BroadwayHD has announced new productions that will premiere this month on streaming service that theatre fans will love! On March 1, madness ensues when fan favorite The Goes Wrong Show season 1, based on the BBC The Play That Goes Wrong specials and the popular Broadway and West End production that started it all expands into Canada and Australia. The 1954 classic Brigadoon, starring the legendary Gene Kelly and Van Johnson, along with Stephen Sondheim’s musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street starring Angela Lansbury and George Hearn return to the platform on March 1 as well. Far From the Madding Crowd, based on Thomas Hardy’s romantic drama novel, and adapted for the English Touring Theatre, will be made available to streamers on March 4. Then on March 11, comedy fans can get ready for a spectacular reunion for the ages as Monty Python’s Not The Messiah filmed at The Royal Albert Hall brings together Eric Idle, Michael Palin, Terry Jones and Terry Gilliam as they commemorate the 40th anniversary of Monty Python. Behind the Tightrope: Peter Brooke, a documentary film that provides viewers with a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the genius of one of theatre’s most renowned directors debuts on the service on March 25.
Later in the month, additional works from the highly acclaimed Royal Shakespeare Company will arrive on the platform, including Henry V, The Merchant of Venice, Othello, Julius Caesar, The Tempest, Titus Andronicus, Twelfth Night, As You Like It, Troilus and Cressida, and Cymbeline. Lastly, the beautiful story and performance of Enter the Faun will be available starting March 27.
“From comedies like The Goes Wrong Show and Monty Python’s Not The Messiah to iconic works like Othello and Far From the Madding Crowd to intriguing documentaries, we have a full spectrum of memorable performances joining our roster this month. Theater lovers will be able to enjoy a diverse new line-up of popular works that will make them laugh and cry, and leave them spellbound !” Stewart F. Lane and Bonnie Comley, co-founders of BroadwayHD.
The new productions coming to BroadwayHD in March include:
- The Goes Wrong Show, Season 1 - March 1- The Goes Wrong Show follows the fictitious Cornley Drama Society undertaking yet another overly-ambitious endeavor that is destined to be undermined by several prolific over-acting screen-hogging actors.
- Brigadoon - March 1- In this 1954 classic, Tommy Albright (Gene Kelly) and Jeff Douglas (Van Johnson), two American pals on a hunting trip in the Scottish Highlands, get lost in the woods and happen upon the innocent and magical village of Brigadoon. Rising out of the Scottish mist only once every 100 years, and only for one day, Brigadoon never appears long enough to be corrupted by the outside world. When Tommy falls for beautiful villager Fiona Campbell (Cyd Charisse), he must decide whether to stay or to return to his life.
- Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street - March 1- 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.
- Far From The Madding Crowd - March 5- Based on Thomas Hardy's novel, Far From the Madding Crowd is the story of Bathsheba Everdene who, after inheriting her uncle's farm, finds herself a mistress in a man's world. This production, adapted for the English Touring Theatre, tells the story vividly using an ensemble staging and live folk music.
- Monty Python’s Not The Messiah - March 11- A comic oratorio inspired by Monty Python's Life of Brian, Eric Idle, Michael Palin, Terry Jones and Terry Gilliam are back to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Monty Python. Filmed at its only European performance at the Royal Albert Hall in October 2009, the hilarious cast appeared in a remount of the full, 90-minute version of Not the Messiah, produced by Geoff Foulkes and directed by Aubrey Powell. The cast was backed by the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus conducted by John du Prez for memorable tunes like "You're the One" and "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life." Idle reprised his role, along with special appearances by Shannon Mercer, Carol Cleveland, Neil Innes, and more.
- Behind the Tightrope: Peter Brooke - March 25- Peter Brook is one of the world's most respected and revolutionary directors of contemporary theatre. To help his actors achieve extraordinary performances, he has a special exercise, called "the Tightrope," which evolved over decades of experimentation and practice into a process of transformation that makes theatre real and new for actors and audiences alike. In this quietly eloquent and unique film, director Simon Brook, Peter's son, reveals how the Tightrope works its dramatic alchemy. Filmed in total immersion with five hidden cameras, The Tightrope plunges us into the intimate aspects of Brook working with his troupe of actors and musicians. Without disturbing the truth of the moment, the film reveals the magic inherent to the creative process, taking us beyond the intimacy of a workshop and into a philosophical and soulful experience.
