ShowBusiness: The Road to Broadway (2005)
Average Rating: 7.4/10
Reviews Counted: 52
Fresh: 46 | Rotten: 6
Made with obvious care and attention, Showbusiness is an entertaining, insightful look into Broadway.
Average Rating: 7.2/10
Critic Reviews: 20
Fresh: 17 | Rotten: 3
Made with obvious care and attention, Showbusiness is an entertaining, insightful look into Broadway.
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Average Rating: 3.8/5
User Ratings: 1,790
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Movie Info
The documentary ShowBusiness: The Road to Broadway journeys behind the scenes of four Broadway productions mounted during the 2003-4 theatrical season that ultimately garnered nominations for Best Musical: Wicked, the Rosie O'Donnell/Boy George collaboration Taboo, Tony Kushner's Caroline, or Change and the iconoclastic puppet review Avenue Q. The film provides a glimpse into each stage of the theatrical process for these productions - from auditions to staging to rehearsals to previews to
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All Critics (53) | Top Critics (21) | Fresh (48) | Rotten (6) | DVD (3)
For the Broadway babies out there, ShowBusiness will make you want to schedule a trip to the Great White Way.
Bright lights, big drama. A delectable trip down Broadway.
Top CriticThis is an entertaining visit to a strange planet.
It is filled with neurotic people in greasepaint, some charming, most amusing, and by the time you've spent an hour and a half with them, you're more than invested in their lives and cares.
Along the way, the film includes insightful observations about the creative process.
In the end, I wish Berenstein had devoted her filmmaking to two musicals instead of four, thus affording even more screen time to each show's creative process (the audition process, the choreography, early rehearsals and such).
Anyone who thinks show biz is glamorous and easy should watch this film.
It whets your appetite for the stage; it certainly made me want to watch every one of these plays.
For those who believe there's no business like show business, this documentary will be a singular sensation.
This sounds like the sort of thing that could bore to tears anyone not enamored of the musical theater, but in fact it's a compelling, often amusing look backstage.
Thanks to Berinstein's celebratory but lucid documentary, now have a better sense of what it takes to make it on Broadway.
It's a rosy and warty look at what makes the big shows happen, and what makes them tick. I hope you'll see it, even if you're not 'into' musical theatre -- it's really well done.
Berinstein's film captures all the hopes, thrills and heartache of an endeavor in which every night is a high-wire act.
ShowBusiness: The Road to Broadway is a tasty bonbon for theater buffs that has many fascinating backstage details.
It's incredibly prescient of Berinstein to know where to be and get in there...It's a rosy and warty look at what makes the big shows happen, and what makes them tick. I hope you'll see it, even if you're not "into" musical theatre.
By keeping the theme squarely on the process and the toll it takes on the players, Berinstein gives viewers a captivating look behind the scenes.
The star-struck [Dori] Berinstein squanders her opportunity to ask some tough questions about the state of, and prospects for, the American musical.
Showbusiness: The Road to Broadway is essentially a valentine to a profession that filmmaker Dori Berinstein loves and admires.
A fascinating document about the constant tussle between the show and the business of showbiz.
Show Business misses lots of fascinating stuff.
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[font=Century Gothic][/font]
[font=Century Gothic]In general, the documentary is concerned with what makes a Broadway play a success in this day and age when the critic of the New York Times no longer has the power of life and death.(By the way, no reputable critic should comment on the possible appeal of a play, just on how good it is. And critics vote on the Tony Awards.) The short answer is: who knows? As somebody mentions, producers invest in a show out of love. If they wanted a better investment on their money, then they should go to Atlantic City and play roulette instead. Some plays might have a cult following but that is not enough. What usually does not work is a big name which can actually work against a show.(By the way, is it just me or does Tony Kushner writing a musical just seem odd?) My best guess would be to find an idea that appeals to people who do not traditionally go to the theatre. For example, I generally do not like musicals but I think I would find Avenue Q or Wicked appealing. [/font]