December 21, 2021- BroadwayHD, the premiere streaming service for theater fans, is singing and dancing its way into the new year with a dazzling lineup of new theater productions, musical films and documentaries. Kicking off the month on January 1st is the 1945 musical comedy film Ziegfeld Follies, featuring Fred Astaire, Lucille Ball, Gene Kelly, Judy Garland, Fanny Brice, Lena Horne and more. The How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying film, based on the musical of the same name, is set to debut on January 4th, following a lowly window cleaner with dreams of making it big in the business world. Next up on January 6th is the Les Misérables 25th Anniversary Concert, featuring celebratory performances of the hit musical with Alfie Boe, Norm Lewis, Lea Salonga, Nick Jonas, Samantha Barks and more reprising their original roles.
The Broadway revival of the Lerner & Loewe classic, Camelot, starring Richard Harris, also joins the streaming service on January 13th, followed by Death of a Salesman with Dustin Hoffman and John Malkovich on January 18th. Debuting on January 20th is Lee Mead in Concert, a 40th birthday concert celebration live from the London Palladium stage, including guests Kerry Ellis, Marisha Wallace, Dalton Harris and Steve Balsamo.. On January 25th, the 2018 documentary Every Act Of Life comes to BroadwayHD, profiling four-time Tony-winning playwright Terrence McNally’s six ground-breaking decades in the theatre, the fight for LGBTQ rights, triumph over addiction, the pursuit of love and inspiration at every age, and the power of the arts to transform society. Golda’s Balcony, a film about the fearless Golda Meir, Israel’s first female Prime Minister, starring Valerie Harper, also makes its debut on January 27th. Rounding out the month in celebration of the Grammys on January 31st is the Bluebird documentary, about the discovery and rise to fame of megastars like Garth Brooks and Taylor Swift while following emerging singer-songwriters as they chase their dreams inside The Bluebird Cafe, the Nashville landmark that has altered the course of music history.
“We are thrilled to kick off the new year with such an exciting star studded lineup, including the Les Misérables 25th Anniversary Concert, Ziegfeld Follies, Death of a Salesman, Every Act of Life highlighting Terrence McNally’s six ground-breaking decades in the theatre and more,” said Stewart F. Lane and Bonnie Comley, co-founders of BroadwayHD. “From theater productions to musical films and documentaries, there is something for everyone to enjoy this month.”
The new productions coming to BroadwayHD in January include:
- Ziegfeld Follies– January 1- Ziegfeld Follies is a 1945 American musical comedy film originally released by MGM from Warner Bros. In heaven, showman Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. fondly recalls his first Broadway revue, the Ziegfeld Follies of 1907. The greatest showman on earth is now looking down from heaven, hoping that he can, for one last time, create that same magic by mounting one last follies. It stars many leading talents, including Fred Astaire, Lucille Ball, Lucille Bremer, Fanny Brice, Judy Garland, Kathryn Grayson, Lena Horne, Gene Kelly, James Melton, Victor Moore, William Powell, Red Skelton, Cyd Charisse and Esther Williams.
- How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying- January 4- How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying is a1967 American musical comedy film based on the 1961 stage musical of the same name, which in turn was based on Shepherd Mead’s 1952 book. The film was produced by United Artists and directed by David Swift, with original staging by Bob Fosse.
- Pierpont Finch (Robert Morse) is a lowly window cleaner with dreams of making it big in the business world. After finding a copy of the book “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying,” Finch decides to apply the tactics in the book to his own life. Soon, he’s working as a mail-room clerk at the World Wide Wicket Company and quickly fighting his way up the corporate ladder with relative ease in this quirky musical .
- Les Misérables- 25th Anniversary Concert- January 6- The celebratory 25th anniversary concert performance of the hit musical was filmed at The O2 in London in 2010. The concert stars Alfie Boe as Jean Valjean, Norm Lewis as Javert, Lea Salonga as Fantine, Nick Jonas as Marius, Katie Hall as Cosette, Ramin Karimloo as Enjolras, Samantha Barks as Éponine, Mia Jenkins as Young Cosette, Robert Madge as Gavroche, Matt Lucas and Jenny Galloway as the Thénardiers, and Earl Carpenter as the Bishop of Digne.
- Camelot Revival- January 13- The Broadway version of the Lerner & Loewe classic starring Richard Harris. Camelot is a utopia where good King Arthur, his wife Guinevere and The Knights of the Roundtable live virtuous lives until Guinevere develops a powerful attachment to a French soldier, Lancelot. Their love for Arthur and each other serves to disrupt peace in the kingdom. Lancelot falls madly in love with the queen while Arthur is entrapped by an evil spell cast by Sorceress Morgan le Fay at the urging of the king’s illegitimate son, Mordred. When their affair is revealed, Lancelot fights his way out of Camelot, leaving Guinevere who is sentenced to die by fire. When Arthur returns from his enchanted imprisonment, he must decide whether to watch her suffer a painful death or incite a civil war. This production was part of the cable series “HBO Theatre”, and is a videotaped presentation of the 1980 Broadway stage revival of the Lerner & Lowe musical. The production was filmed at the Winter Garden Theater in Manhattan, NY and received four ACE nominations.
- Death of A Salesman– January 18- Starring Dustin Hoffman and John Malkovich, the 1985 film follows Willy Loman, an aging, traveling salesman, who despairs that his life he’s been living in vain. Facing dispensability and insignificance in a heated, youthful economy, Willy is not ready to part with his cherished fantasies of an America that admires him for personable triumphs in the marketplace.
- Lee Mead in Concert Recorded at The London Palladium- January 20- In June 2021, West End and television star Lee Mead, celebrated his 40th birthday by performing his own show at the iconic London Palladium. The show not only celebrated his birthday, but also the joy of starting to emerge from lockdown. It was a fitting venue for the artist, who is famed for his starring performance as Joseph in Joseph and His Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat after winning the UK TV program Any Dream Will Do. The Palladium concert was a fantastic success, and included guests Kerry Ellis, Marisha Wallace, Dalton Harris and Steve Balsamo.
- Terrence McNally: Every Act of Life– January 25- Every Act Of Life is a documentary that profiles four-time Tony-winning playwright Terrence McNally’s six ground-breaking decades in the theatre, the fight for LGBTQ rights, triumph over addiction, the pursuit of love and inspiration at every age, and the power of the arts to transform society. The 2018 documentary film was directed, produced and written by Jeff Kaufman, produced by Marcia S. Ross and features F. Murray Abraham, Christine Baranski, Edie Falco, Nathan Lane, Angela Lansbury, Audra McDonald, Rita Moreno, Billy Porter, Chita Rivera and Patrick Wilson.
- Golda’s Balcony– January 27- Golda’s Balcony, produced by Tony Cacciotti, is a film about a fearless woman, Golda Meir, Israel’s first female Prime Minister, directed by Jeremy Kagan. Adapted from William Gibson’s hit play by the same name, Valerie Harper plays Golda and multiple roles throughout the film, which focuses on the 1973 war, which Israel almost lost, and how Ms Meir succeeded in getting the armaments she needed from U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.
- Bluebird- January 31- Discover the origins of megastars like Garth Brooks and Taylor Swift while following emerging singer-songwriters as they chase their dreams inside The Bluebird Cafe, the Nashville landmark that has altered the course of music history. This award winning documentary, directed by Brian A. Loschiavo and features Grammy winners Faith Hill, Kacey Musgraves, Maren Morris, Vince Gill, Jason Isbell, Tricia Yearwood, Kathy Mattea and Don Schlitz.
