I don’t understand either.
Usually ryhog and I find some common ground - and I agree that it’s hard to make the numbers work - but assuming that can be solved (a big if), I don’t see what the downside is.
There are so many people who love theater but have mobility issues, autoimmune concerns, agoraphobia or other anxiety disorders, and who would love to see more shows streamed. Not to mention regular theater fans from around the country, or in academic settings, who would have no other chance to see productions otherwise. (And that’s all apart from the question of preserving shows for posterity, in a system more accessible to the public than an archival video that can only be viewed in person at one NYC library.)
Unless someone can successfully make the argument at this late date that streaming is cannibalizing box office receipts at certain shows, or even more ambiguously just devalues the entire live theatre experience somehow, I don’t see what the problem is (let alone why anyone would root for it to fail). |
