Off The Grid: Experiencing Broadway Without Leaving Home

I live in a mid-sized conglomerate of cities with half a million people. Not nearly as quiet or uneventful as rural anywhere. But not nearly enough to sustain professional athletes, nation-leading chefs, or acclaimed performance artists either.

Coupled with my knack for outdoor adventure, it’s largely why I’ve never been to the theater. To be sure, I’ve seen dozens of worthwhile plays and musicals over the years—usually on TV or via traveling companies. But in the half dozen times I’ve traveled to New York, I’ve yet to visit Broadway.

That all changed last month after watching a live broadcast of Roundabout Theatre’s “She Loves Me” in high definition at my local cinema. No, the award-winning actors and singers didn’t go out of their way to treat my community to a special performance. Rather, their impressively staged, smile-inducing singing, and emotionally charged acting was streamed live on Broadway HD in partnership with Fathom Events. Both are part of a new push to make theater—and by extension performance art in general—more accessible to the masses, either at home or in nearby cinemas.

After experiencing my first performance, I’m happy to report they both deliver (depending on the production, of course). In this case, it was clear I was watching the best of the best in terms of musical theater. That goes for the impeccable set, orchestral flourishes, crowd interaction, dramatic and comedic acting, and ultimately causing me to feel a range of emotions that I’ve rarely felt from other performance art—recorded or otherwise.

As a bonus, tickets are just $10 to watch from home; around $15 at participating theaters. For the size, sound, and feeling of watching a show live with others, however, I highly recommend the latter when possible. Either way, the camera work, sound, and production value of Broadway HD is akin to the pros of watching your favorite sporting event on a big screen—it gets you closer to the action than live attendance ever could.