Stars weigh in on live TV musicals
First there was “The Sound of Music Live!’’ on NBC. Then came a flood of other live TV remakes of beloved stories, including “The Wiz,’’ “Peter Pan,’’ “Grease’’ and “Hairspray.’’
Now the trend is poised to continue, with upcoming live TV broadcasts of the stage shows “A Christmas Story’’ (Dec. 17) and “Rent’’ (Jan. 27) on Fox and City. Meanwhile, NBC plans to air live productions of “A Few Good Men,’’ “Bye Bye Birdie’’ and “Jesus Christ Superstar.’’
“There’s tons that I would want to do and I think it’s a great thing that’s happening now,’’ says Lea Michele of “Glee’’ fame, who stars on the new ABC/CTV comedy series “The Mayor.’’
“That’s how it used to be on television all the time, if you think about all those old variety shows and musicals.’’
Such “appointment television’’ events help “break through the clutter’’ in an age of audience fragmentation, says Colette Watson, senior vice-president of TV and broadcast operations at Rogers, which owns City.
“You’ve got to try new things and I think this is what you’re seeing, is the industry trying new things,’’ says Watson.
Hayden Mindell, vicepresident of television programming and content at Rogers, adds that audiences like the unpredictability of the live events.
“You never know how they’re going to turn out and I think
that’s the appeal, that’s partly why people tune in,’’ Mindell says.
“I think people love the music, I think they make for an event on television ... they’re hugely popular and it works nicely.’’
NBC’s star-packed “Hairspray Live!’’ from last December, which recently won three Emmy Awards, was filmed on multiple sets and showed the cast members behind the scenes as they moved from location to location on golf carts.
“I thought in many, many ways it was great,’’ says Eric McCormack, star of “Will & Grace,’’ which shot episodes live when it first aired from 1998 to 2006.
“I’m not sure about the filming of the golf carts going from stage to stage. It felt a little ‘Penn & Teller’ in terms of showing, ‘Here’s how we do the magic!’ That’s the part that I go, ‘I’d rather not know.’’’
Joe Jonas, who was in the “Grease Live!’’ event that aired in January 2016, admits it “was a really stressful experience.’’
“You rehearse, you rehearse, you rehearse — and then it’s live and millions of people are watching, so that’s a little scary,’’ says Jonas. “There’s no real like, ‘Can we do that again?’’’
Broadway veteran and “Daytime Divas’’ star Vanessa Williams says there is a drawback to presenting a stage musical live on TV.
“The sound, the feel, the tension, the atmosphere’’ of a theatrical audience is invaluable, says Williams, and “the audience informs what goes on onstage.’’
“That is such an important part of making theatre alive and it’s really hard to capture that on television, particularly because theatre is a head-to-toe scope,’’ says Williams.
“When the lens comes in for closeups or whatever (on TV) ... the proportion is off. Even sound — the sound in a theatre surrounds you. The sound on a television, you’re working with a speaker ... so it’s a really hard thing.’’
Recreating the magic of the original can also be a challenge.
Last May’s “Dirty Dancing’’ remake on ABC — which wasn’t live but was dubbed “appointment television’’ nonetheless — was panned by critics and fans for failing to live up to the 1987 film.