Syncopated City: 1919-1933 (19 Oct. 2004)

The radical cultural changes that occurred in the 1920's were reflected in the Broadway musical. Musically, jazz ruled the Broadway musical stage. There was also a sense of liberation in ... See full summary »

Director:

Michael Kantor

Writers:

Marc Fields, Martin Starger (conceived by),

Stars:

Nancy Kathryn Anderson, Julie Andrews, Warner Baxter

Cast

Episode credited cast:
Nancy Kathryn Anderson	...	Herself (voice) (as Nancy Anderson)
Julie Andrews	...	Herself - Host
Warner Baxter	...	Julian Marsh (archive footage)
Eubie Blake	...	Himself (archive footage)
Ray Bolger	...	(archive footage)
Fanny Brice	...	(archive footage)
Mel Brooks	...	Himself
Eddie Cantor	...	Henry Williams (archive footage)
Carol Channing	...	Herself
Jerome Chodorov	...	Himself
Bobby Clark	...	(archive footage)
Lou Clayton	...	(archive footage) (as Clayton)
André De Shields	...	Himself
Ann Douglas	...	Herself
Jimmy Durante	...	(archive footage) (as Durante)

Storyline

The radical cultural changes that occurred in the 1920's were reflected in the Broadway musical. Musically, jazz ruled the Broadway musical stage. There was also a sense of liberation in the style of the performances, in part as a reaction to the supposed strictness of Prohibition. What ended up on stage were primarily musical comedies, still revue style, more often than not featuring stories of the newly liberated woman, often poor, who ends up with a rich husband. These stories reflected the newly mingling classes that spent time together in the speakeasies in New York, and the American fantasy of dreams coming true. Although the classes were mixing, colors still did not. However, black musicals were also featured on Broadway, such as composers Eubie Blake and Noble Sissle's 1921 show, "Shuffle Along", which did influence the big names of the time, such as Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. and Irving Berlin. Broadway musical stars of the time included singer Al Jolson, dancer Marilyn Miller and ...

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Genres:

Documentary | Music

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Details

Official Sites:

PBS [us]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 October 2004 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Carlton International Media, Ghost Light Films

Technical Specs

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Connections

Features Follow Thru (1930)

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