Hollywood encore: how ‘pro-shot’ Broadway shows became a major draw on the big screen

Filmed versions of hit shows such as Hadestown, Hamilton and SIX have been transformed into cinematic events for those without hundreds to spend on tickets It’s long been a source of frustration for theater fanatics: many Broadway shows, even those that don’t become years-long fixtures of the Great White Way, are professionally filmed, but often only for archival purposes, not public consumption. For years, those living outside of the greater New York City area unwilling to make an expensive trip of seeing a particular show were limited to the hierarchy of a touring company, a local production, or maybe, some years later for a particularly notable show, an airing of a filmed version on PBS. If all else fails, they could hope for an inevitably disappointing film version that failed to recapture the onstage magic. Starting in 2005, there were also occasional Fathom Events presentations of filmed stage shows, typically made available for one or two nights at a time, at premium prices (and looking more like ultra-big TV than polished cinema, at least at first). Lately, though, so-called “pro-shot” movies – those filmed versions that used to pop up on public television’s Ame