Nick Kroll and John Mulaney will wrap up their hit play "Oh, Hello" on Sunday after 8 previews and 120 regular performances. But fans unable to catch the acclaimed two-hander comedy during its fourth month run are in luck — producers said Thursday that the show will be filmed in front of live audiences this Thursday and Friday, for broadcast at a future date.
The play, which follows crotchety New Yorkers Gil Faizon (Kroll) and George St. Geegland (Mulaney) as they find fame on their NY1 celebrity prank show "Too Much Tuna," has been a sold-out hit since its opening on Oct. 10, 2016. It'll close having recouped its entire $2.9 million capitalization — a rare feat for any show on Broadway, let alone a limited-run production.
It's also attracted a slew of celebrity friends to the Lyceum Theatre, many who made their Broadway debuts (or added another line to their theater resume) as surprise guests on "Too Much Tuna." Some notables names? They include Jerry Seinfeld, Amy Schumer, Chris Pratt, Tina Fey, Seth Rogen, Rebel Wilson, Ben Stiller, Will Ferrell, Kristen Wiig — of course, Alan Alda.
But while "Oh, Hello" has made passed many milestones during its short run, it's just one of the many Broadway properties finding a second life with a live recording.
The Roundabout Theatre Company filmed and recently aired its acclaimed stagings of "She Loves Me" and "Holiday Inn" for BroadwayHD — an online streaming service on a mission to promote and preserve live theatre for audiences who can't make it to Broadway.
Disney took a different route with "Newsies." Together with Fathom Events, they brought back Jeremy Jordan and stars from the original 2011 Broadway company — merging them with the cast of its Broadway tour and filming the production for the big screen. "Newsies" will air in movie theaters nationwide for three days this February (Feb. 16, Feb. 18 and Feb. 22).
Fathom Events also recently brought the George Takei-led musical "Allegiance" to cinemas. The show, about life in the WWII Japanese-American internment camps, became their highest-grossing one-night Broadway musical event yet. It was so successful, Fathom is staging an encore showing on Feb. 19. (The date happens to be the 75th anniversary of Executive Order 9066, which began the forced relocation and internment of 120,000 Japanese Americans).
Broadway
While the tradition of recording live theater for broadcast is still fairly new in the United States, it's been a popular practice in London, where high-profile productions like "Frankenstein" and "Gypsy" have reached audiences beyond the West End.
Just Wednesday, the National Theatre announced its buzzed-about production of Tony Kushner's "Angels in America" — which stars Andrew Garfield, Nathan Lane, James McArdle, and Russell Tovey (among others) — will be filmed and broadcast in two parts in July.