- Enter the Faun - March 27- The unlikely collaboration between a veteran choreographer and a young actor with cerebral palsy delivers astonishing proof that each and every body is capable of miraculous transformation. As Tamar Rogoff trains Gregg Mozgala to become a dancer, they discover that her lack of formal medical training and his fears and physical limitations are not obstacles, but the impetus for their unprecedented discoveries.Enter The Faun is the story of a joyous, obsessive journey towards opening night. It challenges the boundaries of medicine and art, as well as the limitations associated with disability.
- Royal Shakespeare Company’s Henry V - March 30 - Henry IV is dead and Hal is King. With England in a state of unrest, he must leave his rebellious youth behind, striving to gain the respect of his nobility and people. Laying claim to parts of France and following an insult from the French Dauphin, Henry gathers his troops and prepares for a war that he hopes will unite his country.
- Royal Shakespeare Company’s The Merchant of Venice - March 30 - When a merchant defaults on a loan from a moneylender, it is more than money that will be demanded from him. Considered one of Shakespeare's greatest comedies, The Merchant of Venice remains a searing exploration of prejudice and the power of mercy.
- Royal Shakespeare Company’s Othello - March 30 - Othello the Moor, a general employed by the Venetian state, has secretly married Desdemona, a daughter of senator Brabantio. Written around 1604, the story follows the Moor through love, jealousy and deceit.
- Royal Shakespeare Company’s Julius Caesar - March 30 - Shakespeare's political thriller tells the story of the conspiracy against Caesar, his assassination and the defeat of his conspirators.
- Royal Shakespeare Company’s The Tempest - March 30 - On a distant island a man waits. Robbed of his position, power and wealth, his enemies have left him in isolation. But this is no ordinary man, and this no ordinary island. Prospero is a magician, able to control the very elements and bend nature to his will. When a sail appears on the horizon, he reaches out across the ocean to the ship that carries the men who wronged him. Creating a vast magical storm he wrecks the ship and washes his enemies up on the shore. When they wake they find themselves lost on a fantastical island where nothing is as it seems.
- Royal Shakespeare Company’s Titus Andronicus - March 30 - Titus has returned from a brutal 10-year war having lost 21 sons in battle. Betrayed by his nation, and with his family in pieces, a series of bloody events follows as he and Tamora, Queen of the Goths begin a violent cycle of revenge. Rape, cannibalism, mutilation and murder are the gruesome tools in Shakespeare’s bloodiest play.
- Royal Shakespeare Company’s Twelfth Night - March 30 - Twelfth Night is a tale of unrequited love – hilarious and heartbreaking. Twins are separated in a shipwreck, and forced to fend for themselves in a strange land. The first twin, Viola, falls in love with Orsino, who dotes on OIivia, who falls for Viola but is idolised by Malvolio. Enter Sebastian, who is the spitting image of his twin sister...
- Royal Shakespeare Company’s Shakespeare: As You Like It - March 30 - Rosalind is banished and with her best friend, Celia, by her side, she journeys to a world of exile. But not before catching the eye of love-struck Orlando who is also forced from the Court into the Forest... What ensues is a riotous combination of a feisty cross-dressing heroine, a tartan-clad fool, melodic songs, questionable poetry and laughs aplenty. Will love conquer all, or is it merely a madness?
- Royal Shakespeare Company’s Troilus and Cressida - March 30 - Troilus and Cressida swear they will always be true to one another. But in the seventh year of the siege of Troy their innocence is tested and exposed to the savage corrupting influence of war, with tragic consequences.
- Royal Shakespeare Company’s Cymbeline - March 30 - Britain is in crisis. Alienated, insular and on the brink of disaster. Can it be saved? An ineffectual Queen Cymbeline rules over a divided dystopian Britain. Consumed with grief at the death of two of her children, Cymbeline’s judgement is clouded. When Innogen, the only living heir, marries her sweetheart Posthumus in secret, an enraged Cymbeline banishes him. Behind the throne, a power-hungry figure plots to seize power by murdering them both. In exile Innogen's husband is tricked into believing she has been unfaithful to him and in an act of impulsive jealousy begins a scheme to have her murdered. Warned of the danger, Innogen runs away from court in disguise and begins a journey fraught with danger that will eventually reunite Cymbeline with a long-lost heir and reconcile the young lovers.