Angelina DeFilippis

Merrill Horton

ENG 102

November 12, 2020 1

A Moment On Stage, Or a Memory for Later

Experiencing a moment in real time is what theatre is all about. But not everyone is able

to live in the magic of theatre in real time. To solve this dilemma, many theatre goers have

resorted to filming the productions illegally (i.e. bootlegs). In this time of media and technology,

it’s not uncommon to find many theatre-going patrons with their phones or cameras out during a

performance. The Broadway community has been divided on bootlegs for years, but despite the

bad reputation they’ve revived, these recordings have their benefits. Bootlegs provide an

inexpensive outlet to educate and entertain thespians all over the world.

Broadway is not readily available to the public. The Theatre District of New York is

Broadway’s home. If you’re not there, chances are you’re not going to be seeing a Broadway

show. On top of that, these shows aren’t cheap. Tickets can range anywhere from hundreds of

dollars to thousands of dollars, depending on the show. If you’re not an elitist thespian snob, this

just isn’t a financially sound option for seeing live theatre. You could go see the touring

company production if it comes to your city. Or maybe there’s a community theatre in town

doing the production. Heck, you could even go pretend to enjoy your local high school’s Jr.

performance of the same show! One can only dream of seeing a show in the Big Apple. This

inevitably makes Broadway an exclusive commodity. But have no fear. There are a multitude of

ways (e.g. bootlegs, touring productions) to make professional theatre more accessible to the

general public.
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For starters, professional theater is available in cities across the nation. Touring

companies are an alternative to seeing a Broadway level performance in your own city. That cuts

the need to even consider travel, other than a car ride down to your local theater. Touring

companies are offering the same quality as a Broadway show, and most shows have actors and

crew from Broadway on their contracts. Most people are exposed to theater this way. These

touring shows give people a chance to see shows they might not have gotten to see in New York.

The downside is it shows might never go on tour, and if it does end up touring, it might not even

make it to a nearby city. And at the end of the day, tickets are still pretty steep.

However, bootlegs are changing the game. Bootlegs can be experienced from the comfort

of one's own home. As long as you have an internet connection and the link to the show, you’ve

got a front row seat to a Broadway show. With a bootleg in hand, there’s no need to travel or

spend money to see your favorite show! On top of that, a lot of Broadway shows have a short

run, so this prohibits many theatre goers from even getting a chance to see the show. Aly Markov

puts it best and says, “​if there isn’t a recording that’s out there that’s done professionally, what

harm is watching a closed show going to do?” (p.7) And that’s exactly it. The show is closed and

not making any more money as it is, so the bootleg doesn't take anything from the pockets of the

producers. ​However, while there seems to be nothing wrong with this setup, many stars in the

Broadway community are left with ruffled feathers.

Many artists feel like bootlegs are taking money out of their own pockets, but that

couldn’t be farther from the truth. Between the sky high ticket pricings and the second-sale

scalper websites, Broadway isn’t financially hurting. Some actors and performers feel that the

phones and flashes are too distracting to them on stage. Others feel that the audience or
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disconnected from the story altogether. In their eyes this defeats the whole purpose of a live

performance. The biggest advocate for this is the one and only diva, ​(see fig. 1)​ Patti LuPone.

This is what she had to say:

‘She was sitting in the light, so everyone could see her texting — I was shocked

she didn't leave at intermission, because clearly, she was not enjoying herself,’

she says. ‘The interesting thing that happened was that she actually watched the

play. It's ridiculous. It's so out of control now [. . . .]It's not my job to police them

onstage, and it's left to the actors to be the policemen. I'm put in a position I'm not

hired for: Patti LuPone, cellphone bounty hunter! (Laughs.) I get a hundred bucks

every time I get a cellphone!’ (Lee, p4)

While Ms. LuPone raises many excellent points and isn’t wrong, someone who is

recording the show though, is not focused on the performance itself anyway. Given, she referred

to someone texting, and not recording; however, it’s all in the same realm. It’s a phone dividing

an audience’s connection to a performance. In reality, the recording patron is focused on not

getting caught and making sure the recording is decent enough to upload. And Patti is right. It

isn’t her job to stop the performance. So why even worry? Why does she care? She still gets paid

the same at the end of the day. And, this isn't her first rodeo. She is also notorious for calling

audience members out, mid-show, during her run at Gypsy. (Lee, p.9) As an actor myself, I’ll

just never understand why performers get so flustered by a little phone. If you’re truly a

professional, no distraction (e.g. candy wrappers, crying babies, cell phones, etc..) should impair

you from doing your job as a paid performer. And it’s a very closed minded view to have on

bootlegs as a whole. According to Aly Markov, “some people will never be able to afford to see
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their favorite show on Broadway, or any theatre show.” (p.5) Theatre seems to always be a

dwindling minority of an art. If anything, bootlegs are helping promote live theatre and boosting

ticket sales! It doesn’t make sense to completely blacklist something that has been so beneficial

and important to the thespians of the world.

