For too many years stage musicals on video have been a rarity, with just a few titles available. When DVD arrived I thought musicals might have a chance, but there are only a few titles to keep us smiling.

You can find opera titles, classical music concerts and even the work of Gilbert & Sullivan on DVD, so why aren't there more stage musicals? I know that we, musical lovers, aren't a large number, but even so we deserve to have our favorite musicals and concerts on DVD, not to mention the television shows connected with the genre.

Many shows are recorded for historical purposes and could later be seen at the Theatre on Film and Tape (TOFT) at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center. The Royal National Theatre in London also records same of its productions and there are other institutions that do it. Thanks to "Show Music", I know that among the titles that were recorded we can find STEEL PIER, SIDE SHOW, Joel Grey in CABARET, MAME, the gala performance of A CHORUS LINE, LADY IN THE DARK and even some of the famous City Center Encores! presentations like, for example, TENDERLOIN and WONDERFUL TOWN.

I don't know if one day those shows will be available for the general public, but I hope so. We shouldn't forget that musicals are made for us, simple mortals. Fortunately, there are plenty of movie musicals to see on DVD.