BWW Blog: Diana and the Future of Professionally Recorded Shows

The coronavirus pandemic has wreaked havoc on the entire world, including the theatre community. Broadway has been shut down since mid-March and will remain closed through 2020, leaving actors unemployed and audiences looking for a new way to experience theatre. But luckily for theatre fans, even though they cannot see their favorite shows live, productions are beginning to release professional recordings online. One of the most popular musicals of the century, Hamilton, had its professional film recording released on Disney+ on July 3rd of 2020, much earlier than many had predicted (I had guessed 2025 at the minimum). And only a few weeks ago, a new musical, Diana, announced that it would be filming a performance that would be released on Netflix in 2021.

Diana's release on Netflix is unique because it is going to be on the streaming site before its opening night in 2021. While Diana premiered last year at the La Jolla Playhouse in California and had a limited run that was extended twice, the musical was only in previews for ten days (March 2nd to March 12th) on Broadway before the shutdown began. The opening date for the show was moved from March 31st, 2020 to May 25th, 2020, but even that may be pushed back if the pandemic does not die down by then. But before then, the cast will come together again at the Longacre Theatre for a performance without an audience, filming for the Netflix recording. Of course, the cast and crew of the show will be ensuring that the health and safety or everyone is prioritized. According to Playbill, the show's "safety protocols have received approval from Actors' Equity Association" and safety plans include "routine testing, isolation plans for all actors and stage managers, and HVAC changes to ensure proper ventilation backstage".

While Diana may be one of the first musicals to release a professional recording before opening on Broadway, there are plenty of other musicals that have recordings online. Of course, nearly every modern musical has a bootleg that can be found somewhere on the Internet, but that's a discussion for a much longer article in the future. Along with bootlegs, the Theatre on Film and Tape Archive (TOFT) at the New York Public Library has been operating for fifty years, preserving productions with the approval of unions and guilds. But unlike the simplicity of going onto YouTube and searching for a bootleg, to gain access to the TOFT archive, one must be doing research and have an appointment, so you cannot simply walk into the library. And now, there are even streaming sites dedicated exclusively to theatre.

When BroadwayHD first premiered She Loves Me as a livestream on its site, I have to admit that I was a bit suspicious. How could a streaming website like this have enough productions to keep theatre fans satisfied for more than a month? But now, looking through all of the different titles available, I am quite impressed with the selection. Websites like BroadwayHD operate as a sort of "theatre Netflix", enabling subscribers to watch modern shows like Falsettos, Cats, and Puffs, as well as classic Shakespeare plays and even productions in languages other than English. While you do have to pay for a subscription ($8.99 per month or $99.99 yearly after a free trial), the price may be worth it for those who want a quality (and legal) recording without waiting for Tom Hooper to destroy their favorite show in a movie musical.

But will a recording help Diana succeed on Broadway or will it lead to lower ticket sales? As a film of a show has not been released before opening night like this before, it is difficult to guess. For some, like myself, seeing a recording of a show only makes me want to see it even more. There is the argument that some people will simply watch the recording instead of paying the exorbitant prices for tickets to Broadway, which is probably true for casual theatergoers. Along with convincing people to see a show, professional recordings are especially important for those who are unable to go to Broadway to see the original cast perform live. Only a select few were able to see the original cast of Hamilton live before most of the cast members started leaving in 2016, but now anyone from around the world with a Disney+ account can see the brilliant performances of actors like Daveed Diggs, Leslie Odom Jr., and Phillipa Soo as many times as they want to. And of course, many shows don't last for a long time on the Great White Way, so wouldn't it be nice to have professional recordings of shows like Tuck Everlasting and Groundhog Day that now only exist in cast recordings and our memories?

So for now, it appears that the filmed production of Diana will act as a test run that may form the precedent for professionally recorded performances. I personally hope that more shows will partner with streaming sites like Netflix, especially once they are no longer performing, as being able to watch a recording of a closed show does help soften the blow. Diana's production team has made an interesting choice in releasing the recording before the current May 25th, 2021 opening night, and now all we can do is wait to see if it will be successful.