jake apologist
waddup just here to tell you that if someone shames you for watching bootlegs of Broadway shows it's all bullshit anyway
jake apologist
if they aren't gonna release them so that it's accessable to everyone then it doesn't matter
CP Coulter
I've always had a problem with that kind of mindset because on the one hand, sure, it's better to support the show by watching it with a ticket and everything but at the same time, to demand that of everyone in the world (hell, even just one country) is a bit privileged to say because Broadway shows are not like music (that you can legally stream or buy
CP Coulter
from online or practically anywhere). You have to fly a thousand miles away (do you have money for a ticket? If you don't live in that country, do you have a visa? Can you fly to there and watch it yourself?) and then you buy a definitely not accessibly priced ticket, and then you watch it once.
CP Coulter
ANd that's PER show, per performance.
CP Coulter
Broadway shows are just not accessible, and I still try to think about why they won't release legal copies of it, when even the Globe does and that's where Shakespeare had his stuff on. >_>
jake apologist
exactly my point
jake apologist
like if your show has a version anyone can watch anytime (Newsies, for example) then by all means tell people not to make bootlegs
jake apologist
but if you're gonna say that but not offer an alternative to seeing it then
CP Coulter
Like personally, I would KILL to watch Broadway shows performed live. When there's shows in my country being staged, I always try to go watch it the legal way, really buying a ticket and watch.
CP Coulter
But that does not happen all that often, and the prices are intense (one time, the only reason I got to watch was because my mom got two free tickets from knowing one of the crew).
CP Coulter
Going all the way to Broadway to see those shows for real on stage with the Broadway cast is entirely out of budget and out of the question.
jake apologist
do you know how much I would love to see things on Broadway???
CP Coulter
So while I don't watch bootlegs (I don't know where to find them sooo...XD), I do wish that there was a way that things become more accessible to theatre fans all over the world
George
Broadway and theatre are dying because they have not developed a way to make it accessible to the people
jake apologist
most shows have at least one or two of their show runs recorded so I don't get what would be so hard about releasing it for $20-30 dollars
Roadkill Lizard
I know Stratford, Ontario has a deal with provincal movie theatres that they do filmed versions of thier productions to play throughout the year. Its like Stratford Tuesdays or something I forget, but I know they do play stage productions in movie theatres around here. Its not hecka popular with the youth, but if the Ed Mirvish (musical theatre venue) got
Roadkill Lizard
in on that there is already a kind of infrastructure set up for it. And if its already filmed, one could sell copies. Or streaming prices??? Idk. I would sit in a movie theatre and watch a professionally filmed version of say Hamilton. I mean I had heard Les Mis, but I didnt get it until I saw the broadcast of the 25th Anniversary version- which proves
Roadkill Lizard
making it accessible really does open up people’s experiences and minds to it; giving a version people don’t have to pay $300 for a nosebleed to see means more people can enjoy it- and that wasnt even a proper staging on Les Mis!
jake apologist
you know what was cool? when Disney decided to film Newsies and go a bunch of the OBC back and put it in theaters. Then they made it available for streaming for $20 and put it on Netflix
jake apologist
I feel like that should be what direction Broadway is heading in
CP Coulter
I would pay HONEST TO GOD MONEY to buy filmed shows.
CP Coulter
Like, I remember when they livestreamed 8, the one where all those superstars were, and that was like a READING.
CP Coulter
People flocked to see the thing so HARD.
CP Coulter
Like...making a show accessible has proven time and again to be incredibly lucrative and at the same time giving people the chance to experience something they would literally not have had the opportunity to otherwise. It spreads interest in theatre, in stage performances...
CP Coulter
I don't know why there's still resistance against it, I suppose maybe they're worried if people think they can just watch it, no one will come?
CP Coulter
I dunno, people can watch concerts on DVD and everybody still goes to concerts, and people can stream movies on netflix but cinemas are still a thing, so....
George
I feel like Netflix complete invalidated the argument that people won't pay for things if the service is god.
