Anyone even vaguely interested in the mystique of the Great White Way will find Michael Kantor's overview of the Broadway musical, originally shown on PBS, absolutely indispensable. Divided into six hour-long segments covering the development of the form chronologically from 1893 to the present, Broadway: The American Musical combines a wealth of rare footage, informative interviews, and intelligent commentary (narrated by Dame Julie Andrews). The earlier material is especially fascinating--there aren't many opportunities to actually see what George M. Cohan, in many respects the creator of the Broadway musical, was actually like in performance (he certainly wasn't Jimmy Cagney, the image most people have). But the later installments, which cover milestones such as Show Boat, Porgy and Bess, the Rodgers & Hammerstein shows, and the work of giants like Frank Loesser, Cole Porter, Lerner & Loewe, Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim--as well as the Andrew Lloyd Webber phenomenon--are also excellent, and the survey ends with the contemporary smashes Rent, The Producers, and Wicked. The difficult process of mounting Wicked is the subject of one of the DVD set's many extras (a fifteen-minute addendum to disc three), which also include additional performances and interviews. Crammed with entertainment value, this sumptuously produced combination of historical documentary and love letter to the American musical theatre is an instant classic. Highly recommended. Editor's Choice. Aud: H, C, P. (F. Swietek)
Broadway: The American Musical
(2004) 3 videocassettes or discs. 360 min. VHS or DVD: $59.99 ($109.99 w/PPR). PBS Video. Color cover. Closed captioned. ISBN: 0-7936-9974-6 (vhs), 1-4157-0236-5 (dvd). Volume 20, Issue 1
Broadway: The American Musical
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