Is there ever a Broadway show you get an ad for and think, “Oh, I want to see that show,” but you don’t have the time, or “Oh, I want to see that show,“ but what if I waste my money? Until you’re scrolling on your phone and see a video of that exact show, you’ll then think “Oh, if that’s what the show is like, then I should buy a ticket,” or “Oh, maybe I shouldn’t even bother buying a ticket.” The recording of a Broadway show is called none other than bootlegging, or bootlegs, and they have been changing the status of Broadway.
Bootlegs have been an issue for Broadway for quite some time. They are typically videos or clips of shows taken by audience members privately or surreptitiously and posted on YouTube or TikTok. Bootlegs can come in many forms, such as recorded videos or voice recordings. Usually, when a show is posted on YouTube or TikTok, the production company will either copyright it or have the creator take it down immediately. So sometimes, when you’re watching a bootleg of your favorite show and the next day it gets taken down, it means the company was alerted. Now, you may be wondering, what does the phrase “slime tutorial” have to do with this? Well, sometimes, in order to make sure the video/clip won’t get taken down, creators will change the title of the videos to “slime tutorials” so that it’ll help keep the video up for a longer time and confuse the Broadway production team and algorithm, if the video is an actual slime tutorial or not.
There has been some discourse for some time regarding slime tutorials. Some audiences have been fans of bootlegs and enjoy them because they give those who don’t have the resources to attend a show the opportunity to see it on screen. On the other hand, some audiences are against bootlegs because they spoil the fun of Broadway shows or take away the desire to see them, since they’re already online.
Recently, there has also been an increase in the marketing of bootlegs. One primary example is from the show, Death Becomes Her, which is still running even two years after it opened on Broadway. Based on the iconic film of the same name, starring Meryl Streep, the Broadway show is known not only for its story but also for its outstanding costumes and songs. Not only that, but Michelle Williams, who is known for being in the iconic R&B group Destiny’s Child, stars in the show. Besides that, the show has used bootlegs to market itself. They do this by having someone on the team record a part of their show, mainly the wedding scene between our main characters, Madeline Asthon and Ernest Menville, and by having Madeline either improvise or join in on a trending online phrase by saying it between her lines, which’ll catch audiences off guard. From that recording, it’ll be posted on TikTok to attract different audiences interested in seeing the show.
Another recent example is a video of Megan Thee Stallion’s first show as Zidler in Moulin Rouge! Thousands of people, including me, were wondering how Stallion would perform in the show. Was she going to perform like the other Broadway performers, or would she rap her own verse in the music? Those questions were both answered in a recent video. Posted by the official account itself, although it looks as though it was recorded with an iPhone camera. The video shows a segment of the show in which Stallion takes the mic and raps three of her most famous songs, including “WAP.” Since this video was posted, there have been tons of comments saying people are excited to see the show or that they are now looking into buying tickets. As you can see, this marketing strategy is being used to help increase interest for audiences, and it has been working.
Now you may be asking, Jaden, what’s the answer? Is it for better or for worse? And to be completely honest with you, it’s both. Bootlegs are for the better and worse of Broadway. I will say, as a marketing strategy this has been working very well, and probably will be one of the main tactics for marketing down the line. At the same time, I think it’s much better for audiences who are anticipating to see a show, just to wait till they see it instead of searching online and finding thousands of videos on it in a second. So, bootlegs could be a very big help within the industry, but I really prefer the suspense of finding out if a show is good or not by seeing it for myself.