Since its launch in 2015, BroadwayHD aims to extend the reach of Broadway to fans old and new, anytime and anywhere. BroadwayHD is the only online streaming service of its kind, offering viewers an unprecedented Broadway experience and access to exclusive live streams in addition to an on-demand library of over 150 theater productions from the comfort and convenience of their own home—or wherever streaming is possible. It’s the Broadway you know and love, curated from the stage to your screen. 
I’m so pleased to introduce the next interviewees in our Movers & Shakers Q&A Series, Broadway HD Co-founders, Bonnie Comley and Stewart Lane.
MM: First things first, when did you first know you wanted to be in “show business”?
Bonnie Comley: I come from a working-class background, so there was not a lot of time for leisure or hobbies. My parents’ advice was to find a job I liked so it would be more enjoyable to go to work. I loved the escapism that books, movies and TV provided. I never went to the theater until I was an adult so it was to my amazement that I got a job as an entertainment reporter and got paid to go to the theater. This job was also where I met my husband, Stewart Lane. Stew was a theater guy to the core and he kept asking why is there not more theater on TV—that is when we came up with the idea to get married and to marry TV to theater! Kids, and the idea to start BroadwayHD, soon followed!
Stewart Lane: My love affair with the theater began when I was invited to see my first Broadway show. I was 11 at the time, and my best friend Ricky’s father was an actor. I had never heard of him so I didn’t think much about it (except it was kind of cool that he worked at night, when it was fun, and not like everyone else who worked during the day). The ritual of putting on my only suit, getting a haircut, and keeping my nails clean all added to the feeling that something special was about to happen.
We drove from Long Island into the City, which was an exciting event in itself. Everything kept snowballing from there: Seeing my first beautiful Broadway theater, getting a ticket with the name of the show printed on it, being handed a Playbill, and quickly being ushered into the first row in front of a huge, plush crimson curtain. The overture began and my mouth dropped open. When the curtain rose and my eyes popped at what they saw. Indeed, Ricky’s father, Sid Caesar, was starring in the musical “Little Me,” music by Cy Coleman, lyrics by Carolyn Leigh, and book by Neil Simon. The audience roared with laughter and because we were in the front row, I could see some behind-the-scenes preparation by the actors in the wings. I was now an insider (and after only five minutes). Afterward we went backstage, where Sid was holding court. There were many well-wishers and plenty of backslapping and hugging going on. So much laughter onstage and off, I thought: With a refrigerator, bed, TV and hot plate, this place was like a home away from home. My heavens, why would anyone want to do anything else?
MM: What’s involved in the day to day office life of BroadwayHD?
BC: BroadwayHD launched in October 2015, so as a new business the day-to-day involves big, broad business plans, which include overall strategies like fundraising, marketing campaigns and developing relationships with prolific theater-producing entities, and then there are the mundane chores of paying bills, and the endless juggling of schedules for upcoming projects. Most recently we and Roundabout Theatre Company announced for the first time ever in theater history a live stream performance of a major Broadway show! We’re thrilled to offer viewers a live theater experience of “She Loves Me” to audiences across the world.
SL: After we put our kids on the school bus we get on the phone with our business manager, Ben Birney, and go over contracts, payments, cash flow and new prospective projects. Then we meet with our production manager, Gio Messale and note the progress various projects are at, go over budgets and review the latest digital capture. After that it is on to marketing and advertising, which lasts way past lunch time, so we skip lunch. Then it’s on to the website, software, hardware and security checks. Finally, we have time for analytics and strategy for future productions. That’s just Monday.
MM: What books are permanently on your bookshelf?
BC: There are tons of books in my home, but they belong to my husband and kids. The only books on my bookshelf are my grandmother’s Bible and photo albums—everything else I get online or from the library.
SL: There are several copies of the complete works of Shakespeare on my bookshelf. As well as my authored books: “Let’s Put on a Show,” “Jews on Broadway” and “Black Broadway”—plus a number of contemporary and classical plays and Woody Allen’s “Without Feathers.”
MM: Should you ever find yourself stranded on a desert island, (with WiFi and a TV, of course), what television shows and movies would you want with you?
BC: I don’t watch TV or movies alone and I would not survive alone on an island so I would use the Wi-Fi to find someone to come get me. But until my rescue I would watch BroadwayHD, of course!
SL: I would bring “All About Eve,” “Jaws,” “The Godfather I & II,” “North by Northwest,” “The Dick Van Dyke Show,” “Justified” and “Game of Thrones.”
MM: What character in musical theater is most like your personality in real life?
BC: J. Pierrepont Finch from “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying”
SL: Henry Higgins from “My Fair Lady”
MM: Least?
BC: Glinda from “Wicked”
SL: Alexander Hamilton from “Hamilton”
MM: What reasons would you give to a politician and/or school board for preserving arts education funding in public schools?
BC: After a person’s basic needs of food and shelter are met, the next most important thing is education. Humans have the weakest instinct so we rely on education. Each generation teaches the next how to survive and we communicate this in different ways, but it all comes down to storytelling. Exposing children to the arts, whether it is music, dance, painting or theater, makes them better storytellers. Arts education is the understanding that different people can stand in front of the same painting, but have different thoughts about it or listen to the same music and have different feelings or watch the same play but identify with different characters.
Arts education in schools is changing and becoming more affordable and accessible. Museums of fine art are now able to share rare paintings and sculptures through the internet. There is software to transcribe music to sheet music and endless other programs for music production and creation. Because of age, ability, location and many other reasons, there are countless people who can’t make it to the theater. BroadwayHD is allowing the art form of Broadway theater to become more accessible to everyone, everywhere. We live in a time of amazing technology, so let’s give everyone the best, most expressive communication skills through exposure to the arts.
SL: Preserving arts education is critical for future generations. I know from experience that being exposed to the arts at a young age can make a significant impact on a child’s development.
MM: What words of wisdom do you have to offer for those who want to work in theater production and/or arts administration?
BC: Come on in, the water’s fine!
SL: Love what you do. Network and stay focused and tenacious.
MM: Who is/was your greatest teacher?
BC: My parents, my husband and my kids.
SL: My father, Leonard Lane, taught me business. My mentor and friend, Jimmy Nederlander, taught me show business.
Thank you Bonnie and Stewart!
Live, Love, Learn,
Megan &