Today we stream what shows we can find. Back then: James Dean, “Twelve Angry Men” and conclusive proof that Kim Stanley was one of the all-time greats.

By Ben Brantley

“In recent months, I’ve been thinking a lot about that fecund and fervent period, generally described as the golden age of television (or more, recently the first golden age of television, in acknowledgment of the era of the great series that began with “The Sopranos”). That’s because, for the first time in my 27 years as a drama critic, I am almost exclusively watching live plays on a screen rather than in a theater, albeit via laptop instead of a boxy set.

The pandemic lockdown that began in March, with its rules of social distancing, has inspired theater artists to invent new means of reaching audiences. And while some of these shows are recorded and edited in advance, the ones that really get my adrenaline flowing are those that walk the tightrope of streaming live.”

Source: The New York Times