Broadway Comes Full Circle with the Dawn of 360° Videos; Watch from Every Angle!

For theatre lovers who are far from New York City, Broadway has gotten a lot more real in the past few months. Just last fall, Andrew Lloyd Webber released a fully immersive 360° music video for "You're in the Band," a musical number from School of Rock. Shot in a real NYC classroom, it was one of the first of its kind on YouTube, allowing you to navigate all angles of the classroom for a completely immersive experience of the song.

Andrew Lloyd Webber said, "I am proud that School of Rock is not just the first musical to take this leap into the future, but that this video of "You're in the Band" is the first time anyone has used the 360 degree medium in this way. It could open a lot of doors." And it did...

It was soon after that The Lion King used the same technology to take viewers a step further- into an actual Broadway theatre. Fans were transported to the Pride Lands for the iconic opening number, "Circle of Life". The video allowed viewers to experience the number from within it, completely surrounded by the 31 cast members onstage, Julie Taymor's eye-popping puppets and masks, the audience seated in the Minskoff Theatre auditorium, set pieces flying in from above and actors emerging from two floors below the stage as Pride Rock rises up to present Mufasa, Rafiki and baby Simba.

Both uses of the new technology have had huge success, and it's only a matter of time before other productions jump on the bandwagon. While we're waiting though, enjoy videos from Broadway's 360° pioneers: SCHOOL OF ROCK and THE LION KING!

You can view 360° videos in the following ways:

-For viewing on desktop, watch in the latest Chrome browser and use your mouse to click and drag to navigate your view.