Broadway shows are captured in HD for the silver screen

When the HD cinecast of “Memphis” hits movie screens for four screenings starting Thursday, it could signal a breakthrough for the theater world.

“Memphis” is last year’s Best Musical Tony winner, it’s still going strong on Broadway and a national tour is on the way — yet for $20 you will be able to catch the Broadway show in your local cineplex.

Loading...

Comments

• Weigh In
• Corrections?

Personal Post

That’s new, yet “Memphis” has company in the sudden race to convert live theater to limited-run moviehouse experiences. Two weeks ago, the New York Philharmonic’s benefit performances of Stephen Sondheim’s “Company” were “captured” for HD cinecast starting June 15. Neil Patrick Harris stars, and the cast includes Patti LuPone (beloved by Broadway buffs) as well as Jon Cryer and Stephen Colbert (box-office bait from TV).

June will also mark the international HD cinema release of Oscar Wilde’s comic masterpiece “The Importance of Being Earnest,” as it is currently being staged by the Roundabout Theatre Company on Broadway. Roundabout managing director Harold Wolpert suggests that “Earnest” — featuring an acclaimed turn in drag by Brian Bedford as Wilde’s famous society scold, Lady Bracknell — will be the first American nonprofit troupe’s show to get high-def treatment.

That distinction may not last long.

“There’s a lot coming,” says Julie Borchard-Young, whose BY Experience captured “Earnest” and will distribute it to cinemas.

“It’s just starting to snowball,” says Darryl Schaffer, whose Screenvision is distributing “Company.”

But is there any money in it? “I don’t know,” laughs veteran producer Ellen M. Krass, who has brought a number of Sondheim projects to the small screen on PBS. “Call me in a couple months.”

“We’re still in the early stages,” says Bruce Brandwen, whose Broadway Worldwide is behind “Memphis” HD.

The results are already in at the Metropolitan Opera, of course, which these theater dreamers almost universally cite as their model. Next fall the Met will begin a sixth season of its trailblazing “Live in HD” cinecasts, which transmit certain Saturday afternoon performances live from New York to movie theaters around the world. (Delayed screenings and encores are part of the package, too.) Last season “Live in HD” grossed $48 million, according to the Met’s Web site. Half went back to the Met to cover costs and disbursements, and $8 million was profit.

Theater has been following suit most consistently in London, where the National Theatre is completing its second season of “NT Live.” The National’s satellite HD cinecasts are shown in Washington at the Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Harman Center, and the programming has been a hit. Shakespeare’s March screening of the Danny Boyle-directed “Frankenstein” sold out at the 774-seat theater. Two screenings were offered Saturday; one was sold out at presstime. Managing director Chris Jennings bought a large screen as soon as the series began; now he has invested in an HD projector, too.

Technology gets cheaper and better all the time, and such low-end stuff as cell phones used by rabid fans to upload bootlegs has nudged a skeptical and heavily unionized theater industry toward a controlled embrace of digital opportunities. Getting support from the unions has been key, naturally.