Theatre on the small screen

Theatre fans often see television as the arch nemesis. It’s just not a very artsy thing to do, particularly with modern day television where terrible reality shows and regurgitated ideas dominate our screens.

Theatre fans often see television as the arch nemesis. It’s just not a very artsy thing to do, particularly with modern day television where terrible reality shows and regurgitated ideas dominate our screens.

I thought I would spend some time today having a look at theatre-related TV shows and also general shows that I think theatre-lovers would adore.

It seems obvious to start with the most recent musical-related hit – Glee, which has just started its second season in America and is being fast-tracked to Australia by Channel 10.

There’s some criticism of this second season from some, and a few people have suggested it has gone off the rails. I can’t really comment – I’ve only seen the ‘Britney’ episode of the current season – but what must be said is that whilst ‘Glee’ often gets lost and doesn’t quite hit the mark, it is a well-intentioned, important show for musical theatre.

The jury is still out on whether the show has a long life, and as American TV critic Ed Tucker said earlier this month, “I keep watching Glee not only out of professional duty, but out of genuine curiosity about where the show is headed each week, and in search of reasons for why and how it’s become so strident.”

Glee has made musical theatre somewhat ‘normal’, or at least introduced it as something worthwhile and different to a new group of people and deserves an audience.

Then there’s shows with a specific theatre plot, such as the little-known (in Australia anyway) Slings and Arrows, a Canadian TV series set at the fictional New Burbage Festival. If you can get your hands on a copy of this series, do so, it is an intriguing and fun comedy-drama that would resonate with so many smaller theatre producers and actors in Australia. I understand it is out on DVD with a Blu-Ray version coming soon.

Of course, theatre has also entered the reality world with several talent shows aiming to find stars for major musicals, namely Mary Poppins in the UK and Legally Blonde in America. I watched the latter and it was an interesting series but really catered the lowest common denominator and was not theatrical in the sense of the word.

Then there’s the shows that I think theatre followers should watch and would love, even they though they have very little theatre references or plot relations.

The first and most obvious is Frasier, which ran for 11 years from the mid 1990’s and is one of the most intelligent comedies of all-time, and was a victim of the success of Friends which over-shadowed it for much of the run.

If you haven’t seen Frasier, pick up one of the DVDs and give it a go. It has an arty feel and the odd theatre and opera reference (both the lead characters love the arts) makes it enjoyable. It loses its way in seasons five, six and seven but bounces back strongly in its latter seasons. It proudly sits as my favourite comedy of all-time.

I’d be interested to hear what shows other theatre-lovers suggest. Make sure you pop over to our forums and have your say.