Fox changed the live TV musical game when they added a live audience and a studio lot to Grease: Live. This weekend Fox plans to top that, with The Passion, spanning various locations throughout the city on New Orleans. However, it is going to take a miracle to pull of a live musical of that scale, and that miracle is called video tape. That is right. A portion of the “live” event will be pre-taped, with actual live elements added.
This Sunday’s production of The Passion will feature some scenes pre-tapped, adding live music and a choir in.
Passion exec producer Mark Bracco explained the reasons for having to pre-tape elements of the show, telling Variety:
“We’ll be cutting back to the live band, the live choir, the crowd in the park. It will all play as one big live experience, even though there are a few scenes that we have shot ahead of time, just because there was no possibility of getting from location to location within a commercial break.”
What do you think of Fox having to pre-tape for The Passion? Will the network be able to recreate the magic of Grease: Live? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section at the bottom of the page.
The cast list for The Passion includes:
Jencarlos Canela as Jesus Christ.
Chris Daughtry as Judas Iscariot.
Prince Royce as Peter.
Trisha Yearwood as Mother Mary
Seal as Pontius Pilate
With Tyler Perry serving as host and narrator.
The Passion airs semi-live Palm Sunday on Fox.
