We were lucky to catch up with Luisa Lyons recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Luisa thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

While I was completing my Masters degree at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in London, I saw a cinema screening of the 2011 New York Philharmonic production of Company starring Neil Patrick Harris, Patti LuPone et al. In a pre-taped interview, producer Ellen M. Krass shared that she’d had trouble obtaining funding for the filming as no one had heard of filming a live stage musical. Having grown up obsessively watching the original Broadway production of Into the Woods on VHS, I was baffled. I went to school the next day and changed my thesis topic to the history of filmed live musicals.

Shortly after graduation, I moved to New York City and was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia. Although treatment saved my life, it was incredibly debilitating. I was unable to ride the subway, eat takeout, or, worst of all, attend live theatre. During my recovery, I decided to turn her thesis into a website in order to share my research.

I never imagined that a global pandemic would make the work all the more important!

Luisa, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I grew up watching musicals in my abuela’s living room in Sydney, Australia. Broadway and the West End may as well have been the moon they were so far away. I got my first taste of Broadway from watching the original production of Into the Woods on VHS. I never imagined that my love for musicals would lead me to studying in London, or writing about filmed live musicals.

What started as a passion project during my recovery from a stem cell transplant for acute myeloid leukemia has turned into a website that has info on over 180 stage musicals that have been filmed live on stage and made available to the public. The musicals come from all over the world, and date back to 1938. The site also features a bi-monthly podcast that goes behind the scenes and delves into the making of the musicals, and a newsletter with info on upcoming streams.

I’m proud that www.filmedlivemusicals.com can help people discover stage musicals to watch from home no matter in the world where they are!

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

My mission to make musical theatre more accessible. Live captures of stage musicals help to make musicals accessible to people who would unable to attend in person due to cost, geography, scheduling, childcare, disability, and a myriad of other reasons. Filmed live musicals also create a historic record of ephemeral theatre, are an educational tool, can help with brand building, and can create extra revenue for artists and creatives.

Before www.filmedlivemusicals.com, there was no one place to find a comprehensive list of all the stage musicals that had been legally filmed and made available to the public.

My goal is to create a home for musicals on screen.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

When visitors to the website reach out to me via email or on social media and share how they have discovered new musicals, or reconnected with a musical they had seen, thanks to the site fills me with such joy!

I’ve also loved doing deep dives into the archives and discovering info about musicals that has been forgotten, or is not widely known. It makes me feel a part of the history.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.filmedlivemusicals.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/filmedlivemt/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/filmedlivemusicals
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/filmedliveMT
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@filmedlivemusicals