Musical Theatre: Business and The Digital Age

Kind of continuing off of my previous blog about digital theatre, musical theatre producer David Ian has a different view on live performances and how they should not be streamed through a computer. In an interview for The Economist, Ian discusses how this is a great new time for theatre, especially musicals, because of the fact that they are something that aren’t normally streamed live. That simple little detail makes theatre completely different from television or film. Watching a live performance is a unique attractive treat that people don’t normally get to enjoy every day.

The unfortunate thing about this, however, is the fact that this appeals more to big Broadway productions, not small community theaters. These large productions cost a pretty penny to attend to, especially for musicals like The Lion King or Mamma Mia. Front row seats to shows like these can cost two people over a thousand dollars to attend. This does absolutely nothing for people who can’t afford to view their favorite musical live, and at the end of the day, it makes the idea of streaming live theatre at a reasonable price more appealing.

According to IBISWorld, Musicals bring in almost two billion dollars worth of revenue to the US in a year. When a musical has been branded, that production can go on tour all over the world, bringing in the big bucks. Musicals, like The Lion King, have been around since the 1980’s and are still thriving in 2015. So what about non-musical theatre productions?

There is a younger crowd that is starting to become more attracted to musicals, which in turn will hopefully turn them onto full-fledged plays, but I don’t necessarily see that happening. Many of these well-recognized musicals have already been or are being turned into films. Which gives this new generation absolutely nothing unique or attractive to look forward to about musicals. Once again this brings us back to pushing theatre into a technologically advanced age. No offense to Mr. Ian, but as student in the theatre world, I am seeing less and less people getting involved in theatre. The idea of allowing people to stream these branded musicals live might give us the leverage we need in the theatre community to bring it back to life, at a price that the common man can afford.