She Loves Me (film)

She Loves Me is a filmed version of the 2016 Broadway revival of the musical of the same name by Joe Masteroff, Jerry Bock, and Sheldon Harnick. The musical itself is based on the 1937 play Parfumerie by Miklós László. The production is staged by Scott Ellis and choreographed by Warren Carlyle. It stars Laura Benanti as Amalia Balash, Zachary Levi as Georg Nowack, and Jane Krakowski as Ilona Ritter. The production was performed at Studio 54 from March 17 to June 5, 2016.

She Loves Me
Official release poster
Directed byDavid Horn
Scott Ellis (staging)
Written byJoe Masteroff
Story byMiklós László
Based on
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyDavid Horn[1]
Edited byGary Bradley
Laura Young
Music byJerry Bock (music)
Sheldon Harnick (lyrics)
Production
company
Distributed byBroadwayHD
Release date
  • June 30, 2016 (2016-06-30)
Running time
133 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

The film was broadcast live on BroadwayHD on June 30, 2016, making it the first Broadway production to be live-streamed.[2] It has also aired several times on Great Performances on PBS.

Synopsis
Main article: She Loves Me § Synopsis

The plot follows Amalia Balash and Georg Nowack, two workers in a Budapest parfumerie in 1934, who despise each other. Unbeknownst to them, however, they have been sending anonymous letters in a lonely hearts club and are slowly falling in love with each other. A subplot involves the on-again, off-again relationship between the dim-witted Ilona Ritter and the cocky Steven Kodaly, two other co-workers at the parfumerie.

Cast

Cameron Adams, Justin Bowen, Alison Cimmet, Benjamin Eakeley, Gina Ferrall, Jennifer Foote, Andrew Kober, and Laura Shoop appear as additional ensemble members.

Musical Numbers
Main article: She Loves Me § Musical numbers

Production

The film is executively produced by Stewart F. Lane and Bonnie Comley, the founders of BroadwayHD. While the production is staged by Ellis and Carlyle, the film is directed and shot by David Horn, who had previously worked as a producer and director for Great Performances on PBS. Ten cameras were used to film the performance.[3]

Development

The idea of making theatre more accessible to patrons not in New York City or who simply did not have the money for a Broadway ticket had been in the works for many years. The inspiration for a live-streamed performance, however, came quickly after the #Ham4Ham trend in 2015 where Hamilton performers would do a short performance outside the Richard Rogers Theatre for fans waiting to get tickets. These mini-performances were allowed to be filmed and spread on social media using the "Ham4Ham" hashtag. Due to these small shows, which were performed three times a week, Hamilton ticket sales began boosting. The trend was even a segment at the 70th Tony Awards in 2016, where each musical nominated would do a small performance outside their theater for fans. Some inspiration for live-streaming musicals came from the live musicals shown on NBC and Fox such as The Sound of Music, Peter Pan, The Wiz, Grease, and Hairspray.

Comley told The Hollywood Reporter that the goal of the live-streamed performance was, "...to expand the reach of the show outside the physical Broadway theater.”[4]

Release

The film was live-streamed on BroadwayHD on June 30, 2016. It was historic, as it was the first Broadway musical ever to be live-streamed. Following the streamed performance, the film had a one-day theatrical release on December 1 of the same year in a partnership with Fathom Events.[5]

Since then, the film has been aired multiple times as episodes of Great Performances on PBS.

Reception

Audience viewership

Over sixty countries tuned into the live-streamed performance on BroadwayHD.[6] A Facebook live video showing a teaser of the production garnered 307,000 views and 1,712 shares.[7] Tickets for the event were $9.99, though subscribers of BroadwayHD could watch for free.[8]

Critical reception

Austin Hill of Onstage Blog described the experience of watching the show live, "...Though I love filmed stage productions, they are always lacking that connection to the event, as though losing the ephemerality of the moment—the precise phenomenological moment of theatre-making.  This was somehow different, and I am not sure I understand why.  It might be because it was REALLY live…"[9]

Accolades

The streamed production was nominated for three Shorty Awards for Entertainment, Facebook Live, and Live Streaming Video at the 9th Shorty Awards.[10][11]

References
  1. Radulovic, Petrana. "Interview: The Co-Founders of BroadwayHD on Their Groundbreaking Livestream of 'She Loves Me'". Stage Buddy. Retrieved February 20, 2021.
  2. Clement, Olivia. "She Loves Me Is Live-Streamed Tonight'", Playbill, June 30, 2016
  3. Strecker, Erin. "In Broadway first, 'She Loves Me' to stream a live performance". Mashable. Retrieved 2021-02-20.
  4. "'She Loves Me' to Become First Broadway Show to Stream Live Online". The Hollywood Reporter. June 15, 2016. Retrieved February 20, 2021.
  5. Fierberg, Ruthie & Hetrick, Adam. "Exclusive: Broadway's She Loves Me Revival Will Arrive in Cinemas", Playbill, July 1, 2016
  6. Fierberg, Ruthie. "The She Loves Me Cast Reacts to Making History with the First-Ever Broadway Livestream". Playbill. Retrieved 2021-02-20.
  7. ""She Loves Me" Live Stream - The Shorty Awards". shortyawards.com. Retrieved 2021-02-20.
  8. "She Loves Me To Stream Live – Times Square Chronicles". Retrieved 2021-02-20.
  9. "Review: 'She Loves Me' Live on BroadwayHD". OnStage Blog. Retrieved 2021-02-20.
  10. "The Shorty Awards - Honoring the best of social media". shortyawards.com. Retrieved 2021-02-20.
  11. ""She Loves Me" Live Stream - The Shorty Awards". shortyawards.com. Retrieved 2021-02-20.
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