professional Development initiatives.
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The hit TV series Smash is eyeing a future run on the Broadway stage. Titled Smash, A New Musical producers involved in the project include Steven Spielberg, Robert Greenblatt and Neil Meron. Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittmain, who wrote all songs for the hit TV show, are confirmed to provide the score.
Airing for two seasons on NBC, the series follows the efforts to create Bombshell, a musical based on the life of Marilyn Monroe. The show starred Katharine Mcphee, Megan Hilty and Debra Messing and became a favorite among critics after it’s premiere in 2012. The cast recently reunited for a benefit stream called Bombshell in Concert, with proceeds going to The Actors Fund and COVID-19 relief initiatives.
Off-Broadway: New York’s Irish Repertory Theatre has announced an online run of four plays for virtual viewing. Artistic director Charlotte Moore and producing director Ciaran O’ Reilly confirmed that the online summer season will include popular productions that will be reconceived for the screen. These include Yes! Reflections of Molly Bloom, The Weir and Love, Noël: The Songs and Letters of Noël Coward.
The season will also serve as the premiere for The Gifts You Gave to the Dark, created by Darren Murphy. The short play deals with characters affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Streamings of the will be free of charge with a suggested donation of $25.
Bob and Tobby McSmith, creators of Friends! The Musical Parody and The Office! A Musical Parody, are set to present their next project based on the hit TV show Parks & Rec!. Titled Parks & Rec! The Unauthorized Musical Parody, the show will be produced by Right Apple Entertainment. The story of the show follows Leslie Knope as she attempts to run for president.
Created by Greg Daniels and Michael Shur, the show ran for seven seasons after its premiere in 2008. It included an ensemble cast with Amy Poehler, Nick Offerman, Aubrey Plaza, Rashida Jones and Chris Pratt. The parody is set to open Off-Broadway once theatres are able to reopen.
Richard Nelson’s What Do We Need to Talk About? Conversations on Zoom will receive a virtual run until June 28th. The Public Theater published a streamed recording of the play in their official YouTube channel. Written and directed by Nelson, the performance served as the reunion for the original cast of The Apple Family Plays, which has been previously showcased at the Public.
The play premiered on Zoom on April 29. With an audience of over 5,000, the broadcast was seen more than 47,000 times across 30 countries during their first four-day run. The cast included Jon DeVries, Stephen Kunken, Sally Murphy, Maryann Plunkett, Laila Robins, and Jay O, who performed the piece which follows up with the Apple Family and how they are dealing with their quarantined lives.
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International: The Canadian production of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child has been set back to 2021. The play written J.K. Rowling, was set to premiere on October 23rd at the Ed Mirvish Theatre. The suspension of the show lines up with San Francisco, Hamburg and Melbourne, which have all suspended performances due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The two-part play recently announced an all-Canadian cast with Trevor White as Harry Potter, Gregory Prest as Ron Weasley, and Sarah Afful as Hermoine Granger. The show is set 19 years after the last chronicle of J.K. Rowling’s successful series. The theatre company has also announced cancellations through June 30th, including a production of Come From Away, and tour stops of Hamilton and Les Misérables.
Andrew Lloyd Webber’s company Really Useful Group is creating safety guidelines in order to reopen productions on the West End. Some precautionary methods include actors not meeting fans at the stage door and wearing face masks. Webber is also urging actors to not greet each other with hugs, kisses, or handshakes.
The urgency stems from the ongoing production of The Phantom of the Opera in South Korea. The show is currently still playing with audiences of 1,600 despite the health crisis affecting the world. Webber is also using his platform to urge the United Kingdom government to support shows monetarily after receiving an insurance payout for the production of The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway, which was closed in March.
