Glorified, historical and intrinsic the center of the playhouse world has always been a mainstay of the great city of New York. But there’s more to the story of keeping the limelight’s glowing and the excitement sky-scraping in the Big Apple. The film On Broadway may surprise you on how delicate the theatre industry has become in the face of one of the most debilitating virus ever to hit the world. This is the homage, beseeching and heartfelt cry of actors, producers, theatre operators and thousands of behind the scenes workers for an art that must remain alive for generations to come.
Starting with the history of Broadway from 1960 and then to date, the film shows the gritty beginning, the trials and then the tributes. Sex was rampant in the streets close to the theatre venues. With peep houses, crime, and sketchy security it limited attendance of the Broadway shows. Also limiting the audiences were those that would prosper from making movies from Broadway plays like Cabaret, West Side Story, Oklahoma!, Brigadoon, Carousel, Kiss Me Kate, A Streetcar Named Desire and more. As time went by attendance got better from out-of-town visitors helping the mainstays. Surviving were the long running plays and shows like A Corus Line, Cabaret, Fiddler on the Roof, Funny Girl, Hello Dolly, Man of LaMancha, and The Fantasticks that keept Broadway open. But that’s just the introduction to the film.
From historical trends to heyday profits, the up and downs were like a rollercoaster ride. The film then walks you into a future that seems uncertain. Director Oren Jacoby tells his story with interviews from some of the most famous Broadway notables. He uses original archived film, actual rehearsals, news pages, clips from stage and screen and more to tell the story in this all-encompassing documentary that targets the heart and soul of live performance fans. Extremely well put together, there’s not a boring moment in the movie as it’s an energizing production of this important story.
When I started out originally as a theatre critic it is totally a different kind of commenting, especially since your dealing with live on stage. Knowing the amount of preparation by the stage crew, actors and other elements, watching this film brought back many memories. If you are prepping for an acting career or just a fan of live performances, this should hit a high note for your “must see” list. The film is available now at select movie theaters and virtual cinemas nationwide, so check your local listings.
Here are some of the current cinema locations and soon to be showings in Florida:
Movies of Delray (Delray Beach, FL), Movies of Lake Worth (Lake Worth, FL), Lake Worth Playhouse (Lake Worth, FL) and Coral Gables Cinema (Miami, FL). This week coming it opens at the Cinema Paradiso (Hollywood, FL), The Living Room Theater (Boca Raton, FL), Pensacola Cinema Art (Pensacola, FL) and the Tallahassee Film Society (Tallahassee, FL).
For more information go to https://www.kinolorber.com/film/on-broadway
Additional Film Information:
Cast Interviewed: Includes Helen Mirren, Christine Baranski, August Wilson, Hal Prince, James Corden, Alec Baldwin, John Lithgow, Tommy Tune, Hugh Jackman, and Ian McKellen
Directed by: Oren Jacoby
Genre: Documentary
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Running Time: 1 hr. 25 min.
Opening Date: Now Playing
Distributed by: Keno Lorber
Released in: Select Theaters
