With theaters sadly closed due to this terrible global pandemic, I thought of all those past shows I was lucky enough to see live on stage both in London’s West End, where some originated, and on the very White Way, BROADWAY. Some, like The Lion King and Aladdin, took your breath away with their lavish costumes and sets, while others tugged at the heartstrings with deep melodic songs and poignant stories that inspire. You never leave a theater without a changed soul or thought.
So how can we continue to enjoy these masterpieces of theater and style without sitting in a germ-filled auditorium, with the coughs and sneezes of strangers interrupting the actors’ lines? At home, of course! The TV screen now offers a selection of recorded musicals for posterity, available for free, via subscription channels, or rental, to be watched from the safety of your sofa.
• Cats: Like Phantom of the Opera, the musical mogul, 
Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber took a book and created a musical. This time, a book of poems about cats gains music and dance and is as creative as possible. Available on Broadway HD and Amazon Prime.
• Hamilton: A revolutionary story that revolutionized musical theater as we know it, about one of America’s founding fathers, 
Alexander Hamilton. Tickets for this show sold like gold dust. Imagine it is now available for streaming with the original cast, including Lin-Manuel Miranda himself, on Disney Plus.
• Rent: This musical loosely based on the story of the famous opera La Boheme tells a sad story of love and loss, and the song Seasons of Love will stick in your head for days. “Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes. How do you measure, measure a year?” I don’t know anyone who doesn’t like this song. You can see and hear the performance on YouTube and watch the full musical on Amazon Prime.
• Falsettos: This show will make you laugh and cry as it deals with the difficult lives of two gay men in New York in the 1980s – Amazon Prime and Broadway HD.
• Billy Elliott: The story of a lovely boy who prefers ballet to boxing shows us how persisting 
in your dreams and passions can overcome all obstacles and the hardest of hearts. Amazon Prime, iTunes, Google Play, Vudu, and DVD.
• Into the Woods: Not the movie with James Corden and Meryl Streep, but Sondheim’s successful Broadway show is available for streaming on YouTube, Google Play, Vudu, Amazon Prime, iTunes, Broadway HD, and DVD on Amazon.
• Kiss me Kate: This fun and lively classic musical premiered on Broadway in 1948 and still thrills and attracts audiences worldwide with its catchy melodies and dance routines. The 2003 production is available for streaming on Amazon Prime, BroadwayHD, and Google Play, and on DVD on Amazon.
• Newsies: the story of the newspaper boys’ strike in New York in 1899 is told in this lively musical and is now streaming on DISNEY PLUS
• Les Miserables: I took my place high up in the arches of one of London’s oldest theaters, and when the cannon blast tore through the theater, I nearly fell from my seat to the stage. No, it wasn’t an attack. It came from the realistic sound effects of the barricades in Act 2 of Les Misérables. I knew then that this musical, filled with bursts of music, lyrics, and sounds, would be unforgettable and one of my all-time favorites.
Transforming a revered historical novel into a musical was a risky prospect. A fully sung version of this story of inequality, injustice, and revolution touched people’s souls. It was first produced in France in 1980 and, in forty years, has become an icon in major theaters around the world, leading as the longest-running musical in the history of the West End and Broadway.
Imagine my joy at meeting the man who digested nearly 3000 pages of a classic into digestible lyrics that convey the story with pathos and clarity. Then, setting those lyrics to music as astonishing as the novel itself, it’s no surprise that Les Miserables has constantly sold out tickets and has been adapted into numerous TV and film productions, winning many awards along the way. (Alain Boublil lives in New York with his wife, Marie, who played Cosette).
LINDA LEVY
Businesswoman, Event Management and Public Relations Consultant
http://il2productions.com