Filming Broadway shows and releasing them to movie theatres -- thoughts?

I'd like to preface by saying that I *hate* the Broadway production of RENT. The show itself is OK, there are certain numbers that I would cut, but otherwise, I hated seeing it live, tolerated the feature film, and mildly enjoyed the filmed version of the Broadway show.

As everyone probably knows, I am a strong advocate for filming theatre and preserving shows on film for commercial release, especially DVD.

Artistically, I am against it as I feel that theatre should be seen LIVE as that is the intention of the format (plus it's BETTER that way!).

Educationally and socially, it's extremely important for this to happen as a large percentage of people cannot see shows live due to whatever reasons they have (financial, schedule, etc.).

In my opinion, it is better to see it on film than it is to not see it at all.

This past Wednesday, for the first time in history (I believe), a Broadway show has been filmed and was released in movie theatres across the country. That show was RENT -- a show which played Broadway for 12 years and has arguably the largest fanbase that a musical has ever had.

You can share your thoughts on other threads as to what you thought of the film, but I'm more interested in the part that happens before you see it: purchasing the tickets.

Tickets to the film were $20. A price, I think, is fair. Fair in terms of seeing a Broadway production (which you could also see LIVE for that price, but Joe Schmoe doesn't know that).

When I arrived to the theatre an hour prior to showtime, I was the first one there. By the time the nine long-ass previews ended, I counted 46 people in the theatre. I've read even lower numbers in other cities (I saw it in Greensboro, NC).

I honestly thought that a show like RENT would succeed MUCH better in this format. I honestly thought that there would be about 200 in attendance. How wrong and disappointed I was.

There could be many factors which attribute to the low attendance:

- High movie ticket price;
- A show which has toured for YEARS and is already a feature film;
- Opening on a Wednesday;
- Minimal publicity/marketing;
- Waiting to spend their $20 on an assumed DVD release

But the question I ask is how many people knew about this release and just simply didn't care to go see it? I'm sure the weekend attendance will be higher, but sold out showings? Doubtful.

If a show like RENT receives these pitiful numbers, then you can forget about anything else being filmed (except by PBS).

Now, I'm not too worried about the format disappearing for good. I think the main issue with RENT's low numbers comes from lack of publicity. NONE of my local theatre friends knew it was coming to theatres. I only found out because of BWW/Playbill.com (websites they don't visit). We have four local movie theatres and I only ever go to two -- RENT was playing at the last movie theatre in the city that I would ever go to -- but I did see a movie poster there when I attended the screening.

If Sony would have marketed it like a regular movie, do you think showings would have sold out? I certainly do. I think they should have marketed it like a MUST-SEE EVENT. After all, this was a pretty rare and special occasion.

I think we need to get this format going. Let's simulcast - LIVE - the opening night of SHREK. (They have done this with operas that have performed at the Met). Let's have Universal create a copycat subcomp like Sony's The Hot Ticket and release WICKED. Drastic action like this would be so beneficial to the genre. It would, I think, create a DEMAND for shows to be filmed. Then what we can have happen is when a show announces it's closing, bring in the cameras and record it for release! This way, the film doesn't interfere with the show's box office and the show gets some money even after it has closed.

Excuse my long rant, I have so much to say and rarely have time to be online anymore.

Thoughts on any of this?

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"This past Wednesday, for the first time in history (I believe), a Broadway show has been filmed and was released in movie theatres across the country."

Jekyll and Hyde was shown on a few screens in select markets.

I don't know if the theatrical release was really about making money. I mean, yeah, everything is, about making money, but they do these HD things from the Met all the time and I don't ever recall seeing any advertising for them except when I'm at the movies.

I am all for it if they are not filmed like RENT was. It was like an MTV video. Very disappointing 9In my opinion)

jenna, we had the surveys here in Denver also. I pointed out to the kids handing them out that they need to tell whoever put the survey together that they excluded this website from the list of websites for the question about where you heard about the screening. (I think that was the question) I take it that you also had to hold on to your survey to finish filling it out after the screening was over.

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I told them I was writing it in and then I checked it!! I worked late and then went for cocktails before the show. So I had my work bag with me. I put it in there during the screening. My friend was in a suit and left his work bag in his office. His survey kept slipping under the chair in front of him.

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My aunt argued with me by saying "The best way to see a broadway show is on a DVD or at a movie theatre" I said "Are you f***ing kidding me? The magic of Broadway is because it's LIVE!!

In Greater Toronto, Rent on Broadway was playing at several different theatres. I saw it at a downtown theatre (Scotiabank) on Wednesday and there were maybe 60-80 people(?). No survey. No trailers before the screening, which started fairly promptly at 7pm.

I don't think it was promoted that much. I don't recall seeing trailers at other movies in the past month, nor did I see many posters in the theatres promoting it. Theatre fans, who visit broadwayworld.com, playbill.com, etc. would have been aware, but I don't think the general public was aware, esp. important as this was a limited run.

Did they advertise this in actual theatre Playbills in major cities, I wonder, as one would think that theatre-goers would be the target market, as well as young-ish movie-goers.

I was disappointed in the turnout in Toronto and other cities (from reading posts on this board), as this was supposed to be a very limited screening (4 days).

I've also been reading that simulcasts of the Metropolitan Opera have been very successful in movie theatres across the country, with hundreds of people (usually middle-aged people, who are less frequent movie-goers) supposedly showing up for screenings.

So I wonder why opera seems to be doing better than Broadway theatre.

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Updated On: 9/26/08 at 05:15 PM

""This past Wednesday, for the first time in history (I believe), a Broadway show has been filmed and was released in movie theatres across the country."

Jekyll and Hyde was shown on a few screens in select markets."

Correct. Jekyll & HYDE was shown in movie theatres for one weekend only I believe. It was shown in not just New York, but around the country in something like 10 major cities. It was then released on DVD 6 months later, and then was shown on HBO for a few times in 2002/2003!

I'm all for filming Broadway Shows if they are filmed well. The company that shot RENT had all the tools in HD but shots were out of focus half the time. I know some people are calling this "MTV" style but it is just shoddy camera work. Whenever the camera was handheld it shook and zinged and zanged all over the place. It was so distracting it confused anyone who's never seen the show. I brought a large group of people and they all told me they had no idea where anything was happening on the stage. I have posted on other posts my concerns and pray that with it 80% right they could tweak it in editing for a dvd release. But this filming as an example screws up the play which makes it a concern for filming future plays. If you destroy the integrity of the theatre experience and the play and acting through poor videography. Remember they are capturing the play, not trying to create a new movie about the live version of a play. This is the problem RENT has is that the film director wanted to make a rock video out of it instead of just letting us see a better, closer version of the play. If this is done with other shows I should hope they have enough trust in the show itself to letit tell its story.

This has great potential, especially since not everyone can make it to New York for a show when they are stuck in NowhereLand America/Canada. And it also makes for a great memory maker for those that loved a show before. Many people never get to experience theatre on this level maybe seeing 3 or 4 touring shows, half being something uninteresting to begin with. At least with these film ideas they can see real theatre productions and garner a respect for the craft of musicals, acting, and spectacle. Unfortunately if they film it and it's out of focus and such like RENT. Well I'd like to keep my memories of an exiting, joyful and clear version I saw on a New York Stage. It's a shame they kinda screwed this one up. Hopefully (I'm not holding my breath) the filmmakers see their error and fix it before they make the DVD.