Broadway Shows in HD

http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/theater-dance/broadway-shows-are-captured-in-hd-for-the-silver-screen/2011/04/18/AFVEh3OE_story.html

The above article is about how Broadway shows are being filmed in HD and brought to movie houses around the country for limited engagements. This is an idea that I think has been coming for a long time. We can extend the run of a show until the end of time, but we cannot make a 750 seat theater a 2000 seat theater without construction. And construction is not always feasible. In addition, people who do not live in or around New York City may not be able to travel to Broadway to see the show live. Therefore, only a limited number of people will be able to see the live production. So how can we expand our audiences? By filming the show and presenting around the country in movie houses we are able to expand our audience base. Sure it isn't going to be exactly like going to a live production. And I am not suggesting that the filmed version of a show should act as a substitute for the live show. However, it is a way that we can make the show more accessible to the world at large and build more revenue at the same time. In fact I think it should be taken even further by offering the filmed version as a pay-per-view performance on the internet, cable and satellite providers, or as a great performances series on Public Broadcasting. We owe it to ourselves as art organizations to find new and innovative ways to present and market our art, and find other sources of revenue while bringing our art to the world.