Making this beloved art form so accessible to everyone is vital. The average family

doesn’t have the kind of time or money to splurge on a Broadway musical. And for most young

thespians, seeing your first Broadway show is a sacred thing. It’s an emotional moment in time

that one can’t even describe. Many productions (Broadway and off-Broadway) even gain cult

followings with these younger audiences. The most notable example of this is ​Heathers: The

Musical (see fig. 2)​. That show was off-broadway and had no professional video recording, so

the viewer is at the mercy of (the occasional) low quality angle and sound. But none of that

matters. All I saw as a little sophomore in high school was something I wanted to be a part of

and learn more about. I just saw theatre. So because of this bootleg performance, ​Heathers: The

Musical h​ as teens across the world invested in that story. And you can bet, that everytime a local

production of this show is put on, this same demographic is always the first to fill the seats. It

only takes seeing one show to change someone’s life for good. Especially now in times of

COVID and the Broadway Shutdown, theatre is needed in any capacity, more than ever! Now,

people don’t know when they’ll be able to see a show on Broadway! In addition, there is a

long-term gratification in getting to indulge in something that you grow a strong love for.

There’s only so much knowledge to gain from reading about a production online or listening to

its cast recording. Seeing a show in its full form is something so magical and whimsical.

Bootlegs help bridge that gap between wonder and reality.

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A bootleg is pretty much “​a very low quality of a show that you would have to pay

hundreds, or go back in time, to see for free.”​ (Markov, p.2) Video streaming websites like

YouTube provide free content that includes bootleg performances. There is one problem with

this content arising online. Laws and rules state that recording during a performance is strictly

prohibited, and it is technically illegal whether it be out of respect, for safety, or a bigger purpose

altogether, theaters do the best to enforce this rule. But just like any other new technological law,

there’s a lot of grey area in terms of rules and loopholes. MOre importantly though, the fate of

bootlegs will always be a hot topic. Rebekah Farrugia & Nancy Gobatto explain the basics of

this idea by stating that:

“Today, bootlegs continue to be a primary means by which artists gain notoriety.

The emergence of new digital technologies has led to a significant increase in

bootleg production. No doubt the sheer volume of unofficial recordings now

available has forced those previously unconcerned […]to take greater notice. This

saturation of digital recording and distribution technologies has led to a number of

changes not only for the material bootleg artifact itself but also for bootleg fan

culture and the [Broadway] industry.” (Farrugia, pg. 6)

So with all this new media and technology, why fight the way of the bootlegs? If

anything, they do good for the theatre community. Sure, it might piss off an actor or two or

producers might be convinced that it takes away from ticket sales andinterst, but guaranteed it

won’t. With the way of new media, the people who post bootlegs aren’t making a dime. They

upload them to free websites like YouTube or Tumblr, so there’s no financial gain. But the

bootleg world has never had a good reputation. “They're created in secrecy, reproduced and then
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sold from portable stands or bedsheets on the sidewalks of New York and in 99-cent stores.”

(Crouse, pg. 1) Crouse refers specifically to movies and films, but the basic concept is still there.

There’s always been a dirty vibe to creating bootlegs, almost as if it’s an illegal underground

industry. This is also in part to astronomical prices that rose in the movie industry. A bootlegger

in Crouse’s article stating that, “‘[He] see[s] [him]self as providing a service for [his]

neighborhood and community.’” (pg.2) Clearly, this side of piracy is risky and wrong. But

posting a bootleg to a free website where thousands of people can enjoy it, is in fact, harmless.

This is the outlet most theatre kids use to explore and discover their craft and love for

theatre. ​There’s so many solutions to making theatre more accessible, but it’s just a waiting game

at this point. At the end of the day, broadway is still a business, so it's easy to see why they're so

strict and greedy. But at the same time, nothing is moving and young theatre lovers will always

need this art. Seeing as close to the real thing as you can is very magical to many. Yes, it’s

frowned upon. Yes, many actors don't like it, but for now, “bootlegs and seeing other actors play

a role are the closest thing we can get on a budget. Broadway will never deflate their prices as

long as theatre continues to be a dying art…” (Markov, p.8) If we don’t at least preserve what is

being created, the fate of theatre could end with a single ghost light.

Bootlegs open up a new spectrum of live Broadway theatre to people who normally get to

experience it first hand. It is making theatre more accessible. Many artists believe that bootlegs

are disrespectful and should stop all together, due to theatre’s live and in the moment nature.

Bootlegs of Broadway shows actually create a multitude of benefits for people who don’t have

access to their favorite productions. In this day and age, Broadway bootlegs act as a cheap and
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educational resource for theatre lovers of all ages. Without these bootlegs, many might lack their

knowledge of a said production or their love for theatre.

Fig. 1 Fig. 2

Fig. 3
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Works Cited

Crouse, Edward E. “Mageddo: Adventures in Lo-Fi.” Film Comment, vol. 37, no. 3, 2001, pp.

58–61. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/43578450.

Lee, Ashley. “Broadway Star Patti LuPone Seizes Phone From Texting Audience Member,

Threatens to Quit Theater.” ​The Hollywood Reporter​, 9 July 2015.

Markov, Aly. “Bootlegs: Will They Destroy or Save Theatre? ​OnStage Blog​, The Acting Life,

10 December 2017.

Farrugia, Rebekah & Nancy Gobatto (2010) Shopping for Legs and Boots: Tori Amos's Original

Bootlegs, Fandom, and Subcultural Capital, Popular Music and Society, 33:3, 357-375.

SoCal, PBS. “S42 E2: A Taste of ‘Falsettos’: Live From Lincoln Center.” PBS SoCal, 2017,

www.pbssocal.org/programs/live-lincoln-center/taste-falsettos-oenlq8/​.

T, Christi, director. Mean Girls but It’s 1989 (the Musical). Youtube/Mean Girls But It’s 1989

(The Musical), Big Block Theatrical, 2014, youtu.be/tUNqQsp7qls.