ShowBusiness: The Road to Broadway (2007)

Director:

Dori Berinstein

Writers:

Dori Berinstein (writer)
Richard Hankin (writer)

Genre:

Documentary

Tagline:

The Real Drama is Behind the Curtain.

Plot:

Going behind the curtain to capture the most controversial, passionate, risky and high-profile Broadway season in decades.

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Alissa Anderegg	...	Herself
Kristin Anderson-Lopez	...	Herself
Rob Ashford	...	Himself
Chris Boneau	...	Himself
Ben Brantley	...	Himself
Harrison Chad	...	Himself
Carol Channing	...	Herself
Kristin Chenoweth	...	Herself
Wayne Cilento	...	Himself
Hope Clarke	...	Herself
Jennifer Cody	...	Herself
Dioni Michelle Collins	...	Herself
Nancy Marlowe Coyne	...	Herself
Alan Cumming	...	Himself
Stephanie D'Abruzzo	...	Herself
Raúl Esparza	...	Himself
Edie Falco	...	Herself
Harvey Fierstein	...	Himself
David Finkle	...	Himself
Boy George	...	Himself
William Goldman	...	Himself
Robyn Goodman	...	Herself
Susan Haskins	...	Herself
Charles Isherwood	...	Himself
Hugh Jackman	...	Himself
Donna Karger	...	Herself
Pat Kiernan	...	Himself
Billie Jean King	...	Herself
Tony Kushner	...	Himself
John Lahr	...	Himself
Rocco Landesman	...	Himself
Nathan Lane	...	Himself
Cyndi Lauper	...	Herself
John Leguizamo	...	Himself
Jacques le Sourd	...	Himself
LL Cool J	...	Himself
Robert Lopez	...	Himself
Joe Mantello	...	Himself
Rob Marshall	...	Himself
Jeff Marx	...	Himself
Ron Marx	...	Himself
Wendy Marx	...	Herself
Kevin McCollum	...	Himself
Idina Menzel	...	Herself
Jerry Mitchell	...	Himself
Jason Moore	...	Himself
Euan Morton	...	Himself
Rosie O'Donnell	...	Herself
Stephen Oremus	...	Himself
Brad Oscar	...	Himself
Patrick Pacheco	...	Himself
Sarah Jessica Parker	...	Herself
Tonya Pinkins	...	Herself
Marc Platt	...	Himself
Cece Rafter	...	Herself
Michael Rafter	...	Himself
Michael Riedel	...	Himself
Ken Roberson	...	Himself
Stephen Schwartz	...	Himself
Jeffrey Seller	...	Himself
Sue Simmons	...	Herself
David Stone	...	Himself
John Tartaglia	...	Himself
Jeanine Tesori	...	Herself
Tom Titone	...	Himself
Roma Torre	...	Herself
Glenn Weiss	...	Himself
Jeff Whitty	...	Himself
Linda Winer	...	Herself
George C. Wolfe	...	Himself
Renée Zellweger	...	Herself

MPAA:

Rated PG for language and some sexual references.

Runtime:

USA:102 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:PG

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Dramatic Forces

Trivia:

The song that Idina Menzel sings over the credits is a much-changed version of "Lullaby of Broadway," written by Al Dubin and Harry Warren. The song originally appeared in the Warner Brothers film Gold Diggers of 1935 (1935)and won the 1936 Academy Award for Best Original Song. It was one of many Warren and Dubin songs eventually included in the 1980 jukebox musical "42nd Street" (based mostly, but not entirely, on their 1933 movie of the same name). The version that Menzel sings in this documentary was arranged by Jan Folkson and Jeanine Tesori and given an almost entirely new tune, as well as some new lyrics - a spoken interlude drawn from Harlem Renaissance poet Claude McKay's 1920 poem "On Broadway;" Billy Porter performed the McKay portion of the song.

Soundtrack:

If You Were Gay

A True Valentine to One Tumultuous Broadway Season Full of Insight and Energy

The odds against a Broadway musical becoming a profitable hit make Hollywood studio film deals seem like a sure thing by comparison. However, there is a more palpable energy to live theater and arguably a genuine sense of risk. Filmmaker Dori Berinstein has captured this high-wire dynamic in spades with this enthusiastic 2007 documentary, which covers the 2003-04 Broadway season culminating in the Tony Awards held in June. There are plenty of random shots from the season's shows and even coverage of a little-known rehearsal ritual of having the most prolific cast member wear a gypsy robe before opening. Berinstein's focus is primarily on four disparate musicals – the successful $14-million "Wizard of Oz"-inspired extravaganza, "Wicked"; a socially conscious period piece, the powerful "Caroline, or Change"; the glam-rock Boy George autobiography, the financially stunted 'Taboo"; and the season's underdog, the adult-oriented comic paean to Sesame Street, "Avenue Q".

Bouncing between the productions in various stages of development, the filmmaker intersperses brief interviews with the producers, directors, writers and principal actors, as well as scabrous roundtable conversations about the spotlighted shows among the influential theater critics who have the power to close a show with a scathing review. The diverse combination of perspectives provides interesting fodder, even though given the wealth of material gathered here, the treatment sometimes feels truncated and cursory, for example, composer Stephen Schwartz and star Idina Menzel are given plenty of attention on "Wicked", but not nearly as much is lavished on co-star Kristin Chenoweth or the other creative forces behind the show. Intriguingly, the near-legendary backstage turmoil behind "Taboo" is mentioned, but very little of that tension is evident in the rehearsal scenes or the interviews with producer Rosie O'Donnell, Boy George or stars Euan Morton and Raúl Esparza.

Even though it is not remotely a warts-and-all type of film, there are refreshingly candid comments from O' Donnell and Boy George about the unfair press coverage "Taboo" received from the New York Post's smarmy Michael Riedel. There are also moments that are surprisingly poignant like "Caroline" star Tonya Pinkins recounting her grief-filled back story and Morton near tears as he talks about his post-close struggles. Easily the most amusing scenes spotlight the young, precocious composers of "Avenue Q", Jeff Marx and Bobby Perez, who seem to have accidentally backed into their show idea and ironically came out the true victors. The interviews with Marx's proud but dumbfounded father are especially hilarious. As a Broadway aficionado, I couldn't help but wish there were more musical moments included beyond the snippets shown, in particular, more of Pinkins' stirring turn in her show or the wildly talented Esparza's cross-dressing turn in "Taboo". But otherwise, this all-access peek into the Broadway theater scene is genuinely insightful and wonderfully entertaining.