BroadwayHD, the premiere online streaming service that brings the best of theatre right into your home, has delighted its audiences with selections such as Cirque du Soleil, Kinky Boots, Cats, 42nd Street, A Night With Janis Joplin, The Phantom of The Opera, The King and I, Sound of Music, and An American in Paris. This October, they will be adding new titles to their catalog, many of which are perfectly timed with the approach of Halloween.
“It’s all treats and no tricks this month as we round out our library with these legendary shows that have proved to be audience favorites over the years,” said BroadwayHD co-founders, award-winning producers, and filmmakers Stewart F. Lane and Bonnie Comley.
Among the new additions to the site will be Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, starring Tony Award winners Angela Lansbury and George Hearn. October 17th brings Jekyll and Hyde, starring David Hasselhoff in his Broadway debut. As part of BroadwayHD’s partnership with Stratford Festival, subscribers will have access to the critically-acclaimed Stratford Stage’s 2017 production of Macbeth on October 24th, starring Ian Lake and Krystin Pellerin. Finally, on October 31st, Hugh Grant and Elizabeth McGovern star in a dramatic tale of love and loss in The Changeling.
Read on to explore the full line-up of what BroadwayHD subscribers can see starting this October:
October 1 – Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street – One of the darkest musicals ever written, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is the unsettling tale of a Victorian-era barber who returns home to London after fifteen years of exile, in order to take revenge on the corrupt judge who ruined his life. When revenge eludes him, Sweeney (George Hearn) swears vengeance on the entire human race, murdering as many people as he can, while his business associate, Mrs. Lovett (Angela Lansbury), bakes the bodies into meat pies and sells them to the unsuspecting public. Based on the 1973 play of the same title, this version from 1982 stars Tony Award® winners Angela Lansbury (Mame, Gypsy) and George Hearn (La Cage aux Folles, Sunset Boulevard). It features a lush score by the legendary Stephen Sondheim and is directed by Hal Prince, who died this past year, leaving behind a stunning legacy of work on Broadway–from Cabaret to The Phantom of the Opera.
October 10 – The Diary of Anne Frank – Based on The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank, this four-part series tells the story of a teenage Jewish girl and her family as they are forced into hiding in the Nazi-occupied Netherlands. Originally broadcast as a BBC televised miniseries, this sobering production stars Elizabeth Bell (Midsomer Murders) and Katharine Schlesinger (Doctor Who).
October 17 – Jekyll and Hyde – Starring David Hasselhoff in the title role, Jekyll & Hyde: The Musical is an evocative tale of love, lust, madness and murder. Featuring music by Frank Wildhorn and lyrics by Leslie Bricusse, this musical broke house records at Broadway’s Plymouth Theatre, where it ran for over four years and 1,500 performances. This intriguing tale about a doctor who conducts an experiment on himself that results in his bringing out the dark, murderous side of his inner self, “Mr. Hyde” also stars Coleen Sexton (Dear Evan Hansen) and Andrea Rivette (Miss Saigon) and also appearing in one of her earliest Broadway performances is Tony Award winner Kelli O’Hara (The King and I).
October 24 – Macbeth – Performed at the 2017 Stratford Festival, Antoni Cimolino’s chilling production of Macbeth takes you back to the stark reality of the 11th century, when the murderous king clawed his way to power. It has been praised as “a thrilling terror” (Globe and Mail), “a bold and brutal take on the Scottish King’s tragic tale” (Toronto Star), and “a brilliant, terrifying show” that leaves people “gasping in the dark” (Chicago Tribune). Starring Ian Lake (The Art of Racing in the Rain) as the title role and Krystin Pellerin (The Tudors) as Lady Macbeth, this is a production that will haunt your dreams and leave you tingling.
October 31 – The Changeling – Just days before her wedding, Beatrice-Joanna has a chance encounter with Alsemero, and realizes that she has met her one true love. To marry the man she loves, she persuades the love-struck henchman De Flores to murder her fiance, but does not anticipate the tragic consequences of her actions. Starring Hugh Grant (Notting Hill) and Elizabeth McGovern (Ordinary People).
Mark Robinson is the author of the two-volume encyclopedia The World of Musicals, The Disney Song Encyclopedia, and The Encyclopedia of Television Theme Songs. His forthcoming book, Sitcommentary: The Television Comedies That Changed America, will hit the shelves in October 2019. He maintains a theater and entertainment blog at markrobinsonwrites.com.