Is Diana going to Netflix? — Page 2

troynow said: "So...

Can someone explain to me how Broadway can reopen for Diana the Musical to film for Netflix but we cant open the theatres for the public?

What is Equity doing about it?"

Not sure if it's for Netflix, but @troynow is correct that they are filming Diana at the end of the month in the empty theater. Can't reveal the source but it's happening.

Every ounce of common sense tells me this is completely impractical and impossible... but the idea of a show with such little buzz and advances going to record and release a proshot just to capitalize on the demand people currently have for more professionally recorded shows during quarantine is just... immaculate. If this comes out on Netflix I can only imagine it'd drum up some serious press right now. I know lots of people were comparing it to Anastasia or A Bronx Tale in terms of quality in it's preview thread but it definitely seems fun enough and if this happened I think it'd set a huge precedent for commercial theatre proshots going forward- especially during the shutdown. I can't see this happening but what an underdog story it would be.

DiscoCrows said: "Every ounce of common sense tells me this is completely impractical and impossible... but the idea of a show with such little buzz and advancesgoing to recordand release a proshot just to capitalize on the demand people currently have for more professionally recorded shows during quarantine is just... immaculate. If this comes out on Netflix I can only imagine it'd drum up some serious press right now. I know lots of people were comparing it toAnastasiaorA Bronx Talein terms of quality in it's preview threadbut it definitely seems fun enough and if this happened I think it'd set a huge precedent for commercial theatre proshots going forward- especially during the shutdown. I can't see this happening but what an underdog story it would be."

If you think about it, it isn't that impractical or impossible at all.

Everyone involved would need to be quarantined and tested, which has already happened in other instances in entertainment (ie: Godspell in the Berkshires, Big Brother All Stars currently in progress). Onerous? Maybe. But doable? Yes.

If there is no audience, the production would have substantially more flexibility in how it shoots. It could shoot like a movie, and only call certain groups people on certain days (ie- today we're only filming Judy Kaye's scenes) and shoot out of order. This could minimize the number of people in the theater at any given time, especially backstage.

I could very easily see Equity giving the greenlight to this provided their safety measures are observed. And, honestly, it may not even be up to Equity- SAG-AFTRA may assert jurisdiction over it, and SAG-AFTRA has been allowing production to go forward on projects. I can't speak as to whether that is the case here, but I know for a fact the two unions have been at loggerheads over the matter of theater work that has been created specifically for broadcast during the pandemic. Is a stage production being performed without a live audience specifically to be recorded and distributed actually "theater" or substantially different than a movie or TV show?

Updated On: 8/10/20 at 12:48 PM

Well damn! This seemed like such a fake story since there was no source and the OP's original post was worded strangely. I guess filming it and closing it is a lot better than taking a chance next year that it might be a complete flop. Any filmed theater is so welcome right now, looking forward to it!

Very happy to have seen "Diana" twice in La Jolla and would like to see it again.

Updated On: 8/12/20 at 02:40 PM

Kad said: "nativenewyorker2 said: "http://filmedonstage.com/news/288-this-broadway-musical-will-be-filmed-in-an-empty-theater-this-month"

This just seems like a summary of what has been shared in this thread."

I think that site is just barely one step above a fan site.

Jordan Catalano said: "How would that even work? It’s a large cast and NY laws wouldn’t even allow that kind of gathering on a stage, would they?"

I don't think they would. Cast and production staff are not allowed inside the theaters as is. And I would think that by now we would have heard something from Actor's Equity allowing it like we did for "Godspell" and "Harry Clarke". JMO

Fosse76 said: "Islander_fan said: "There is no way the Shubert organization would allow this to happen at one of their theatres. Hell, at the beginning of the shutdown they released a list of what date and time theatres would be open so ushers could go and grab there stuff. There were a couple of ushers that I knew who found out literally the day after, and when they called the offices asap, they were told that they were out of luck, they want to limit the people that go in and out."

For one thing, the theaters needed to be staffed to allow the ushers and other staff entrance to thetheater, which is not available at an usher's leisure. For another, it doesn't matter how the ushers were treated."



First off, though this matters not to the point I was trying to make, Shubert did not do the best they could in terms of getting the word out about the list, with many of us ushers not even knowing their was such a list. And, all it would take is one guy with the key to the building. But, that is not the point I was trying to make.



Point was, if Shubert won’t let its own employees into the building, in what world would they then allow a full cast and crew plus filming crew into their theatre during the pandemic.

Islander_fan said: "There is no way the Shubert organization would allow this to happen at one of their theatres. Hell, at the beginning of the shutdown they released a list of what date and time theatres would be open so ushers could go and grab there stuff. There were a couple of ushers that I knew who found out literally the day after, and when they called the offices asap, they were told that they were out of luck, they want to limit the people that go in and out."

That had nothing to do with the virus. If people are allowed into the theater, there are minimum staffing requirements. The production and the theater owner aren't going to pay the department heads, porter etc just because one usher wants to come in at a different time.

Kad said: "What the Shuberts were doing with ushers 5 months ago doesn't necessarily indicate what the Shuberts would do now if one of their tenants wanted to do something like film. It's an entirely different situation."

especially when they are not just the landlord. but I still think it is not happening.

uncageg said: "I happen to know that the Shuberts sent out e-mails way in advance of opening the theaters for staff to go pick things up. They also gave dates and times specific for each theater and they did it twice. I would think that if any usher didn't know until it was too late than they didn't check their e-mails or maybe didn't supply one. They also let production staff and casts know."

Not only that, but all staff were notified the day the theaters were closed that they had access to retrieve their belongings until a certain time that evening (I believe it was until 7pm, which was curtain time for most shows). Any usher scheduled to work that night really had no excuse not to retrieve their belongings. Even then, the staff were alerted on Friday that they could pick up their belongings that day, and also through the weekend, since starting Monday all theaters would be inaccessible. Once again, in my opinion, ushers/staff/crew had no excuse not to retrieve their belongings, since they would normally have been at the theater anyway. They also had an additional opportunity in April to pick up their belongings, when the Shubert's sent an email identifying the date and time for each theater.

slander_fan said: "First off, though this matters not to the point I was trying to make, Shubert did not do the best they could in terms of getting the word out about the list, with many of us ushers not even knowing their was such a list. And, all it would take is one guy with the key to the building. But, that is not the point I was trying to make."

That's not true. The Shuberts had been trying to collect contact information from its staff for several weeks prior to the shutdown. Staff members who did not submit the information and were not contacted really have no one to blame but themselves. And after that weekend it take's more than just "one guy with the key to the building." It's not practical to have a person come in each and every time a staff member wants to come in at their own leisure to collect their belongings.

"Point was, if Shubert won’t let its own employees into the building, in what world would they then allow a full cast and crew plus filming crew into their theatre during the pandemic."

It wasn't about prohibiting employees in the building. It's about the practicality of having someone available on a whim because some usher (or any other person who works in the building) decides they want to pick up their belongings at their own leisure.