Broadway Bootlegs: Why We Watch Them and Finding Solutions So We Don't Have to Anymore
Meg Masseron
Despite the ongoing COVID-19 crisis which has greatly impacted the theatre community, leaving industry workers displaced and vulnerable, the Broadway community on social media decided that now is the time to engage in the bootleg discourse. Yes, the conversation many of us have carefully avoided over the years has now begun during a period in which we all need to stand together, possibly more than ever before.
Without going into the details or explaining who initiated this discourse, or how it escalated, instead, as both someone hoping to work in the Broadway industry and one of the oldest members of Generation Z, I wanted to dive deep into this controversy and look at it from all perspectives.
Bootlegs have been criticized by industry members, particularly performers, for as long as they have existed. Firstly, the recording of them can be distracting for performers, when they notice someone filming in the audience. Additionally, many performers take issue with the fact that while they are only getting paid for the 8 shows they do every week, some people may be viewing their performance at home for free, therefore not giving them the compensation they deserve for their hard work. This is perfectly understandable, and a great point regarding why bootlegs can be harmful to the industry.
However, this is a multifaceted subject, and while some harm can be done, others suggest that it can do a lot of good, as well.
The concept of theatre and Broadway fandom is at its height, currently. Some may say this is due to social media, but another cause of this surge of love for theatre amongst teenagers is the fact that with bootlegs, it has become much more accessible. Think about it: if you are a teenager with no personal wealth, an inability to get a job either due to age or circumstance or environment and your parents either cannot or choose not to give you the necessary funds to see a Broadway show, how are you supposed to become interested in theatre? A counterargument to this is that regional theatre and touring productions are an option. Sadly, this is a moot point for many. Things just aren’t that black-and-white.
As a teenager, I lived in a suburb of Baltimore where, to my knowledge (and I looked around, believe me), there was no regional theatre nearby for me to attend performances at. Sports were the dominant extracurricular, so there was little to offer with performing arts, and what was offered was high school productions, often of the same eight shows that the theatre departments could afford the rights to with their very limited budgets and grants. Sure, I could go see a touring production at The Hippodrome in Baltimore, but they only came ever so often, and tickets were commonly just as expensive (or even more expensive) than an average Broadway ticket.
I was fortunate enough to have seen two touring productions in my teenage years, but that is my own privilege. There are teenagers out there in rural regions where there is no interest in the arts and no access to it. They could be 2,000 miles away from New York City, and that means that they must consider not only the ticket price, but the cost of flying and staying in a hotel.
Perhaps there is a local theatre 30 miles away where they can see a production for $15, and maybe their parents can hand over that money, or maybe it needs to go towards groceries. If they can see that production, that is just one show, compared to our privilege as New Yorkers, with Broadway right outside of our door offering us dozens of options. How are these children supposed to engage with the Broadway community, who may currently be chattering about last year’s Kiss Me Kate revival that has since closed, when they have no idea what that show is or what the cast was like because they had absolutely no way of witnessing it themselves?
Streaming services have offered some solutions, but with a limited amount of pro-shots, this is only a temporary fix. It does not even consider the fact that some Broadway lovers may not even have access to some of these performances due to geographic location. Broadway HD’s Terms of Use state that content can vary from country to country.
Something many that are involved in this argument do not realize is that most don’t sacrifice the expense of live theatre for bootlegs, they substitute it when they otherwise have no option or ability. If they had the money to spend, they would spend it.
Now that I’m living in New York, I probably spend about 20% of my paychecks on theatre, despite not having much money at all, as a college student. I budget where I can with student rush or my TDF membership, or even the TKTS booth, but whatever I can afford, I spend my money on it! Why? Because a bootleg isn’t the same. Just like live sporting events, if I have absolutely no way of going to see a Ravens game myself, I’ll watch it on the TV with some pizza and wings. If I can afford a ticket, I’m going.
But that is the biggest issue: most average Americans just cannot afford it.
So, what do we do to fix this for everyone, performers, and fans alike? That, in my opinion, is the conversation that should have happened all along. Why, as an industry and community, are we choosing this moment in time to ignite vicious arguments about the morality of bootlegs and condemning those that watch them, instead of working together to find a solution? Why have we chosen to argue instead of having a productive conversation about how we can make theatre more accessible?
Bootlegs are not the singular cause of an issue within the theatre industry. They are the result of an issue: the issue of financial inaccessibility. You can absolutely have the opinion that bootlegs are harmful to the industry, but if you’re only throwing that out there without actively generating ideas on how to make theatre more widely accessible, you’re just adding to the problem. More so, you’re adding to the negativity and frustration that we are all currently swimming in due to COVID-19 and the suffering it has brought.
On one last note, it’s disappointing that if we’re going to have a debate right now, that this is the debate we’re having. There are so many larger, more directly harmful issues that are an ongoing crisis in the industry, that I have yet to see an ongoing conversation about. Whitewashing, sexual misconduct, fatphobia and so many other subjects are much more of a direct threat to the industry, but very few people seem to want to talk about them.
Meanwhile, those that do try to make a change have decided to lay their armor down during this period in Broadway’s history. Notably, the West Side Story Protest Twitter account announced at the beginning of the Broadway shutdown that out of respect for the difficulty the theatre industry will be facing, they will be taking a break. If that conversation can wait - a conversation I have personally been waiting for - maybe we can put the bootleg thing aside for now...especially considering no one can even see live theatre right now, anyway.