I think broadway and theatre in general is WAY behind the times when exploiting technology. Unions and Producers need to get together and explore ways of preserving live performances and making them available to a mass audience.
Seeing broadcast performances on PBS only whet my appetite to see the shows live. I don't think Sweeney Todd would be as popular today if the tour hadn't been recorded and so easily available.
Other forms of entertainment seem to "get it". The demand for seeing a sport event live only increases with broadcast.
Also, how can young theatre artist learn their craft without seeing what directors and actors have done. I can say that I've seen Richard Burton in Hamlet, when I wasn't even born when it was filmed. I know something about his choices and the staging that no amount of written description could convey.
I don't know how it can be done, but I franky think it must be done if live theatre is going to thrive and not just survive.
*steps off soapbox*
What great ones do the less will prattle of
Updated On: 6/20/07 at 04:20 PM