It’s heating up outside, and with a new month, comes a new roster of BroadwayHD programming. Whether you want to enjoy the cool air conditioning or bask in the hot sun, check out these new hits.
Leading this month’s programming is the original cast recording of Stephen Sondheim’s critically acclaimed hit, Sunday in the Park with George, starring Tony Award winners Bernadette Peters and Mandy Patinkin. Meet Me in St. Louis, the classic, romantic movie musical, starring Judy Garland makes its way onto the platform at the top of the month. The beloved fairytale musical Into The Woods by Stephen Sondheim will see two versions of the show, including the original Broadway cast capture also starring Bernadette Peters, as well as the West End Revival from London’s Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, both, will be released on July 9.
BroadwayHD co-founders, award-winning producers, and filmmakers Stewart F. Lane and Bonnie Comley said, “This month, BroadwayHD will debut an impressive variety of Broadway favorites, from original cast captures of Sunday in the Park with George and Into the Woods, to movie musicals, documentaries, and ballet performances. We are so proud to continue bringing the best of live theater to audiences everywhere.”
Check out the schedule for what’s slated to be released throughout this month:
June 26 – Sunday in the Park with George (Original Broadway Cast) – Inspired by George Seurat’s magnificent painting and starring Tony Award winners Bernadette Peters and Mandy Patinkin, A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte, Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s soaring musical is itself an artistic masterpiece. The musical begins with the story of George and his model and lover Dot. As George struggles to find his artistic voice, he becomes more and more distant from the one woman who truly sees him for who he really is. Through melodic and heartbreaking music, poetic lyrics, and quick, jaunty wit, Sunday in the Park with George reveals universal truths about the nature of art, love, and passion, with the breadth and depth of art’s most enduring masterpieces.
July 1 – Meet Me in St. Louis – Meet Me in St. Louis is the heartwarming tale of the emotional trauma the colorful members of a family face on the cusp of the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair when they learn their father has been transferred–and they will have to move to New York. Judy Garland sings “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” and “The Trolly Song.”
July 2 – The Girls in the Band – In the thirties and forties, hundreds of women musicians toured the country in glamorous All-Girl Bands, while others played side by side with their male counterparts. Yet by the mid-fifties female jazz musicians had literally disappeared from the workplace; their names, their contributions to music, completely forgotten. Exploring the poignant, untold stories of female jazz and big band instrumentalists and their fascinating, groundbreaking journeys from the late 30s to the present day.
July 9 – Into the Woods (Original Broadway Cast) – A baker and his wife journey into the woods in search of a cow, a red cape, a pair of golden slippers and some magic beans to lift a curse that has kept them childless. Tony Award winners Bernadette Peters, Joanna Gleason and the rest of the original Broadway cast weave their magic spell over you in Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s masterpiece. A seamless fusion of fairy tale characters and what happens after “happily ever after with oft-recorded songs such as “Children Will Listen” and “No One is Alone,” Into the Woods is a music lover’s delight from start to finish–and will forever cement Stephen Sondheim’s unparalleled position as the giant of the American musical theater.
July 9 – Into the Woods (West End Revival) – The 2011 Olivier Award-winning revival of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s Into the Woods weaves together many famous fairy tales in an allegorical story of family, love, growing up and the hazy areas between right and wrong. This critically acclaimed production was captured at London’s Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre and features Hannah Waddington as the Witch, Jenna Russell as The Baker’s Wife, and “Our Little World”, a song that was added after the Original Broadway production.
July 16 – Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead – Based on Tom Stoppard’s award-winning play, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead is the inventive tale of Hamlet as told from the viewpoint of two of the work’s supporting, but certainly more outrageous, characters. In this cleverly inspired version, however, the Shakespearean equivalents of Laurel and Hardy get a chance to take the lead roles in a dazzling setting where illusion and reality overlap! Critically acclaimed and featuring witty performances by Richard Dreyfuss, Tim Roth and Gary Oldman, this brilliant motion picture delivers exceptional one-of-a-kind entertainment!
July 21 – Funny Girl – Funny Girl is based on the life of Broadway star, film actress and comedienne Fanny Brice (a role made famous by Barbra Streisand) and her tempestuous relationship with entrepreneur and gambler Nick Arnstein. This classic musical and critically acclaimed production features Sheridan Smith in “an unforgettable star turn” (The Times) and a host of iconic musical numbers including ‘People’, ‘I’m the Greatest Star’ and ‘Don’t Rain On My Parade’. Following its record-breaking, sell-out run at Menier Chocolate Factory and in London’s West End, Funny Girl was captured at Manchester’s Palace Theatre.
July 23 – Giselle Ballet – Giselle is the classic ballet of the Romantic era. It transformed the dance world when it was first performed in Paris in 1841 and remains at the centre of the classical repertory. Giselle’s essence has remained the same through many different productions in well over a century of continuous performance. Peter Wright’s production for The Royal Ballet is based on Marius Petipa’s classic version (after the original 1841 choreography by Jules Perrot and Jean Coralli), which was first staged in St Petersburg in 1884.
July 30 – Leonard Soloway’s Broadway – Leonard Soloway is an American original and a Broadway legend. In a career that has spanned more than 70 years, Soloway has helped bring to the stage nearly 150 productions that have collected more than 40 Tony Awards, 21 Drama Desk Awards, and two Pulitzer Prizes. And at age 90, Leonard is not done, still working to put together yet another show. Now, this extraordinary story is told in Leonard Soloway’s Broadway, a feature-length documentary that goes behind the scenes to show how a master producer brings shows to life, coaxing creativity out of chaos.
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.