With Broadway and theaters worldwide shut down amid the coronavirus pandemic, a YouTube channel has been helping people get their theater fix.
For the past seven weeks, The Shows Must Go On has exclusively streamed Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals for free — everything from “Phantom of the Opera” to “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” to “Cats.”
Now, the YouTube channel has branched out from Webber’s works. Beginning May 29 at noon MT, “Hairspray Live!” will be available to stream for 48 hours, according to Playbill.
Based on the Tony-Award winning Broadway musical about Tracy Turnblad’s dream to dance on “The Corny Collins Show,” “Hairspray Live!” originally aired on NBC in December 2016. The TV special is set in 1960s Baltimore and boasts a big-name cast, with Jennifer Hudson, Ariana Grande, Utah native Derek Hough, Kristin Chenoweth and Martin Short, among others.
Previously, “The Shows Must Go On” has streamed “By Jeeves!” “Andrew Lloyd Webber – The Royal Albert Hall Celebration,” “The Phantom of the Opera,” the “Phantom” sequel “Love Never Dies,” “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” starring Donny Osmond, and the 2012 U.K. arena tour production of “Jesus Christ Superstar.”
Proceeds from the streams have assisted a number of organizations amid the pandemic, including the Actors Fund, Acting for Others, Broadway Cares and Actors Benevolent Fund, the Deseret News previously reported.