Broadway: The American Musical (2004– )

A six-part documentary about the Broadway musical

Stars:

Julie Andrews, John Lahr, Stephen Sondheim

Won 2 Primetime Emmys. Another 1 win & 5 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Julie Andrews	...	Herself - Host (6 episodes, 2004)
John Lahr	...	Himself (6 episodes, 2004)
Stephen Sondheim	...	Himself (6 episodes, 2004)
Philip Furia	...	Himself (4 episodes, 2004)
Brendan Gill	...	Himself (4 episodes, 2004)
Al Hirschfeld	...	Himself (4 episodes, 2004)
Tommy Tune	...	Himself (4 episodes, 2004)
Max Wilk	...	Himself (4 episodes, 2004)
Joel Grey	...	Himself (3 episodes, 2004)
Stephen Hanan	...	Himself (3 episodes, 2004)
Robert Kimball	...	Himself (3 episodes, 2004)
Harold Prince	...	Himself (3 episodes, 2004)
Jonathan Sheffer	...	Himself (3 episodes, 2004)
Nancy Kathryn Anderson	...	Herself (2 episodes, 2004)
Mary Ellen Barrett	...	Herself (2 episodes, 2004)
Mel Brooks	...	Himself (2 episodes, 2004)
Kitty Carlisle	...	Herself (2 episodes, 2004)
Carol Channing	...	Herself (2 episodes, 2004)
Ted Chapin	...	Himself (2 episodes, 2004)
Jerome Chodorov	...	Himself (2 episodes, 2004)
Stanley Donen	...	Himself (2 episodes, 2004)
Ann Douglas	...	Herself (2 episodes, 2004)
Chris Ferry	...	Himself (2 episodes, 2004)
Jonathan Freeman	...	Himself (2 episodes, 2004)
John Herrera	...	Himself (2 episodes, 2004)
Margo Jefferson	...	Herself (2 episodes, 2004)
Jane Krakowski	...	Herself (2 episodes, 2004)
Miles Kreuger	...	Himself (2 episodes, 2004)
Arthur Laurents	...	Himself (2 episodes, 2004)
John McMartin	...	Himself (2 episodes, 2004)
Steve Nelson	...	Himself (2 episodes, 2004)
Dana O'Connell	...	Herself (2 episodes, 2004)
Jerry Orbach	...	Himself (2 episodes, 2004)
Frank Rich	...	Himself (2 episodes, 2004)
Jerome Robbins	...	Himself (2 episodes, 2004)
Mary Rodgers	...	Herself (2 episodes, 2004)
Jonathan Schwartz	...	Himself (2 episodes, 2004)
Peter Stone	...	Himself (2 episodes, 2004)
Julie Taymor	...	Herself (2 episodes, 2004)
Ben Vereen	...	Himself (2 episodes, 2004)
George C. Wolfe	...	Himself (2 episodes, 2004)
Jeffrey Wright	...	Himself (2 episodes, 2004)
Chip Zien	...	Himself (2 episodes, 2004)

Storyline

This six part documentary miniseries presents the evolution of the Broadway musical from its inception in 1893 to current day 2004. It presents those influential players both on stage and behind the scenes, as well as a variety of influential Broadway shows, a handful which are known to have transformed the musical into what the audience knows it to be today. The Broadway musical was often a reflection of what was happening in the world, but almost as often was meant to be an escape from problems of the world. Specific world events had a profound influence on the overall tone of Broadway shows, some of these events being wars (especially the world wars), Prohibition, the stock market crash and the Great Depression, and 9/11. Broadway musicals were also affected by the onset on various new media, such as talking movies and television. They in turn influenced other popular culture, especially what was known as the popular music of the day, especially up until the 1960s. Broadway ...

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Plot Keywords:

broadway's golden age | manhattan new york city | new york city | broadway manhattan new york city | four word title | 

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Genres:

Documentary | Music

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Details

Official Sites:

PBS [us]

Country:

USA UK Japan

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 October 2004 (USA)

Also Known As:

Broadway: El musical americano

Filming Locations:

Shubert Theater - 225 West 44th Street, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Ghost Light Films, Thirteen / WNET, NHK

Technical Specs

Runtime:

360 min 360 min (6 parts)

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

The unidentified two-strip Technicolor sequences used to illustrate "The Ziegfeld Follies" were lifted out of Glorifying the American Girl. The star of this film, also unidentified although frequently shown in the clips, was 'Mary Eaton', sister of interviewee Doris Eaton.

