Official Video/DVD of musicals

Having recently gone through a buying blitz and getting all the Sondheim shows available on DVD, I'm wondering:

Given that we live in an age that is increasingly aware of capturing the magic of the stage (in things like PBS' great performances, and the aforementioned Sondheim), are most (or many) new Broadway shows filmed? Obviously not with intent to sell, but by directors for posterity? Or just as a matter of habit?

I ask partly because I wanna know why more aren't available (at least once the show has closed), and partly cause - watching a Broadway documentary recently - I noticed how many clips from shows with their OBCs (I noticed clips from original productions of Rent and La Cage among others) there are. I wondered if these are from vaults of hundreds of filmed musicals locked away in some storage vault, or if we're destined to go without all of these stage marvels.

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Search for past threads on the subject about which ones are "officially" available on DVD/VHS.

Mostly all shows on Broadway are filmed for archival purposes at the Lincoln Center Library. You can view almost any show there at the library with special permission. This is also discussed in other threads.

As for why more aren't "officially" released - it's mostly about money. I asked Lonny Price the same question - he brought us CANDIDE to television among other releases - and he responded "it cost $500,000 to produce a show onto DVD and we're lucky if we make half of that back." There just isn't a demand for it, at least not enough to make a profit.

But then you ask why PETER PAN, SWEENEY TODD, FOSSE, SMOKEY JOE'S CAFE, JEKYLL & HYDE, CATS, THE MAN WHO CAME TO DINNER, and other shows have a DVD available...and for that, I cannot give an answer because each case is different. CATS should be obvious. But something obscure like THE MAN WHO CAME TO DINNER? The only thing going for it in terms of marketing is the name Nathan Lane. Other than that, why would anyone outside theatre want to purchase it?

And then there's always the argument that theatre is meant to be experienced live and in no other format. I disagree with this mindset, because not everyone has the the opportunity to experience live theatre, so the next best thing is to watch it on your television screen, even if it does take away the purpose of theatre being 'live.'

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A fair amount of shows are filmed for posterity, but not all of them. Many of the clips you mentioned (that were on news shows and ads etc.) are actually segments that were filmed, they aren't scenes from the taped copy. The taped copy of a show is not commercial quality. The reason shows aren't filmed commercially is cost. With so many unions involved and the lack of mainstream demand for such recordings, it is practically impossiible for such a venture to ever make any money.

COMPLETELY OFF TOPIC!!


That stupid "TIME OUT please take our survey" ad was at the top, and suddenly started making noises! It sounds like my computer was making fart noises...and it was just in the middle of my music so I was like "WTF?"

end off topic.

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"how does one get special permission? "

As I understand it, you need a legitimate reason -- i.e. researching a show or a particular role.

Also, shows still running are not available for viewing.

Updated On: 1/15/07 at 03:25 AM

I don't understand why you have to get permission to view those videos. I mean, if they are not still running on Broadway, then what's the point?

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"Also, the shows that are filmed for the archives are filmed in static full-stage shots -- no different camera angles or zoom-ins, etc. So they're not suited for commercial release."

That's not true at all.