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More live musicals coming to US TV

Ever since The Sound of Music Live, American television has turned music theatre into Event TV.

More live musicals were announced this week for US television, hopefully some of which wind their way to Australian screens.

NBC has Bye Bye Birdie with Jennifer Lopez due in December and will air Jesus Christ Superstar next April.

FOX, which won rave reviews for Grease Live, has plans for both Rent and A Christmas Story.

ABC is also entering the arena, with its ties to Disney. It announced The Little Mermaid, but this will feature scenes from the film with the musical numbers performed live by celebrities.

Robert Mills told Variety, “We really wanted to be in the game as well, and we’re Disney and we have this library that has an endless amount of classic musicals that really play to everyone.

“But that’s a double-edged sword because you are Disney, you have to do it right. You’ve got to do it so you’re honouring the brand. It took time to find the right take on this.”

A live production of A Few Good Men is also due.

The wave of live theatrical events was triggered by The Sound of Music drawing 18.6 million viewers with others in hot pursuit including The Wiz, Peter Pan, Grease, Hairspray, The Passion and a (non-Live) Rocky Horror Picture Show.

One Response

  1. I love these live musicals. I would love to see an Australian Network give it a crack. We have some of the best talent in the world that could perform, but I fear the cost and risk might be too high for networks to try.

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