Broadway - The American Musical (PBS Series)
by Michael Kantor
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DVD details
Actor: Paul Daley, Rich DiMinno, Richard Costas, Teri DiGianfelice, Tim BreeseDirector: Michael Kantor
Brand: PARAMOUNT HOME VIDEO
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Unknown; English (Unknown), Unknown
Format: Box set, Color, Dolby, NTSC, Widescreen
Running Time: 360 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2004-10-12
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Pbs Paramount
DVD Reviews of Broadway - The American Musical (PBS Series)
DVD Review: Fascinating history of Broadway musicals...
Summary: 4 Stars
I'm a rather casual fan of Broadway musicals. I've seen a handful of musicals in New York, own a handful of original cast recordings, have seen a bunch of touring, university, and high school musical productions, and have watched a number of film versions of famous musicals. So, my review of this series is clearly shaped by my previous exposure to the world of Broadway.
From this perspective, I found this PBS production to be utterly fascinating. Of the six-part series, I basically knew nothing that was mentioned in the first three parts, other than a few names about which I knew nothing specific. It was so interesting to learn about George Cohan, Florenz Ziegfeld, Fanny Brice, Bert Williams, and so many other stars from a bygone era. I especially loved the archival footage, which showcased some amazing talents from so long ago.
The final three parts featured dozens of musicals that I know, many that I have seen, several that I'd like to see, and a handful that were completely unfamiliar to me (if apparently rather important in the history of musical theatre). Though this part was less earthshatteringly profound to me, I still appreciated gaining new perspective about particular aspects of how musicals are put on stage, including various collaborating teams, the role of producers, and the economic influences that shape the world of theatre.
Obviously, this was a rather ambitious project and falls short in some inevitable ways. The folks who produced this documentary had to be selective about what people, shows, and topics they covered, so it is not surprising that some important stuff was missed. That's simply the result of covering 100 years of history in six hours. And I agree with another reviewer that the series seemed to be rather Sondheim-heavy, but his interviews, quotes, and historical footage were definitely some of the most engaging, so it's no wonder that he was so prominently featured. More important than these gripes, my biggest disappointment was the chronology of the series. More specifically, the six parts were organized around topics rather than dates, which means that the events were often covered out of order. As the storyline moved forward and backward in time, especially during the first several parts, this made it difficult to put the pieces together in their appropriate context. This may not be an issue for Broadway experts, but as someone watching this series with limited knowledge, this production choice was rather jarring and confusing for me.
These few frustrations notwithstanding, I really enjoyed this PBS series. I learned a great deal about the history of Broadway musicals, was able to see some fabulous footage of classic moments on stage, was able to reminisce about some of my favorite shows, and gained a new-found appreciation for the wonder of the Broadway stage. I can't wait to get back to New York City.
DVD Review: An Excellent Resource
Summary: 5 Stars
This is an incredible resource of information and insight into the history of Broadway and an amazing look at the present and future of one of the world's most important avenues of artistic expression. The importance of such a deep well of creativity and imagination is immeasurable to the human spirit, not just in the United States of America, but to the world.DVD Review: Timeline of Broadway Theatre
Summary: 5 Stars
"Broadway - The Amercian Musical" is a PBS series that tells the story of Broadway musical theatre in several chapters. The documentary uses interviews and footage to tell a narrative of Broadway's history.
The story starts with the "Ziegfeld Follies," presenting the important role of producer Florenz Ziegfeld in bringing the Broadway musical to life.
The DVD series goes on to chronicle the contributions of the major composers of the Broadway stage: Gershwin, Berlin, Kern, Rodgers, Porter, Bernstein, Sondheim, among others. It also celebrates the giant performers of the Broadway stage, such as singer Ethel Merman, who could "hold a note forever."
The Broadway narrative continues through to recent musicals such as "Rent" and "The Lion King." Watching "Broadway - The American Musical" is both a fun and educational experience.
DVD Review: Broadway for Dummies.
Summary: 3 Stars
...and being a self-professed "dummy" on the American Musical Theater I found this sort of "Broadway History 101" to be, at best, an entertaining starting point. I believe director Michael Kantor was handicapped from the start since the whole history of the "Great White Way" encompasses such a huge array of giants and geniuses (Ziegfeld, Jolson, Gershwin...) that at a mere six hours, the documentary feels like being on a bus tour speeding at 90 miles an hour. That odd feeling is magnified with Episode Four: "Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin'(1943-1960), the single most important gem in the chest. As been noted elsewhere, that golden era of the fabulous "Book Musicals" which produced an unmatchable run of landmark classics like "Oklahoma" and "My Fair Lady" could have alone been given a six hour treatment instead of this set's rushed, caffeinated hour. Clearly, the episode in Broadway parlance "lays an egg" and compromises this documentary's overall quality.
