| BROADWAY: THE GOLDEN AGE BY THE LEGENDS WHO WERE THERE |
Growing up in New England, I got my first dose of live theater watching the CBS variety series "The Ed Sullivan Show" on Sunday nights. My parents also had recordings of shows like KISS ME, KATE and OKLAHOMA! It took me until 1975 to see my first live Broadway show, but I recall it vividly: the Hal Prince-directed in-the-round revival of CANDIDE. After that I was hooked and would head to the local library to borrow whatever recordings they had. Once I was earning money of my own, I began to collect original cast albums. So I can easily understand filmmaker Rick McKay's rabid interest in the Broadway shows of the 1940s, 50s and 60s. By the 1980s, when McKay arrived in New York, Broadway had begun to undergo the changes that have left it much poorer. Production costs soared, shows became events, and the invasion of the large-scale British musicals forever altered the face of the American theater. So after a career of performing in nightclubs, McKay hit on the idea to try to interview as many of the remaining stars from the 40s, 50s and 60s as he could. The result is the terrific documentary BROADWAY, THE GOLDEN AGE BY THE0 LEGENDS WHO LIVED IT. McKay had some difficulties landing some of the interviewees which may account for some of the omissions (people like Joan Roberts who was the original Laurie in OKLAHOMA!), but those who did agree offer a wide range of interesting tidbits. Theater is ephemeral; it is performed and then relegated to the memories of those who were performing and those who were in the audience. True, now we have records of many shows thanks to the archive at the New York Public Library for Performing Arts, but before the 1970s, there were few recordings made. Occasionally, a production might be recreated for television. So the rare archival footage that McKay has uncovered (much thanks to the intrepid associate producer Jane Klain) is worthy. There's footage of a teenage Ann Miller tap dancing in the 1939 production GEORGE WHITE'S SCANDALS and the opening scenes of BUS STOP featuring Kim Stanley, Elaine Stritch and Albert Salmi. McKay (thanks to Ms. Klain) also located a 1938 screen test for Laurette Taylor, which is the only extant footage of the actress speaking. Watching it is amazing and it is frustrating to hear that producer David O. Selznick and his minions were unimpressed by Taylor, feeling as if she was some little old lady who wandered off the streets. In fact, Taylor had acted in silents and was an acclaimed stage star, noted for the chestnut PEG O' MY HEART. In 1945, she delivered one of her most memorable performances creating the role of Amanda Wingfield in Tennessee Williams' THE GLASS MENAGERIE. Like many in the theater who don't bother to learn the history, McKay did not know who Taylor was, but many of his interview subjects related how impressed and moved they were by her performance. The film is a valentine to a lost era, when productions on Broadway didn't cost several million dollars, the cost of tickets was on par with movie admissions, and one could live rather cheaply in New York City. While there are flaws in the piece, McKay has managed to elicit terrific stories from the likes of Barbara Cook, Elaine Stritch, Carol Channing, Gretchen Wyler, Uta Hagen, Gwen Verdon, Ann Miller, Patricia Morison, Angela Lansbury, Jerry Orbach, Patricia Neal, Maureen Stapleton, Beatrice Arthur, Carol Burnett and Elizabeth Ashley, among many, many others. BROADWAY, THE GOLDEN AGE serves as a document that captures some of the magic that has been lost as Broadway has become more corporate and less risky. It's a sad reminder of a time when plays and musicals flourished. McKay has reportedly enough interviews for a sequel, featuring a current crop of stars, but when weighed against those who went before, they simply can't measure up. Rating: A- MPAA Rating: NONE Running time: 111 mins. Viewed at the CC Sutton Theater © 2008 by C.E. Murphy. All Rights Reserved. |
