Musical pro-shots we are still waiting for

Nothing quite beats watching theatre live, but there’s something ever-so-special about a live-capture from the stage.

Not only do you get to revisit the production from the comfort of your home (or local cinema), but the ability to rewind and pause combined with close-up shots means you can sometimes get more out of a recording.

With Kiss Me, Kate and Girl From the North Country heading to cinemas next month, it had us thinking about the pro-shots we are still waiting for…

Next to Normal

Only last month did we hear that the award-winning revival of Next to Normal was being filmed during its last few weeks in the West End. Featuring an all-star cast of Caissie Levy, Jamie Parker, Eleanor Worthington Cox, Jack Wolfe, Trevor Dion Nicholas and Jack Ofrecio, the Michael Longhurst-directed production made London feel so alive. It picked up six nominations at the WhatsOnStage Awards, with Wolfe winning for Best Supporting Performer, so we can’t wait to see what the distribution plans are.

Six

In 2022 a special performance of Six was filmed for release. It reunited the original London queens: Jarnéia Richard-Noel (as Catherine of Aragon), Millie O’Connell (Anne Boleyn), Natalie Paris (Jane Seymour), Alexia McIntosh (Anna of Cleves), Aimie Atkinson (Katherine Howard) and Maiya Quansah-Breed (Catherine Parr) when filmed at current home, the West End’s Vaudeville Theatre. Two years later, we’re losing our heads waiting to see the final results!

Merrily We Roll Along

Shortly after cleaning up at this year’s Tony Awards, it was revealed that the hit revival of Stephen Sondheim and George Furth’s Merrily We Roll Along was being filmed for release. The Maria Friedman-directed piece, starring Jonathan Groff, Daniel Radcliffe, and Lindsay Mendez in New York, originated here in London (and even made the silver screen then), so we hope that’s considered in the distribution plan.

Frozen

At D23 it was revealed that Frozen had been filmed at Theatre Royal Drury Lane. From the poster art, we can assume star Samantha Barks plays Elsa in the pro-shot, and Laura Dawkes (who played Anna) exclusively spoke to us about her involvement, but little other information about its Disney+ release was revealed. With the show now closed in the West End, we hope we won’t be left waiting until summer for more updates! It was also rumoured that Aladdin was filmed in London – with a cast made up of the musical’s alum from around the world – and we’d use one of our three wishes to make it come true.

The Play That Goes Wrong

We’re lucky to have multiple filmed Mischief shows to watch at our leisure – but their signature Play That Goes Wrong was filmed in Chicago in 2022. The invited recorded performance featured the original West End cast: Rob Falconer (as Trevor), Dave Hearn (Max), Henry Lewis (Robert), Charlie Russell (Sandra), Jonathan Sayer (Dennis), Henry Shields (Chris), Greg Tannahill (Jonathan) and Nancy Zamit (Annie). No details were given about the purpose of the filming but if things go right, it’ll be released to the public.

Jersey Boys

Nick Jonas confirmed on Instagram that he would be playing Frankie Valli in a filmed version of the stage production Jersey Boys. He revealed in the post that filming took place in Cleveland, with Matt Bogart (as Nick Massi), Andy Karl (Tommy DeVito), and CJ Pawlikowski (Bob Gaudio). Jonas signed off the post with “stay tuned for exciting news”, and we’re still regularly checking for updates three years later!

Emojiland

An ill-fated post-Covid US tour of Emojiland closed after its first stop – but a special performance took place in Ohio to allow for a live capture. Following the diverse community of archetypes who live in our smartphones, the award-winning musical has only been seen in concert in the UK so we feel starry-eyed face emoji about the prospect of this pro-shot.

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