Friday, September 07, 2007
I 'BLONDE' MY MTV | By MICHAEL RIEDEL | Theater | Broadway Shows | Musicals
NY Post: "MTV has struck a deal with the producers of 'Legally Blonde' to broadcast an entire performance of the $10 million musical, The Post has learned."
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9 comments:
The actors dislike of their small compensation for doing the taping is very justified. If they were actors on a television show or movie, they would be making much more money, with the on-air product being the same.
Seperately, i think this idea is a great producing tactic. More people have the potential to see this broadcast than have sit in on every performance thus far, combined. If the taping is good, which is rare for a theatre peice, word of mouth will spread exponentially faster. In fact, this event has the potential to put some major power behind, or destroy, the length of the show's run.
My initial reaction to this is sadness mostly because the more I read about theatre on Broadway the more I realize it's all about the money and the handful of shows that are good get over-run by shows like Legally Blonde specifically marketed to make money lacking substance. Though MTV and the producers of the show will make a lot of money if the taping goes well it really cheats the actors of their hard work and they have every right to complain about the "small compensation" they're receiving for such a huge marketing deal.
Sickly as it makes me to say this, from a producing standpoint this might actually be a really good idea. Part of me really hopes that its well received and encourages a whole new audience to go see a show on Broadway. On the other hand I just wish other shows, perhaps with a little more depth, could strike the same deal.
I really like the comparison to High School Musical, since they are basically doing the same thing. When I was recently in NY and saw that Legally Blonde was becoming a musical, I was a little surprised and a little disgusted, I had never imagined that the most cliche chick flick movie would appear on Broadway, but apparently it is a descent show. Putting Legally Blonde on MTV will be good for that show. It will expose it to its target audience in their living rooms which hopefully would increase ticket sales. The reason this tactic would not be as successful with more insightful shows, is that their target audience reads the Times, is exposed to the world of professional theatre, and has the capacity to buy their own ticket. They don't need to see the show on TV to say, "wow I want to pay money to see that live" instead, television broadcast of more substantial pieces of theatre would cheapen them for the audiences who appreciate live theatre.
Although I don't think it's a bad idea for MTV to air "Legally Blonde", I am surprised that they are airing the musical in its entirety. If they shortened it and only showed a few of the bigger numbers in the show, it would garner the interest needed to get people to come see the show. Showing the entire show would make it unnecessary to go see it in New York. I do feel this is a last ditch effort for the show though, and if this doesn't help bring up ticket sales, the show will close soon.
I have mixed feeling about this. On one hand, I have this secret, slightly embarrassing love of the music from LB, and sometimes sing along to it at home (Chapel and Naomi, I’m so sorry). I would like to see the show, however I would rather spend my money on other things when I visit the city. By watching it on TV, I at least get a sense of the production without having to be there…..kind of like CATS!....oh God. On the other hand, I’m not sure I want to support this High School Musical trend of taking over multi-media. The majority of the fans associated with shows like these annoy the crap out of me, and although I just completely contradicted myself, I don’t know, I frankly just want to see it without having to deal with the stuff that’s bound to follow.
I'm not sure whether this will help Legally Blonde the musical or whether it will hurt it. I'm sure some people who see the airing may want to go out and actually see it in person but probably those that don't have the money or don't want to go to the theatre will have no desire to go to the theatre and see Legally Blonde if they can just see it on TV.
I found the comment at the bottom of this article hilarious because I too dislike Disney.
I am really curious what the contractual stipulations would be for the performers getting filmed. I'm sure that the compensation isn't outlandishly low, but I am sure it will make for a very intense work process for all involved. The rules/regulations/compensations for filming performances are incredibly complex even if it's just to maintain an archive. I can't even imagine what one would look like to air it on MTV. I'm sure it will hook some future patrons, but at the same time, it seems like theater is losing popularity to younger generations because of the increase in tv/film popularity. Perhaps signing away your show to tv wouldn't be the most optimal decision. Time will tell.
great! this is one of those things that will help the musical theatre and theatre business transform into different venues and influence different audiences... i will be very interested to see if this creates new fans of the entire business. way to go mtv, picking up on the artform that has in a way started it all.
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