Live musicals making TV comebacks

NBC revived the format in 2013, when it staged The Sound of Music Live with Carrie Underwood and Stephen Moyer -a live to air presentation of the Rodgers & Hammerstein hit, filmed purely for television.

It followed a year later with  Peter Pan Live, starring Allison Williams, Christopher Walken and Minnie Driver. In December it will screen The Wiz Live with Queen Latifah, Mary J. Blige, Uzo Aduba and David Alan Grier.

Now FOX is getting in on the act with Grease Live, starring Julianne Hough, Aaron Tveit, Vanessa Hudgens, Carly Rae Jepsen and Mario Lopez.

FOX has also announced Orange is the New Black‘s Laverne Cox in The Rocky Horror Picture Show, playing the lead role of Dr. Frank-N-Furter (although as a telemovie remake not Live).

Meanwhile in the UK, ITV has announced its own Live version of The Sound of Music on Christmas Day, performed by Julian Ovendon as Captain von Trapp, Kara Tointon as Maria, and Alexander Armstrong as Max Detwieler. The project is to be directed by Coky Giedroyc, who is known for Oliver Twist and Wuthering Heights, while musical direction will come from Tony-award winning Martin Koch.

Ben Preston, editor of the Radio Times, said that a live broadcast of The Sound of Music made a welcome addition to the Christmas schedules, often criticised for showing too many repeats. “It gets three cheers from me. Finally, someone innovating at Christmas.

“It’s really good to see ITV innovating, because Christmas is often left to the BBC – so it’s great to see something new in the mix alongside the perennial favourites of Downton Abbey, EastEnders and Doctor Who. My only hope is that they will have subtitles so you can sing along at home with the tunes.”

Alas nothing from Australia as yet, although SBS will be screening The Rocky Horror Show Live with David Bedella as Frank-n-Furter plus Stephen Fry, Emma Bunton, Adrian Edmondson, Anthony Head, Mel Giedroyc and Richard O’Brien on October 31st. It was recently filmed in the UK.

Source: The Guardian