Filmed stage productions are becoming more and more common with The National Theatre in London finding great success streaming their high production shows across cinemas all over the world. Cinephiles and theatre goers are big overlap on the venn diagram. A live TV production seems like the next logical step. As recently reported, Aaron Sorkin’s play-turned-film A Few Good Men is getting the live TV treatment in 2017 on NBC. This follows in the successful footsteps of live musicals The Sound Of Music, Peter Pan, The Wiz and Grease but is certainly an ambitious task without the razzle dazzle of musicals or the tomfoolery of live comedy to smooth over the awkward edges live TV can contain.
Whilst these filmed non-musical stage productions have found success, particularly when big names are headlining, there is always something missing that makes in an incomparable experience to being in the theatre with them. By tailor making the work for at home audiences, this could be overcome. An Aaron Sorkin script seems the perfect vehicle. The pace of his scripts in the hands of a strong cast is edge of your seat viewing, and anyone familiar with his work on stage on screen will be excited by the prospect of seeing those character sparks fly live. There’s no word on cast yet, but so far NBC have (mostly) done a good job of casting their live productions, and have a particular knack for picking up and coming stars.
Should this prove fruitful, there’s an array of plays and films that could be all the more tantalising with the electricity of live performance. Let’s speculate after the jump on some other plays and even films that could make the transition after the jump...
August: Osage County by Tracy Letts
This one will need a bit of breathing space first from the film version with its towering actresses, with a lacklustre delivery of this delicious script. If you’ve ever been fortunate enough to see a version on stage, particularly the Steppenwolf Cast you’ll know how this scripthas the potential to be the most gripping three hours in a theatre you’ll ever experience. With the acclaim this script has left in its wake wherever it’s been performed, there will be a regrowing appetite for it to have another life in some other way.
Arcadia by Tom Stoppard
Parallel stories in the one house, told across time. Arguably Tom Stoppard’s masterpiece, this play runs a mile a minute covering everything from religion, science, love, death, time to astrophysics. It would demand audience focused and a director with a knack for actors. With the right selection of acting powerhouses, this is a production that could crackle. Stoppard himself who has written for both stage and screen successfully (Oscar win for Shakespeare in Love) could even write a new adaptation.
Closer by Patrick Marber
One of the best aspects of this play, and was well achieved by the film, is that in each version with a new cast and at a new time brings with it different sexual and gender politics. Regardless of the mix, the play feels as urgent as hot as ever. It would be thrilling to see a new generation sink their into the quartet of roles that are every actors dream. Imagine a version directed by Lena Dunham to either your horror or delight. Regardless, the odds of NBC airing a scene of one man commanding a stripping to remove her bedazzled g-string? Not likely.
Noises Off by Michael Frayn
Beloved by every amateur, professional and school theatre group the world over, Noises Off is reliably hysterical when done right. The film version in 1992 was just so, but the tongue in cheek slapstick story set in the theatre loses its fun “winks” in a film version. A live TV version may not suffer from the same lapse irony. The casting potential is giddy worthy, with every character getting an aria of comedic moments to perform and SNL alumni would be crawling over themselves to be cast in a production so directly in their wheelhouse. If the production was as tightly choreographed as the theatre productions, audiences could be left howling.
Revolutionary Road screenplay by Justin Haythe, novel by Richard Yates
The film version of this classic novel was crippled by Titanic sized expectations and a script that felt far more stagey than cinematic. In a live format, some of the one the nose dialogue may be more palatable and the opportunity for two heavyweight actors to follow in the footsteps of Winslet and Dicaprio are Emmys waiting to happen. The simple settings and sparring structure of the scenes could result in some well-paced, gripping television that is easily doable in a live format.
What other plays or films would you like the opportunity to see live? Will this risk pay off? Project to the back row in the comments.