YENTL, HAIRSPRAY LIVE! & More is Coming to BroadwayHD for Women’s History Month – Broadway World

In honor of Women's History Month, BroadwayHD is celebrating some of Broadway's iconic female characters with new titles coming to the platform including Yentl from Yentl, Mrs. Lovett from Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, and Tracy from Hairspray Live!. Although very different, they all are strong, independent women that the premiere streaming service for live theatre is recognizing this month.

Beginning March 1, fans can enjoy Barbra Streisand playing the title role in the Academy Award-winning film Yentl, as well as Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, an unsettling tale of a Victorian-era barber starring Tony Award winners Angela Lansbury and George Hearn.

On March 3, the iconic Tony Award-winning based Broadway musical, Hairspray Live! hits the platform - featuring exciting stars like Harvey Fierstein, Maddie Baillio, Kristin Chenoweth, Ariana Grande, Garrett Clayton, Derek Hough, Jennifer Hudson, and Martin Short. In addition to the new titles, BroadwayHD has a plethora of titles with trailblazing women including A Night with Janis Joplin, Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill (Audra McDonald), Ann (Holland Taylor), Rose (Dame Maureen Lipman), Donmar Warehouse's The Tempest, Donmar Warehouse's Julius Caesar, Donmar Warehouse's Henry IV, Indecent (Katrina Lenk), Pipeline (Karen Pittman), The Girls in the Band, Coppelia (Michaela DePrince), The Glass Menagerie (Katharine Hepburn), and Neighbors (Cecily Tyson).

BroadwayHD will also be celebrating Stephen Sondeim's birthday on March 22 with the release of Judy Collins' Letter to Sondheim. Riverdance's 25th Anniversary Special will be arriving in perfect unison with St. Patrick's Day on March 17. With the thrilling energy and passion of its Irish and international dance, fans of all ages can immerse themselves in the extraordinary power and grace of its music and dance. On March 29, BroadwayHD will have the exclusive US premiere of Show Stopper: The Theatrical Life of Garth Drabinsky, a well-balanced and hard-hitting biography of one of the world's most flamboyant show-business moguls.

"We are thrilled to release a star-studded lineup of content this month. With March being Women's History Month, we want to celebrate some of Broadway's iconic female characters from titles like Yentl, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, and Hairspray Live!," said Stewart F. Lane and Bonnie Comley, co-founders of BroadwayHD.

A full list of new productions coming to BroadwayHD this March include:

March 1- For Me and My Gal is a 1942 American musical film directed by Busby Berkeley and starring Judy Garland, Gene Kelly - in his film debut - and George Murphy, and featuring Martha Eggerth and Ben Blue. The film was written by Richard Sherman, Fred F. Finklehoffe and Sid Silvers, based on a story by Howard Emmett Rogers. The film was a production of the Arthur Freed unit at MGM.

March 1- Barbra Streisand plays the title role in the Academy Award-winning film Yentl, which tells the story of Rebbe Mendel, a single father who teaches the Talmud, a sacred text of Judaism, to the boys of his small Polish town. Behind closed doors, he also instructs his daughter, Yentl, despite the fact that girls are forbidden to study religious scripture. When Yentl's father dies, she still has a strong desire to learn about her faith -- so she disguises herself as a male, enrolls in a religious school, and unexpectedly finds love along the way.

March 1- One of the darkest musicals ever written, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is the unsettling tale of a Victorian-era barber who returns home to London after fifteen years of exile, in order to take revenge on the corrupt judge who ruined his life. When revenge eludes him, Sweeney (George Hearn) swears vengeance on the entire human race, murdering as many people as he can, while his business associate, Mrs. Lovett (Angela Lansbury), bakes the bodies into meat pies and sells them to the unsuspecting public. Based on the 1973 play of the same title, this version from 1982 stars Tony Award winners Angela Lansbury (Mame, Gypsy) and George Hearn (La Cage aux Folles, Sunset Boulevard). It features a lush score by the legendary Stephen Sondheim and is directed by Hal Prince, who died this past year, leaving behind a stunning legacy of work on Broadway--from Cabaret to The Phantom of the Opera.