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Goofs

A two-strip technicolor clip of Dennis King and Jeanette MacDonald from The Vagabond King (q.v.) is used to illustrate the pre-Ziegfeld shows seen on Broadway before the turn of the century. The Vagabond King was not performed on Broadway until 1925, and the film was made four years later (1929) and released in 1930.

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Connections

Features American Masters: George Gershwin Remembered (1987)

User Reviews

First Parts and Last Parts Outstanding -- Middle Part Not Terribly Provocative

"Broadway: The American Musical" depicts the intense and competitive world of the entertainment industry in the first two parts and the last two parts. The first two chapters dealt honestly with racial discrimination and stereotypes while the last parts focused on the changing face of The Great White Way. However, the middle chapters, featuring Rogers and Hammerstein, portray an idyllic world. By the 1930's, producers appear to love everyone, talent was instantly recognized, song writers wrote instant hits, and audiences were enthralled with nearly everything they saw on stage. According to this documentary, Rogers and Hammerstein appear to have an open door policy in which anyone could walk in and pitch a musical idea, and if it was good, they would green-light the project. Talent was passed around and recommended to rival producers and shows. And song writers disappear for a weekend and return with hit songs without breaking a sweat. In short, it's the kind of world you often find depicted in a typical Broadway musical from between 1930 and about 1960. A kind of self-contained utopia.

The last chapter elucidated some of the behind-the-scenes madness that is integral to any Broadway production. But for some reason, the middle chapters focusing on the 1940's and 1950's avoided most the development and production mayhem. Instead, the narrative stayed with the successes which are the musicals that are still performed today from that era. The difficulty is talking about the struggles, the failures, the set-backs, the back-biting, and the behind-the-scenes ruthlessness that characterizes much of the entertainment industry, be it Hollywood or Broadway. That is where the real story is, and this documentary tells a very rosy tale where everybody has a happy ending. It's more about how the general public views Broadway, but not how it really is.

Not until the final chapter does the documentary explain that every Broadway production is a huge financial risk for the producers and investors. Because the rewards for a hit are so tremendous and the money lost devastating for a failure, the entertainment industry has a heartless cruelty that is always kept at arm's length from the public like skeletons in a production storage closet. The documentary lacks in-depth discussions of the origins of many of the most famous musicals from the 50's and 60's, with the notable exception of "Porgy and Bess". Aside from "Porgy" I wanted to know more about the writers' inspiration for many of the stories, how did they convince fellow song writers and producers to take a chance, how did they secure financing, who was in charge of the investments, what hurdles did they have to overcome, how did they find the talent, and how did they convince certain talent to commit to the material. Every piece of the puzzle must synthesize to manifest a hit, from the writing to the talent to the staging, and these elements need equal treatment. Some of the best stories are probably found during the developmental stage of any production. Most people also don't realize that the vast majority of projects never get past the developmental stage.

Much of what happened behind-the-scenes to realize a project from merely an idea to a full stage production is glossed over in favor of expounding upon how successful certain musicals were and how many weeks or years they ran on Broadway. In all fairness, a few bits and pieces are exposed, such as a video clip of Rex Harrison preparing for "My Fair Lady" in which he begins ranting that he won't be able to succeed at the part because of the difficulty of the music. Another tells the story of George Gershwin visiting the African-American communities of the deep south to get inspiration for "Porgy and Bess". Unfortunately, these insightful discourses are few and far between which made me clamor for more.

Because of the lack of in-depth story-telling, the middle sections of "Broadway: The American Musical" were somewhat disappointing. They come off more like a survey, akin to a musical revue, than a history of the phenomenon that is The Great White Way. However, the first and last sections are worth the price of admission. Sometimes the darkest stories are where the human drama unfolds, which has often been an area that Broadway Musicals avoid. Instead of a revue, I would have liked more of the story.