All the world’s a stage—including your TV screen

The curtains are rising on Broadway—from the comfort of your own couch.

Live plays from the most famous street in America (sorry, Wall) are increasingly becoming a new target for TV networks and streamers, as the companies work to tap into cultural relevance and reach new audiences:

• CNN last week announced plans to air George Clooney's Good Night, and Good Luck on June 7, which the network says will be the first time in history a Broadway play is televised live.
• Disney, digging into its previous Hamilton release playbook, will publish a recorded version of its hit live play Frozen on Disney+ on June 20.
• Max began streaming a filmed version of Waitress: The Musical, starring Sara Bareilles, earlier this year.
• Filmed Broadway productions have also been seen on PBS, NBC, and Fox.

Broadway-ception: As live plays continue to expand their reach from stages to screens, the opposite phenomenon is also occurring—plays based on TV and movies are booming on Broadway. Netflix this year released a stage adaptation of Stranger Things, while Warner Bros. recently produced a musical version of Beetlejuice. Other upcoming plays include Disney’s Hercules (opens on the West End next month) and Beauty and the Beast (launching a North American tour this summer).