Still, there is fun to be had here and the filmmakers manage to skirt PBS' tendency to turn a giddy subject into a glum funeral march. Julie Andrews is an exquisite host and I disagree with criticism about the high amount of movie clips used in episodes One through Three. Movies of the 1930's in particular the early "talkies" appropriated so much of Broadway's luster and lore it seems only natural to use them. I also loved the novel use of a song's lyrics by showing the words playfully dancing in an about a sheet of music or a photograph. And best of all, the "talking heads" used here all have something interesting to say with humor and clarity- a key element missing in, say, Ken Burn's "Jazz."
DVD Review: Reasonably good for an incredibly ambitious project
Summary: 4 Stars
Any effort to survey the whole history of the Broadway musical theatre inevitably involves difficult choices of what to include and what to omit, plus the scarcity of earliest material. On the whole, the six-episode documentary works....I don't know how many factual errors were made or how many errors were picked up by other reviewers, but as a major fan of Jimmy Durante and the author of what is the most comprehensive coverage of his career (JIMMY DURANTE: HIS SHOW BUSINESS CAREER, McFarland & Company, 1995, still in print), I was startled to see in the "musical comedies" section of episode two, just before the Jolson segment, that a brief clip from an unidentified movie claimed it showed, left to right, (Lou) Clayton, (Jimmy) Durante, and (Eddie) Jackson. In fact the people were Rudy Vallee, Jimmy Durante, and Cliff ("Ukelele Ike") Edwards, from the Fox film GEORGE WHITE'S SCANDALS (1934), not the famous vaudeville team of Clayton, Jackson and Durante. That team appeared in only one film, ROADHOUSE NIGHTS (Paramount, 1930), together with Helen Morgan. Neither Durante nor his early partners ever appeared in any of George White's theatre productions.
Description of Broadway - The American Musical (PBS Series)
Studio: Paramount Home Video Release Date: 10/12/2004 Rating: NrLike its fellow PBS series Ken Burns' Jazz, Broadway: The American Musical is an ambitious and absorbing exploration of a unique American art form that has always been best experienced in live performance. Hosted and narrated by Julie Andrews, the six-part, six-hour documentary traces the history of musical theater from its roots in vaudeville, operetta, and minstrel shows, to the dawn of what would become the modern American musical, Show Boat, and on through many changes that seemed to reflect those in American culture itself. Significant creators discussed include Florenz Ziegfeld, George Gershwin, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Stephen Sondheim, Bob Fosse, and David Merrick, and notable shows (Oklahoma!, My Fair Lady, West Side Story, Company, Cats, and recent hit Wicked, among others) are analyzed through performance clips and interviews with songwriters, stars, directors, producers, critics, and historians.
The series' most obvious weakness is its use of only brief excerpts of the performances--no song is heard in full. The sheer scope of the series no doubt played a part in that, as well as complicated rights issues, but the core problem is that musical theater has always been a live medium, rarely documented and even more rarely released to the general public. The documentary's producers make do with audio recordings, still photographs, and bits of footage, often in grainy black and white. Thankfully, they resist over-relying on feature-film musicals--which look much better and are sometimes excellent (but more often mediocre) translations--and when used such footage is clearly identified. That makes it all the more frustrating, however, that almost all of the other footage is not identified, because that is what fans are less familiar with and would be most interested in. The 1950s footage looks to be mostly from TV programs such as The Ed Sullivan Show; by the 1960s we have live footage from the Tony Awards (easily identifiable by the backdrops); and the newest shows might have been shot on stage. But early Ethel Merman and other random clips are mysteries, perhaps even to the producers themselves.
Because the series is designed to appeal to a general audience (again like Jazz), a lot of the information won't be new to diehard Broadway fans, but they should be especially pleased by the DVDs' bonus features, which include additional performances and about four more hours of interviews. Stephen Sondheim fans should be fascinated by footage of the composer-lyricist discussing "Someone in a Tree" at the piano, and then running through the song with original cast members of Pacific Overtures, as well as interviews of him talking about his own shows and songs (e.g., listing the songwriters he pastiched in Follies) and reminiscing about mentor Oscar Hammerstein II. Other bonus performances include vaudeville films from the Library of Congress, original-cast television performances of Rodgers and Hammerstein's "If I Loved You" (from Carousel, unfolding over 12 minutes) and "Some Enchanted Evening" (the reprise version from South Pacific), Rent's Jonathan Larson spoofing Sondheim, and two behind-the-scenes looks at Wicked. --David Horiuchi
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