Welcome to BroadwayHD
Okay, theater people, this is not a drill! SIGNAL BOOST THE FUCK OUT OF THIS.
This week, BroadwayHD launches.
What is BroadwayHD, you ask? Allow me to tell you.
You know how you wanted professionally filmed versions of shows? Try this on for size: BroadwayHD is about to become the Netflix of Broadway. Their plan is to offer high-definition broadcasts of top theatrical events to computers and phones. The shows can be streamed to computers, mobile devices, and TVs – both Apple TV and Google Chromecast.
It was founded by Broadway producers Stewart F. Lane and Bonnie Comley, a Tony Award-winning husband-and-wife producing team behind such shows as On Your Feet!, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder, and Legally Blonde.
Here’s how it works:
- Sign up for a free account.
- Subscribe or rent one show.
- Enjoy a Broadway show any time.
Users can buy a monthly subscription for $14.99 or a yearly one for $169.99. There’s also free content.
Now, as you might understand since they’re launching this week, there’s not much to offer. They’re leaning on the archives of the BBC, Great Performances, and Broadway Worldwide right now. You’ll see a lot of stuff you’ve already seen: Montego Glover and Chad Kimball in Memphis, David Hasselhoff in Jekyll & Hyde, Orlando Bloom in Romeo & Juliet, Helen Mirren in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Daniel Craig and Stephen Rhea in Copenhagen, Rufus Sewel in Henry IV, BBC broadcasts of Shakespeare and Chekhov classics (all told, about 120+ productions). Most of them are currently in standard definition rather than the HD promised to come (up next is Audra McDonald in Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill after it airs on HBO).
But… they are trying to demonstrate demand, to entice unions to the table. And you remember what I’ve said about union costs being a major stumbling block, right?
So it’s stuff you’ve seen. Big deal! If you want a future where Broadway shows, or West End shows, or Off-Broadway shows, are all professionally filmed, and available for a low low price at any time, you better damn well sign up for this site and make it happen!
I REPEAT: THIS IS NOT A DRILL. SIGNAL BOOST THE FUCK OUT OF THIS.