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Critics Consensus: Made with obvious care and attention, Showbusiness is an entertaining, insightful look into Broadway.
Critic Consensus: Made with obvious care and attention, Showbusiness is an entertaining, insightful look into Broadway.
All Critics (54) | Top Critics (24) | Fresh (48) | Rotten (6) | DVD (2)
There's loads of talent on display (from puppets to Boy George), plus plenty of dish about them all.
Theater fans will give it a standing ovation; others may be moved only to polite applause.
For those who believe there's no business like show business, this documentary will be a singular sensation.
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.
This is an entertaining visit to a strange planet.
It's really people who don't see much theater - like me - who'll come away having actually seen something new here.
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.
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.
Pretty cool.
Super Reviewer
[font=Century Gothic]"Show Business: The Road to Broadway" is a blithely entertaining documentary about the 2003-2004 Broadway season focusing on four musicals - Wicked, Avenue Q, Taboo and Caroline, or Change, from the plays' conception to the 2004 Tony Awards with an amazing amount of backstage access. However, I do wish there had been some information for the uninitiated on such topics as applause which is heard after all plays and the TKTS booth at Times Square which offers half-price tickets to select Broadway shows on the day of performance.[/font] [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]
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