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Broadway: The Golden Age (2004)
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Reviews Counted:44
Fresh:36
Rotten:8
Average Rating:7/10
Consensus: Broadway: The Golden Age is a breezy, affectionate tribute to a sparkling array of the era's best and brightest.
Synopsis: BROADWAY: THE GOLDEN AGE is a labor of love from filmmaker Rick McKay to a bygone era stemming from his own experience of arriving in New York City in the early 1980s and discovering that the Great... BROADWAY: THE GOLDEN AGE is a labor of love from filmmaker Rick McKay to a bygone era stemming from his own experience of arriving in New York City in the early 1980s and discovering that the Great White Way of his dreams no longer existed. Almost 20 years later, McKay began interviewing the legends of Broadway in order to investigate whether or not the 1930s through the '60s actually constituted a "golden age." McKay interviewed more than 100 performers, composers, and writers over the course of five years with no crew and no budget, just moxie and his digital camera. The result is a compelling walk down memory lane, with anecdotes from the stars and creators of the finest musical and dramatic productions of yesteryear. Among those interviewed are Angela Lansbury, Chita Rivera, Ben Gazzara, Shirley MacLaine, Stephen Sondheim, Hal Prince, Gwen Verdon, Uta Hagen, Bea Arthur, Jerry Orbach, Julie Harris, Robert Goulet, and Elizabeth Ashley. His interviews also result in the rediscovery of some long-forgotten stars. Peppered with clips of original Broadway performances, McKay's film preserves a period in the history of American theater that will likely never be repeated, and that should be celebrated. [More]
Starring: Beatrice Arthur, Elizabeth Ashley, Ben Gazzara, Uta Hagen
Starring: Beatrice Arthur, Elizabeth Ashley, Ben Gazzara, Uta Hagen, Julie Harris, Angela Lansbury, Harold Prince, Stephen Sondheim, Chita Rivera, Elaine Stritch, Shirley MacLaine
Director: Rick McKay
Director: Rick McKay
Screenwriter: Rick McKay
Producer: Rick McKay
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Reviews for Broadway: The Golden Age
The autograph-hound sensibility that colors [McKay's] interviews ... provokes mostly unmemorable nostalgia from his roster of geriatric luminaries.
It's like a love letter to live theatre. If you can recall the first time you saw a play that knocked your socks off, you'll probably get a kick out of this documentary.
there’s too little discipline here, and the parade of talking heads is too lost in nostalgia to be all that helpful
More archival footage and fewer talking heads would have made it more watchable, and most viewers under 60 will be mightily confused as to who many of these people are.
What could have introduced a young audience to the Broadway songs of yesteryear instead focuses on talking heads well past their Broadway prime.
Its appeal isn't likely to cross over to those who don't already have the Broadway bug, or share the recollections themselves.
Rather than listen to these old-timers reminisce about the good old days ... my advice is to get out and support your local thespians instead.
Whether it's Julie Harris weeping as she recalls an Ethel Waters performance she saw 60 years ago or Marian Seldes lamenting the cruelty of show biz or Ann Miller blithely carving a decade off her age, there's no arguing that these years were golden.
The stories they tell in this warm, evocative documentary crackle with humor and glow with reverence. By listening to those stories, you'll glow too.
That the speakers are themselves fascinating characters is unquestionable. McKay's film is about as thorough a record of their time spent in the golden age as anyone is likely to produce.
While less than artfully composed, Rick McKay's homegrown documentary about the glory days of the American theater represents an invaluable oral history.
This is a picture that devotees of the American theatre will cherish.
If you've ever fantasized about sitting in an all-night deli listening to veteran theater people dish and reminiscence about the Great White Way in mid-20th century bloom, filmmaker Rick McKay's cascading cavalcade of talking heads is the next best thing.
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