The Good, The Bad and The Ugly of Live TV Musicals

Live TV musicals were the norm back in the day, but for our generation they were revived in 2013 with NBC’s live production of The Sound of Music.

Since then, TV networks have joined in the live musical frenzy.

The good thing about live TV musicals is that they give people who may not have the privilege a chance to watch live stage productions.

The bad thing about live TV musicals…well…sometimes they just don’t hit the mark with fans. (And trust me, musical theatre nerds are SAVAGE.)

Here are my rankings – As well as a special review from guest blogger, Sincerely, Jen – of every live TV musical production since 2013:

9) A Christmas Story Live! (2017)

Full disclosure: I’ve only seen the movie in its entirety once (?…maybe???) It’s not my favourite Christmas movie, but this cult classic is loved by enough people that it got the Broadway musical treatment. I tuned in for about a half-hour the day it aired and watched a pretty cool tap number…and then I changed the channel. A Christmas Story Live! is at the bottom of my list not because it was “bad” – it’s because I’m just not at all interested in the movie let alone the musical. Sorry.

 

8) The Sound of Music Live! (2013)

If it’s not Queen Julie Andrews and Sir Christopher Plummer, I don’t want it. Without them, The Sound of Music felt like an 84 year long show. Audra McDonald and Laura Benanti were the bright spots of the show, but they had supporting roles with very limited screen time. To be frank, I was bored. Very, very bored.

 

7) Peter Pan Live! (2014)

I mean, we all know the story of Peter Pan. It’s a very accessible book/show/film. I loved the fact that Christopher Walken played Captain Hook even though a lot of people were more confused by the casting choice than anything. Allison Williams and Christian Borle were great, but this production was just ~meh~ for me. Nothing special, but also nothing wrong with it. *Shrug*

 

6) The Passion (2016)

I was confusion. Notice how it wasn’t called The Passion Live! ? That’s because the majority of it was pre-taped and they inserted live elements here and there. It was basically Jesus Christ Superstar set to contemporary/pop music. It aired around around Easter and I believe they were trying to make the story of Christ’s last days accessible and relevant to younger audiences. I liked the contemporary/pop music elements of the show, but in order to make it more of a cohesive production I think they should have chosen to make the show pre-taped OR live. Not a combo of both.

 

5) RENT Live! (2019)

(Review by: Sincerely, Jen) – Considering Fox didn’t have any understudies cast in case of an injury, Fox just ended up airing the filmed dress rehearsal which completely cut out the liveness of RENT! Live. The dress rehearsal was shown up until the end of the performance when the cameras jumped from the dress rehearsal to the live version with Brennin Hunt singing while sitting on a table with his leg in a cast.  The inconsistency of it all is one of my major critiques because this eliminates the liveness in live theatre. Although this review might come across as super negative, don’t get me wrong, RENT Live! did have its good parts! From the dress rehearsal shown, Jordan Fisher, Brennin Hunt and Vanessa Hudgens along with others, slayed their roles! The sets were incredible and the end made me tear up seeing all of the Original Broadway Cast back to sing “Seasons of Love”.

 

4) The Wiz Live! (2015)

🎶EASE ON DOWN, EASE ON DOWN THE ROOOOAADD🎶 Oh man, this musical was so much fun to watch and sing along to! Who else had their parents watching along with them saying those classic line, “What chu know about The Wiz?!” and “This was the jam back in my day”. Even so, it was SO worth it. The representation. Solid casting. The gorgeous sets and costumes. (Uzo Aduba’s dress?! I LIIIIIVE HENNYY!) There were rumours that this production was set to be transferred to Broadway. I’M STILL WAITING!!

 

3) Jesus Christ Superstar Live! (2018)

Goodness, where do I start? Do I talk about John Legend? Alice Cooper absolutely slaying his vaudeville number? Or Brandon Victor Dixon giving us VOCALS ON VOCALS ON VOCALS?! If you didn’t catch it live, you missed out. Everything about this production was stunning. The final shot of the show stuck with me for WEEKS. I’m still not over it tbh…

 

2) Hairspray Live! (2016)

This production would be at the top of my list if not for the fact that I’m being as impartial as possible. Hairspray is my favourite musical of all time. Period. When it was announced that it was going to get the live TV musical production treatment I WAS SO NERVOUS. As you can see from my reviews above, people like what they like, and have very strong opinions when it comes to musicals. Hairspray would be no exception. When Harvey Firestien was set to reprise his role as Edna and Kristin Chenoweth was cast as Velma and  Jennifer Hudson was cast as Motormouth, I knew everything would be just fine. And it was. I sang at the top of my lungs for 3 hours straight. I bawled my eyes out when Jennifer took us to Church during I Know Where I’ve Been and danced along to You Can’t Stop The Beat. To this day I’m so thankful this production was as great as it was!

 

1) Grease Live! (2016)

This production got everything, and I mean EVERYTHING right. It was flawless. I rolled my eyes when this was show was announced because quite frankly, Grease is over done. Don’t get me wrong, I love the show and I’ve done several numbers from the show in various theatre/show choir performances. I just didn’t think it was possible to breathe new life into the show. Well, I am humble enough to admit I was wrong. Very wrong. Diverse (stellar) casting, Paid homage to the original film and legit nothing went wrong?!…wow…just, WOW. Vanessa Hudgens’ father passed away the day before the show, but she still went on and delivered the most heart wrenching version of There Are Worse Things I Could Do. THAT’S live theatre, people! For our generation, this is the gold standard of live TV musical productions.

 

(Image credit: NBC & FOX)