In the past week my local Public Television Station broadcast two plays.

The first was a tape of the play "The Royal Family" which had originally been broadcast in the late '70's.
The second was a live broadcast of the off-Broadway show "Contact"--it was, in fact, the closing performance of that show, which has been Lincoln Center's longest-ever running production.

Both were just wonderful to watch and they reminded me how infrequently we get to see stage plays on TV.

In the early days of TV stage plays were much more common because we didn't have all the made-for-tv movies. And PBS has always tried to broadcast stage plays--but even they don't show them too often these days.

I live in a part of the world where I have easy access to top notch Broadway and off-Broadway theater (if I can afford the tickets), but that's certainly not the case for a great many people.
Shouldn't the pleasure of watching a Broadway show be more widely available? How can people learn to appreciate what the theater is all about if they never get to see it?

Instead of a lot of second rate films why don't they broadcast some first rate theater productions instead?

Would you want to see more stage productions on TV? Why or why not?

Should they be limited to the somewhat esoteric world of PBS, or should they be on commercial channels as well, so they'll reach a wider audience?

Can't the tastes of the general viewing public be elevated by broadcasting some quality entertainment of this sort?

Yes, yes, yes! Show us more stageplays on TV, but it would have to be on PBS or cable because too many commercial breaks would ruin the experience in my opinion.

At the same time, why not make more stageplays available on video or DVD? Two of my favorite stageplays on video are "Sunday in the Park with George", and "Death of a Salesman" with Dustin Hoffman.

A long while back I saw a broadcast of Mozart's Die Zauberflöte. I can't remember what channel it was on, but it wasn't PBS... it might have been Life. I liked that it was subtitled, because it made the plotline easier (for me) to follow.

Oh, the addition of subtitles has added immeasurably to the appreciation of opera--and added to the ranks of opera lovers as well. Because of their popularity on TV, they now have subtitles (or supra-titles) available in the NYC opera houses for the ticket holders too.

But I still get to see more televised operas (on PBS) than I do stage plays.

Commercial TV stations have tried broadcasting some plays in recent years--there was a stage version of "On Golden Pond" and I think "Death Of A Salesman", with Brian Dennehy, was on commercial TV.

Cable TV has also put on a stage play or two--I remember seeing the very controversial "Sister Mary Ignatius Tells It All" on cable.

I think that cable stations would be the best venue for putting more stage plays on the air. You would be free of commercials on many of the stations, and you would reach a larger audience than PBS.

I even think that putting stage plays and stage musicals on pay-for-view cable is a good idea. While I have access to NYC's theater, I'd love to be able to see some London productions and I'd gladly pay to see them.

We really are under-using TV as a medium for transmitting the pleasures and joys of the performing arts to a wide audience.

A few years ago (ish!) the BBC used to have a "Play for Today" modern plays shown as a one off performance - A lot of the shows were stage plays shown on TV , some of them have become classic stage plays , some went on to become Classic TV series both here in the UK and under different titles in the USA. Please let's have the type of series back - I can then watch a programme/play and decide for myself wether it was any good or not rather than an audience participation panel deciding wether I would like it or not and wether the dubbed laughter is justified or not!.

It's a great idea, Chelse, but it would never work. The current taste of the American television audience is too immersed in watching the pathetic Anna Nicole Show, the reality TV crap like Survivor, talk shows that daily portray the seamier side of life and sicoms in which neiher the situation nor the comedy is funnny.

I've often wished I could see the live plays that were broadcast (usually live) in the 50s and 60s. As I understand it, plays like "A Streeetcar Named Desire," "The Glass Menagerie," "Our Town," etc. were routinely performed. Those truly were the good old days.

I can't help but feel that, if broadcast today, the ratings would doom them to an early video grave.

I could not agree more. Here is British TV's appalling record. Last Ibsen - some 5 years ago. Last Shakespeare (ignoring the Andrew Davies rubbish) Christmas last year - the first one for about 3 years. Yes, the BBC ignoring the greatest playwright in the world ! They could not be bothered to press the pdc button, either, so most people failed to get it taped. A modern play re N.Ireland appeared on BBC2 recently - I can't rember the last time that happened. BBC 4 is, to be fair, broadcasting one or two modern plays but this is digital and inaccessable to most people - why should we have to fork out more money for what we used to get included in the license fee ? No-one, no-one does Shaw or Pinero or Goldoni or Marlowe - they may as well not have existed.

The only ray of hope is BBC Radio 3. They have recently done an excellent Stoppard (The invention of Love) and some good Ibsen (Ghosts) and Euripides (Alcestis). The modern plays (eg Plasticine) are probably the most lacerating and challenging fare available on any broadcast media. The acting is usually much better than on TV. "Troy" and "Bomber" (that one was Radio 4) I rank as good as anything in any media. So, something to be grateful for !

I would love to see stage plays on TV....even revivals of the "oldies" of the 50s and 60s. Bereft of special effects and gaudy technology. The actor's craft. The intimacy of receiving the message, one human being to another.....Put me on the list..........