March 3- Based on the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical, Hairspray Live! takes place in 1962 Baltimore. Plump teenager Tracy Turnblad's dream is to dance on "The Corny Collins Show," a local TV program. When against all odds Tracy wins a role on the show, she becomes a celebrity overnight and meets a colorful array of characters, including the resident dreamboat, Link; the ambitious mean girl, Amber; an African American boy she meets in detention, Seaweed; and his mother, Motormouth Maybelle, the owner of a local record store. Tracy's mother is the indomitable Edna, and she eventually encourages Tracy on her campaign to integrate the all-white "Corny Collins Show." Craig Zadan and Neil Meron (producers of all of NBC's live musicals and the upcoming "A Few Good Men Live") serve as executive producers of Hairspray Live! It stars exciting newcomer Maddie Baillio, Dove Cameron, Kristin Chenoweth, Garrett Clayton, Harvey Fierstein, Ariana Grande, Derek Hough, Jennifer Hudson, Martin Short, Ephraim Sykes and Shahadi Wright Joseph, with special appearances by Billy Eichner, Sean Hayes, Andrea Martin and Rosie O'Donnell.

March 10- Rhythm of the Dance celebrates the rich history of Ireland and incredible art of Irish dance, heralding a new era of Irish entertainment It's internationally rated as one of the most popular Irish step shows on the planet. A visual spectacle bringing the viewer on a historic journey, travels back into the world of Irish Celts during a Great War between clans. Utilizing traditions of step dance, the choreography tells the tale of a battle that left Ireland in ruins, yet expressing a continued hope that the Emerald Isle shall stand again, united in peace. This rich display of Gaelic culture features lead dancers: Michael Byrne, "All England Boys Champion" of Irish Dance; Nicola Kennedy, competitive Irish step dancer since age 4, now a successful teacher; and Emma O'Sullivan, a famous Sean-Ns "old style" traditional Irish dancer. Receiving critical praise and having millions of fans around the world, Rhythm of the Dance is a show every Irish music and dance fan will love.

March 17- A powerful and stirring reinvention of this beloved favorite, celebrated the world over for its GRAMMY-winning score and the thrilling energy and passion of its Irish and international dance. Twenty-five years on, composer Bill Whelan has rerecorded his mesmerizing soundtrack while producer Moya Doherty and director John McColgan have completely reimagined the groundbreaking show with innovative and spectacular lighting, projection, and stage and costume designs. Immerse yourself in the extraordinary power and grace of its music and dance - beloved by fans of all ages. Fall in love with the magic of Riverdance all over again.

March 17- Riverdance Live from Beijing was made to suit China with singing, dancing and music.

Judy Collins Letter to Sondheim- March 22 - A Love Letter to Stephen Sondheim was filmed in May 2016 at The Boettcher Concert Hall in Denver, CO. Collins takes the audience through Sondheim's remarkable treasure-trove of music, interweaving stories of Broadway with her personal anecdotes. The award-winning singer-songwriter is esteemed for her imaginative interpretations of traditional and contemporary folk standards and her own poetically poignant original compositions. Collins is joined on the program by the Greeley Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Glen Cortese.

March 24- Lucky Stiff is a 2014 American musical comedy film directed by Christopher Ashley and starring Jason Alexander and Dennis Farina (in his final film role). It is based on the 1988 musical of the same name by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty and the 1983 novel The Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo by Mike Butterworth. Set in "1970-ish," the farcical film musical concerns hapless English shoe salesman Harry Witherspoon (Dominic Marsh) who is informed that an American uncle he never knew has died and left him a $6 million fortune. But as Harry soon finds out, the bounty comes with a catch: he has to travel with his uncle's body, fully preserved by a taxidermist, to Monte Carlo on a dreamed of, but never experienced vacation. Otherwise the entire fortune goes to the Universal Dog Home of Brooklyn.

March 29 - Show Stopper is an honest, well-balanced and hard-hitting biography of one of the world's most flamboyant show-business moguls. It is an emotionally powerful film illustrating the rise and fall of a man who modeled himself after Hollywood ubermoguls Adolf Zukor, Lew Wasserman and the Greek tragic hero, Icarus. Punctuated with key interviews, including those that despised Drabinsky's draconian style, journalists and financial analysts who predicted his demise, industry insiders and the elite of the theatre community that mourn his passing, this film charts Drabinsky's career, the art that inspired him, and the ten-year battle to bring him to eventually convict him. This will be the film's US premiere.

To learn more about BroadwayHD, visit http://www.broadwayhd.com.

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YENTL, HAIRSPRAY LIVE! & More is Coming to BroadwayHD for Women's History Month - Broadway World