Should There Be A Push for Recordings of Shows?

I think there should be a push for shows to be recorded for the public, especially for shows that are limited runs. I don't think this will keep people from coming to see the show, I actually think this will encourage people to go see the shows. They can be released after runs have been concluded or later in the run. I mean look at Sondheim's works - Into The Woods, Sweeney and more - they are recorded and have gained his work a lot of fans and caused many to want to get people to see his shows on stage. They're great promotion tools.

I know many will say producers will not want to pay actors for these recordings but I think this will be a smarter decision for their pockets in the long run. This could give their shows longevity even after a run has concluded. There are no reasons shows like Cabaret (last revival) should never be seen by people around the world. I believe if they put out the DVDs and actually promote them, they could bring in some revenue for all parties involved.

OAN: I also don't know why shows who can't afford cast recordings won't just do live audio recordings?

100% yes.. I think it should be common practice for every show to release a video recording once its run has ended.

"I think there should be a push for shows to be recorded for the public, especially for shows that are limited runs. I don't think this will keep people from coming to see the show, I actually think this will encourage people to go see the shows. They can be released after runs have been concluded or later in the run. I mean look at Sondheim's works - Into The Woods, Sweeney and more - they are recorded and have gained his work a lot of fans and caused many to want to get people to see his shows on stage. They're great promotion tools.
I know many will say producers will not want to pay actors for these recordings but I think this will be a smarter decision for their pockets in the long run. This could give their shows longevity even after a run has concluded. There are no reasons shows like Cabaret (last revival) should never be seen by people around the world. I believe if they put out the DVDs and actually promote them, they could bring in some revenue for all parties involved.
OAN: I also don't know why shows who can't afford cast recordings won't just do live audio recordings?"

Live audio recordings pretty much only save on studio rental costs. You still have to pay the actors and musicians for recording, because the unions, rightly so, are not going to agree to cut that paycheck from their salaries. And you still need to pay a recording engineer to completely remaster the recordings, because what sounds good in the theatre is not necessarily going to sound good on a recording.

Think of all the bootleggers who will join the ranks of the unemployed. How will they feed their families? They will be forced to rob and steal.

Unfortunately those recordings are not available for viewing by the great unwashed masses.

If The Boy From Oz had been recorded, people still would have came. In addition, if DVD's were sold at the theater they would have sold out every night.

Personally for myself as someone who tries to see everything on Broadway before it closes though I would most likely cut out 85 percent of the shows I go to if I had the option of watching in HD from my couch. The major reason for this is that I hate driving in or taking the train to the city and even more so I am generally so uncomfortable in so many of the theatres when I don't have an aisle seat. It would be amazing to have all the leg room I wanted from my own couch. Saving all the money would just be an added bonus.

Updated On: 8/3/15 at 11:51 AM

"People would still absolutely go to shows. Look at every other live event, people are still going to sporting events and those are all live in HD. People are still heading out to the movies as well when it's a big movie.

Personally for myself as someone who tries to see everything on Broadway before it closes though I would most likely cut out 85 percent of the shows I go to if I had the option of watching in HD from my couch. The major reason for this is that I hate driving in or taking the train to the city and even more so I am generally so uncomfortable in so many of the theatres when I don't have an aisle seat. It would be amazing to have all the leg room I wanted from my own couch. Saving all the money would just be an added bonus.

"

So you say that you don't think releasing recordings will impact ticket sales, and follow that up with saying you would cut out a huge percentage of the shows you go see if these recordings became common place? That right there is why producers are not making any major efforts to find a deal that would make releasing these recordings even remotely feasible.

And let's face it, the only shows that could potentially turn a profit from these would be the mega-hits, which hardly need it. Do you really think releasing a recording of something like Honeymoon in Vegas, It Shoulda Been You, or Amazing Grace (to use a few recent examples) would be anything but even more money down the drain?

Following up on AEA's post...

Whether released before or after a show closes, someone has to pony up the huge cost of filming, editing and releasing. For those who think this should be done, why don't you pay for one and see how enthusiastic you are after that.

Using Passing Strange as an example, despite being exceptionally well filmed and well reviewed, the interest level is such that the video cannot be found among the top 10000 titles on Amazon.

However much some folks here might want to see it, these recordings are financially insane.

Finally, as a posture, filming shows conveys a deadly idea-that the film version of a show is a reasonable substitute for the live show. As an industry, that is the exact opposite of the message that needs to be communicated: that there is NO substitute for live theatre.

As someone who saw Passing Strange many times in the theater, saw the movie in the theater and owns the DVD, I am glad I saw it live. The movie is good, but some of the visuals, like the back wall got lost in the filming.

yea, i just wish i could see shows from long ago like the original WSS, Funny girl, hello dolly, mame, evita, les mis, miss saigon, sweeney todd, etc

I love this site when missing older produtions.

Blue Gobo/Vintage footage from Broadway past.

They removed a lot of stuff because of the crackdown from the Ed Sullivan estate.

The Sullivan estate has over 15 hours of clips from Broadway shows 1950-1970. It has release only a handful of these, and it pursues legal action against anyone who posts them.