Rainy April has finally given way to May, and while May brings flowers, it more importantly brings a fresh lineup of BroadwayHD listings, which includes a slate full of adored classics and brand new debuts. In addition to its usual plays, musicals, musical movies, and ballets, this month BroadwayHD is expanding its horizons with the Carole King: Natural Woman documentary, which chronicles the famed songstress’s career with rare performances and home videos, and a series debut of BBC One’s hit comedy The Goes Wrong Show, based on the popular Broadway and West End production, The Play That Goes Wrong.
Check out the schedule for what’s slated to be released throughout this month:
May 1, 2020 — On the Town — From Warner Brothers, On the Town brings us three fun-loving sailors Gabey (Gene Kelly), Chip (Frank Sinatra) and Ozzie (Jules Munshin) who have 24 hours of shore leave in New York City, and they want to make every second count. While Chip makes a connection with quirky cab driver Brunhilde (Betty Garrett) and Ozzie swoons for prim anthropologist Claire (Ann Miller), Gabey falls in love with an actress he sees in an advertisement, Ivy Smith (Vera-Ellen). Leonard Bernstein, with lyricists Betty Comden and Adolph Green, provides the music.
May 1, 2020 — Victor, Victoria — A musical comedy from Warner Brothers and director Blake Edwards, Victor, Victoria tells the story of Victoria Grant (Julie Andrews), a struggling Paris cabaret singer who becomes the toast of the town when she goes on stage as a female impersonator. Grant meets cabaret performer Toddy (Robert Preston), who becomes her manager, and bills Grant as a male/female impersonator. When the nightclubs eat it up, the duo makes it so big even a Chicago mobster (James Garner) is enamored with Grant and sparks fly when the two are drawn to each other. Keeping the truth a secret is no easy task. Genders will bend, secrets will be revealed, closets will open and hearts will melt!
The Goes Wrong Show Series Debut — In this British comedy series developed by Mischief Theatre, the team behind The Play That Goes Wrong, an amateur dramatic society performs a series of half-hour plays for television, all of which go terribly wrong. First debuted on BBC One in December 2019, and licensed by Lionsgate, the series will be released to stream for the first time on BroadwayHD. The series will begin its release on May 5, with new episodes going live each Tuesday through June.
May 5, 2020 — Episode 1, The Pilot (Not The Pilot) — The Cornley has chosen to put on a Second World War drama, rarely performed because of its historical inaccuracy and poor research. Director Chris plays Rufus Heal, a dashing pilot reduced to a desk job cracking German codes in a top-secret Allied facility after losing his leg.
May 12, 2020 — Episode 2, A Trial to Watch — A legal drama for our intrepid performers, with Dennis taking on a lead role due to a conversation with his grandmother that turned out to be legally binding. He plays unscrupulous defense lawyer Karl McKennon, taking on his ex-wife Becky as he defends an ex-cop accused of murdering his brother.
May 19, 2020 — Episode 3, The Lodge — The gang presents a 1960s-set horror this week, as the mysterious Albert Fortenoy welcomes a young family to his crumbling old house. A number of clever theatrical horror devices are used to create a creepy atmosphere and plenty of jump scares, and every single one manages to go horribly wrong.
May 26, 2020 — Episode 4, Harper’s Locket — The gang turns their attention to a period romance, a classic tale of family, duty, and love across the class divide. A beautiful set has been built to replicate a grand country home, soon to be rocked by a literal and metaphorical storm. Sadly, the literal storm involves a water effect that threatens to flood the set.
May 14, 2020 — Carole King: Natural Woman — Carole King tells her story in the documentary American Masters – Carole King: Natural Woman that weaves previously unseen and rare performances and home movies with a new, exclusive interview with King, friends, fellow songwriters Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, Tapestry producer Lou Adler, drummer Russ Kunkel, and more.
May 21, 2020 — The Winter’s Tale — Following his delightful full-length ballet Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Christopher Wheeldon continues his highly successful collaboration with designer Bob Crowley and composer Joby Talbot to create his first ballet based on a Shakespeare play, the late romance The Winter’s Tale. Filmed at The Royal Ballet, the story follows the destruction of marriage through consuming jealousy, the abandonment of a child, and a seemingly hopeless love. Yet through remorse and regret — and after a statue comes miraculously to life — the ending is one of forgiveness and reconciliation.
BroadwayHD introduces award-winning theater from all across the globe with both classic and modern productions. Fans can expect to see the full works of Shakespeare, awe-inspiring performances from Cirque du Soleil and a selection of the world’s greatest musical including Kinky Boots, Cats, 42nd Street, She Loves Me, The Phantom of The Opera, The King and I, Sound of Music, and An American in Paris. All performances are adapted specifically for streaming audiences to maximize the entertainment experience.