Monday, July 11, 2016
She "Kinda" Loves Me : Broadway's First Livestream Not Without Its Issues
OnStage: While many enjoyed Broadway's first ever livestream of She Loves Me, many others were left in the dark, literally.
There had been massive publicity leading up to tonight's airing, especially since it was advertised that users would only have to pay a one-time fee of $9.99 to watch a Broadway show.
With thousands likely to tune in, BroadwayHD put the spotlight on themselves tonight.
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2 comments:
This new idea of streaming different Broadway shows online to people all over the world is both a good an bad idea. I do see the draw of it; after all, for many people including myself it is pretty hard to get into a Broadway production let alone New York City. At the same time however, live theatre is just that live. And even if a theatrical production is being streamed live, to me, that would never feel the same as being inside the theatre, watching actors, scenery, lights, music costumes, etc. and actually being able to personally respond to all of those things that make up a show. Unfortunately, because BroadwayHD's first live streaming of the Broadway musical She Loves Me was, for many people, a huge flop, this question of whether or not you really like seeing Broadway or any other theatre from the comfort of your own home is not really one that you can even yet contemplate. In the future, I really do hope that BroadwayHD or another online steaming service does a much better job of planning ahead and actually streaming a play, because this could really revolutionize the accessibility of theatre across the county.
As much as the first livestream kind of flopped, the fact that broadway had its first livestream raises some questions about the future of our theatre. It is no longer necessary to go a theatre to see what is being put on stage, with people now being able to watch a play as easily as they would put on a movie. I wonder if the technical difficulties will turn future viewers away from the livestreams, but I feel that once the livestream difficulties are sorted out and people are able to watch without problems, livestreams will start to impact the world of theatre more than we ever imagined. Going to see a show is an experience in itself, and livestreams take away part of that experience, but at the same time don’t require you to get tickets. I am excited though to be able to see musicals without trying to get tickets, but as a designer I wonder how this will change the way we work and the way people see the technical elements of the show.
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