When most people think of Broadway, they think of musicals like Hamilton, Chicago, and The Lion King, but there is a lot more that makes up the New York theatre scene. Of the 43 productions of the 2024-2025 Broadway season, 21 were plays. One of the standouts in this category, receiving 5 Tony Award nominations was Good Night, and Good Luck starring George Clooney. 

The show was adapted from the 2005 film of the same name written by Clooney and Grant Heslov. Although Clooney played a different character in the film and the play, fans still flocked to see him during the play's brief 12-week run.

Outside of being the first play in Broadway history to surpass $4 million in revenue in a week, it was the first Broadway play to offer a live-streamed performance. On June 7, 2025, one day before the show’s final performance, it was live streamed on CNN and CNN international. The livestream captivated 7.34 million viewers worldwide, equivalent to filling 4,588 shows to capacity—or selling out shows every day for 11 years straight. 

Broadway Goes Live – A New Era for Theater AV

From Stage to Screen

Traditionally, the only time a Broadway production is recorded is for archival purposes to be stored in the Theatre on Film and Tape Archive. This archive is within the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts and has recordings of Broadway, Off-Broadway, and select regional theatre productions dating back to its establishment in 1970. This archive is open to the public for research and education, allowing students, directors, and others to study past productions, techniques, and the theatre industry's evolution. 

Since the establishment of the archive, there has been a growing desire for more accessible theatre, and the growth and development of technology has allowed for productions to share their stories with people who may not be able to make it to New York or afford the ticket prices. Recent productions that have released recordings on major streaming platforms are Hamilton, Newsies, Waitress, and Frozen. These recordings allow for people to revisit shows they have seen as well as allowing people to experience them for the first time from the comfort of their own home.

Why Good Night, and Good Luck Is a Milestone

Good Night, and Good Luck already brought a new audience to Broadway simply because of Clooney’s involvement both on stage and with the 2005 film, but it brought an even larger audience with its CNN and CNN international livestream. Broadway is renowned worldwide, but only those who can travel to New York typically get to experience it. 

The true magic of Broadway lies in the intimate atmosphere of its theatres, whether for plays or musicals. Contrary to popular belief, theatres in New York are actually quite small, with the Gershwin Theatre, where Wicked has been housed since its opening in 2003, having only 1,933 seats. One of the many challenges of live streaming this show was making the audience at home feel like they were really sitting in the theatre with the live audience. 

AV Magic Behind the Scenes

Cameras, Cues, and Cinematic Feels

When it came to putting together the technology to make this livestream possible, it was important for technicians and camera operators to work closely with the production to make sure that everything was captured perfectly. In a sense, they were creating their own choreography based on the production’s choreography and blocking (where and when things happen on the stage). In the end, 20 cameras and 14 camera operators helped to bring the magic of Broadway from New York to people across the globe. There was a mix of angles used as well as different zooms to really help capture the play in all of its glory. 

As the show follows journalists, there are moments throughout the production where the characters are watching interviews or the news. To add to the cinematic feel of the live stream and really make people at home feel like they were in the story, the video feeds that the characters were watching became the full screen of the stream. This really put the viewers into the shoes of a character and created a unique experience that even those in the theatre didn’t experience.

Lighting for Live and Lens

In addition to having the right camera angles and setup to appropriately capture what is happening on stage, it was important for the technicians to understand all of the different lighting throughout the show. The show received a Tony nomination for Best Lighting Design of a Play (Heather Gilbert and David Bangali, lighting designers), so it was especially important to make sure their efforts translated as intended on the stream. In plays, stage lights are not often as bright as musicals, so camera settings had to be adjusted appropriately to be able to capture everything happening on stage.

Mixing Sound for Two Worlds

Sound is truly everything in any kind of live event, so making sure the sound mix was just as clear in the livestream as in the theatre was of utmost importance. The production of Good Night, and Good Luck received a Tony nomination for Best Sound Design of a Play (Daniel Kluger, sound designer), so the in-house design and mic has been recognized as one of the best of the year. As the livestream was being broadcast the night before the Tony awards ceremony, it was important to make sure that the mix of actors, band, and audience ambiance were perfect.

Although Good Night, and Good Luck is a play, it featured music as a key part of the production. The show starts with a Jazz Singer, played by Georgia Heers, and when the full set reveals, you can see a four-piece jazz band that plays throughout the production (Bryan Carter, percussion; Joe Block, keys; Mark Lewandowski, bass; Lucas Pino, tenor saxophone).

The Future of Broadway Broadcasting

A Blueprint for Future Shows

The success of this livestream has shown the theatre community that it is possible to bring the magic of live theatre to people across the globe. While I am not suggesting that every show continuously live stream performances, if there are shows that are thematically important to the public or current events like Good Night, and Good Luck, it may be worth considering a live stream. The team at Good Night, and Good Luck chose a great time to stream their show on CNN as it was the day before the show closed. This meant they didn’t lose out on any ticket revenue and allowed people who didn’t have the time, finances, or circumstances to make it to New York but still wanted to see the show.

At the end of the day, I do not think that offering a live stream of performances will take away from in-person ticket sales. There is something about theatre that cannot be fully replaced with a live stream or recording. The pro-shot of Hamilton on Disney+ was released in 2020, but even 5 years later, they are consistently selling out and bringing in on average $2 million a week. I believe that offering a livestream of Good Night, and Good Luck the day before its final performance was smart and may be something worth considering for future productions. Even Clooney said, “Our run is over so it’s not costing the play anything anymore. Why don’t we open it up and show people how fun it is to come to New York to see a play?”.

Training Tomorrow’s AV Theater Pros

The success of this stream shows the importance of having trained AV professionals in the theatre community so the gift of theatre can be shared beyond the four walls on Broadway. It also shows the increasing demand for AV education within performing arts programs, whether it is the focus of the program or not. The theatre industry is always changing and evolving and it is important for programs to train their students for the industry as it currently stands as well as for what it could become.

Audience Response – In Theater and at Home

As one audience member said when interviewed by CBS New York, “I think there’s something really remarkable about the fact that you can bring Broadway into people’s living rooms”. This sentiment really emphasizes that the livestream didn’t take away from the in-theatre experience and allowed the message of the show to be shared with a wider audience than is possible in the 1,600 seat Winter Garden Theatre.

Good Night, and Good Luck raised the bar of what live theatre can be when shared with a wider audience than just those within the theatre. The coordination to make this event possible and enjoyable for the audience at home and in the theatre shows that with the collaboration of AV professionals, the magic of live theatre can be widely shared without taking away from the experience of seeing it live. 

The livestream of Good Night, and Good Luck showed the Broadway community, and the world at large, that advancing AV technology can extend theatre beyond the stage.