Theatre in the Online World

Reading the textbook this week, I began to think about theatre’s properties of being ephemeral in the context of Covid. One of my favourite things about theatre is when you get lost in the performance as you soak in all that is happening right now. The beauty, for me, is when you become so encapsulated in the story that you forget you are watching a play and become engrossed in the world. The last play I was able to see live before the pandemic was Exit, Pursued by a Bear at the Globe Theatre. Not once during the play did my mind shift or lose focus on what was happening in front of me. Mind you, in a theatre that intimate, as it is a theatre in the round, the connection you feel to the characters and story is more intense. Since that performance, and with the onset of the pandemic, I feel disconnected from the theatre in the online form.

Like so many, I was ecstatic for the arrival of Hamilton on Disney plus. I am a huge musical theatre fan, so I predicted I would not be able to peel my eyes off the screen. This was not the case, though. Although it was so beautifully shot, I felt I could not get into the production, and it took me several sittings to watch the entirety of the performance. I believe that this stems from the fact that I was aware I could pause and resume later. I enjoyed the production, and I think the filming does provide benefits, such as closed captioning, which helps me to hear better, and the opportunity for up-close and intimate shots. Without the live aspect, though, the whole theatre experience isn’t there.

With movie theatres reopening, my friend and I took the opportunity to see In the Heights. I again was very excited because of the musical theatre aspect of the film, and I knew it had originated as a theatre piece. I am also known to sing songs from Hamilton constantly, so to say I am a Lin-Manuel Miranda fan is an understatement. However, this film had a different feel because it was not a production recording; rather, it was a film from start to finish. As a viewer, this made me feel another step removed from the action again as it loses the ephemeral feeling, and the intimacy feels removed on a set as well. The spectacle achieved through movie magic is fantastic in the film, but I still yearn to see it live while surrounded by fellow audience members.

But to be fair, nothing is worse than Zoom theatre… enough said.

I want to leave you with my favourite songs from both Hamilton and In the Heights!