George
*good
Bee (they/them)
i went off on tumblr over this issue
Bee (they/them)
without the boot of elisabeth das musical, i wouldn't even be ALIVE.
Yuè
I went to Los Angeles to see Darren Criss in Hedwig. Now tickets were like 80 dollar each. Then there's flight from Dusseldorf to Paris to LA and back. Hotels obvs. Car rental. Parking space. Dinner and other food and damn, that is some money, okay.
Yuè
If I want to watch a movie I take my bike and I'll pay 7 euros at the theatre and that's it
Yuè
If I want to read a book I take my bike and I'll pay 13 euros at the bookstore and that's it
Yuè
If I want to listen to music I take my bike and I'll pay 10 euros at the Media Markt for a CD and that's it
Yuè
If I want to watch a TV show I turn on my TV and that's it
Yuè
and to think that these things have become old school, now with Spotify and Netflix and shit
Yuè
I don't even have to leave my place and I'm no longer restricted by time slots etc.
Yuè
Besides, people who watch bootlegs are often the people who WANT to watch live shows. Do you really think my cousin, who doesn't give a tits about theatre, takes the time to watch a Wicked boot?
Yuè
The Netherlands started bringing international Broadway tours to Amsterdam and if I'm interested in the show, I sure as fuck go because watching Pippin live obviously beats watching the Pippin boot
Yuè
Not only makes it theatre accessible, but it also makes it more well-known.
Yuè
"But if we create digital downloads, people will torrent it!" Yes, but there are still a shit ton of people willing to pay good money for it, so you still make profit. You make nada of boots.
Yuè
"But then no one will see live theatre!" Yes they will, like I just said about Pippin. Look at sports! They are being broadcasted and the people who watch those games still attend actual games.
Yuè
Aka, shut p.
CP Coulter
They call people who want to watch filmed shows as lazy or entitled. I say that kind of talk calls back to a kind of elitism. Where only those privileged enough with the resources to go see a thing live deserves to see the thing. Especially when its accessibility is as intensely limited as that.
CP Coulter
It doesn't feel right to me, they want more people to be interested and come see it; look, the interest and want and demand is there, but the availability of is is what is NOT there.
Yuè
History of entertainment has always been kind of for the privileged
Yuè
When Paris became the cultural scene in Europ with his cabarets and shows, it was for the wealthy upper class, and that was accesibility at the time, because before that it was mostly for royals etc.
Yuè
Then in America, the roaring twenties brought it to the "common folk" by the means of radio and moving pictures, because it became cheaper so the working class could afford it as well
Yuè
But before that, going to see a show was seen as something for the rich
Yuè
And now with tickets prices rising and rising in the Broadway world, it is still happening, which is kinda weird cause tons of shows are about people who can't afford to see it
Yuè
Rent changed a shit ton with their lotteries, so yea, it has become more accesible, but still it's crappy
Finn
Plus even if you have the means to see a show, they have limited capacity. Hamilton is running in my hometown but it sells out MONTHS in advance, and if your schedule is in any way unpredictable you can't spend that kind of money to have the chance it might not work out.
charlie windsor
I lived ~1hr outside of NYC. I got to go see shows. Not all of them because sometimes mom said “nope, thats too much money” and tbh, without the youtube video of MTVs telecast of Legally Blonde I wouldn’t have realized how much I loved that show. Even if you live in or near Broadway its expensive and not easy to get to
charlie windsor
I would kill (especially now that I’ve moved away) for a broadway streaming service or recorded shows on iTunes or digital download so I can watch and enjoy them. There is a market for recorded stage shows. People will pay. And people will still go see a show! Oh my lord, I would pay to go see Come From Away live if I could but I would also love to enjoy it
charlie windsor
Whenever with a digital download. I would have paid to see Bandstand. But that closed. So I’ll take a recorded show. And if it ends up going on tour, you bet I’ll go and see it
charlie windsor
Tldr I agree with what everyone’s saying