House Seats: The Magic of Live Theater at Home

 


Let’s be clear. You can’t really top the magic of live theater. One specific set of people witnessing a performance that will never be exactly the same again is a concept that’s hard to explain to non-theater-lovers. Anything is possible. An actor could flub a line. A prop could break. An ensemble may nail the complex choreography for the very first time. Whatever happens, it’ll be memorable for sure. 


In the last few years, the powers that be in the entertainment industry, hoped to harness a little of that magic by filming these incredible productions and streaming them across networks and movie houses to mixed reviews. I always think that more theater is a good thing. But, I’ve learned there are some exceptions to this rule. Some productions don’t need to be filmed, and some productions, no matter how incredible they are live, just don’t translate to a television screen. 


In House Seats, I’ll explore these productions to determine what makes a production fabulous in the theater AND at home. Come join me as I take a look at some of the best (and sadly some of the not so great) productions to date, and share my (sometimes overly gushy) thoughts on this new way of sharing theater magic worldwide.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Eating My Way Around London

Image
I’ve never been a huge fan of tours.  I like exploring things on my own and happening upon new sites and restaurants.  Or I do what every other crafty person does; I search Pinterest for fun things in whatever city I’m traveling to, and then note them in my phone so I can find them (or get lost trying to find them) when I arrive.  However, in 2015 when I went to England and Belgium, my travel partner in crime booked 2 tours for us.  The first was a Secret Garden Tour of the Cotswolds and the second was a Chocolate tour of Brussels.  Well, to say that these tours were awesome would be a huge understatement. They were phenomenal, and I had so much fun – and I ate so much food – and they totally converted me to being a tour person. When left to my own devices, I chose Pancetta Ciabatta - Yum! That’s why, when this year’s England trip rolled around, I actually mentioned a food tour of London as being something I’d like to do.  Of course, the travel par...
Read more

What Theatre Means to Me

Image
Finally saw Hamilton - 9 months after buying tickets... My first experience with the theatre was watching "Jesus Christ Superstar" in Seventh grade. I remember sitting in class completely mesmerized by what was on the screen.  It was unlike anything I had ever seen before.  I was hooked from the very first chords of the overture. Within the same lesson, we were taught about the various pieces that made up a show as well as all about the mysterious thing known as Broadway.  At that point, Broadway was just a word to me. For a good period of time, I assumed every live show that was performed - even the ones occurring at the community theatres in my home state of Maryland - were "On Broadway."  There was so much to learn and I was just starting out! In Eighth grade, our music teacher's production of choice for us to see was "West Side Story."  "West Side Story" remains a good show, but it will never hold the same place in my heart that ...
Read more

Starstruck

Image
Who's awkward?  This girl right here... When I was little, I was called shy.  When I got a little older, I was an introvert.  Now I'd say I lean more to the socially awkward end of the spectrum.  Friends and family tell me this isn't true, but they don't live inside my head and hear the non-stop chatter of hypothetical situations.  Honestly, it's getting a bit loud in here.  I'm perfectly fine with polite conversation. How are you?  How's the weather?  I'm even better if I know one small fact about you.  Oh, you just got back from Jamaica? Tell me all about it.  Oh, you have an affinity for small hairless cats?  Well, I'd love to hear all about that.  (Honestly, I really don't care about the cats so much, but it's something to hold on to.) However, if I were to be dropped next to you at a wedding and you and I have never met before, you would now be responsible for the remainder of the evening's conversation becaus...
Read more