Putting Broadway musicals on the big screen enables a wider audience to experience what has captured theater-goers in New York. But putting a show like Bandstand on the big screen shares a beautiful message and a poignant story with millions of people. I was lucky enough to see the first screening on June 25th and was reminded more of how much I love the show.
I saw Bandstand on Broadway a year ago, sitting in the front row. I was moved by the show then, in awe of the emotional pain that Laura Osnes, Corey Cott, and the rest of the cast put themselves through in order to tell the story as accurately and truthfully as possible.
Before the show closed in September 2017, it was announced that it would be filmed and eventually released in movie theaters. Despite its short run on Broadway, the show garnered a fan base and this would mean that many people who didn't have the chance to see the show on Broadway were getting the chance to see in at the movies. The fan base came to include the likes on Lin-Manuel Miranda, who wondered why no one was talking about it after he saw the show and promoted the show before its first screening. It's difficult to put into words how beautiful this production is. So I'll leave you with a quote from my initial review last year: "Bandstand is a moving show, reminding the audience of those who serve and the fact that they dedicate every performance to those who serve in the past, present, and future is touching, and a tribute to the families of those people as well. While it fits the typical Broadway show mold, it digs deeper into emotion and one will leave the theater with a renewed sense of hope and patriotism as it truly shows good in our country while reminding us of the negative parts of war and how when the boys came back, there were still challenges to face."
Bandstand will be in movie theaters again tomorrow. To find out where it's playing near you, click here.