Doc Corner: 'On Broadway'
Wednesday, September 1, 2021 at 4:30PM By Glenn Dunks
They say the neon lights are bright,
on Broadway.
They say there’s always magic in the air…
Let's be thankful that On Broadway doesn’t open with those famous lyrics from the song of the same name. Bob Fosse already did that, using George Benson’s funk-inspired 1978 rendition to launch All That Jazz over images of a throng of auditioning theatre wannabes. It’s showtime, folks, and that song is a hell of an introduction, but it's been done.
The release of Oren Jacoby’s doc feels perfectly timed, having been completed and screened at the Hamptons International Film Festival back in 2019 but delayed for general release until now as the city is on the verge of re-opening to crowds...
I have no doubt that this reminiscence down the Great White Way will hold plenty of misty-eyed nostalgia for many, but it’s dual tale of Broadway’s history alongside that of a behind-the-scenes of a (then) newly opening play is sadly not the curtain-raiser I’d have hoped for.
I came away from On Broadway wishing for the Ken Burn version of Broadway’s history and the Frederick Wiseman version of the behind-the-scenes. I wanted more.
The first sign that maybe On Broadway isn’t going to be the strongest comes in its runtime. At a scant 82 minutes, it is clear quite quickly that this isn’t going to be the deepest dive through the archives of America’s great artistic invention. What’s there, however, is at least nicely assembled and in an enthusiastic dialogue with itself. Early passages about the formation of Broadway via the Shubert organization are interesting, particularly in the nitty-gritty of how they chose to shape New York City to their vision (which is something that has continued in one fashion or another ever since). Equally so is how their empire came down, most heavily characterized by the destruction of the Helen Hayes Theatre (and others) for a giant hotel, beginning the pivot of Broadway from an artform for the people to a tourist trade first and foremost.
It is these strands focusing on the idea of Broadway and where it is placed within the American identity where Jacoby's film is at his best. Its talking heads (Ian McKellen, Helen Mirren, Hugh Jackman and Christine Baranski included) enthuse with excitement, their affection clear and robust.
Less impressive is its rather rote history as it plucks individual shows from the timeline. It mostly sticks to all the titles you would expect. There’s A Chorus Line at the Public Theatre, a wonderful anecdote about Mike Nichols and Annie, the flood of West End transfers and Andrew Lloyd Webber. More time is spent on Cats than you may expect. There’s Hamilton of course, but a small stretch about August Wilson that follows and the emergence of black theatre on Broadway comes far too late to really dig into. Plus I suspect there are already other documentaries about Wilson in particular that really get into his impact with more clarity. Furthermore, its criticisms of Broadway beyond the too-high-to-ignore price-gouging of modern theatre seem to be surface only. Although a passage on The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, with its famously extended runtime and ticket prices, offers really wonderful archival footage. I’d have really enjoyed more of that.
Its flattest section is devoted to the behind-the-scenes production of The Nap, a gangster-and-snooker play that premiered in 2018 to good reviews. Perhaps knowing full well that the material isn’t all that exciting, this footage only crops up periodically and viewers will glean little about the true nature of putting together a show for Broadway from the ground up. While its casting of a transgender lead is historically significant, these glimpses into the show’s production fail to excite. By the time of its opening night at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, knowing the show failed to make any real impression, means the film’s climax is cut short.
Fosse’s autobiographical All That Jazz does get a mention, albeit in the form of repurposed b-roll footage when the iconic director and choreographer’s time comes in Broadway’s timeline. D.A. Pennebaker’s Original Cast Album: Company, too, gets its moment in lieu of stage footage as Stephen Sondheim’s game-changing domestic musical shifts the musical form once more. You would probably be best to watch both of those, or perhaps the lovely Every Little Step, to get a better insight into the exhaustive process of producing a Broadway show. Hell, even Smash if you want something with some soap to it. There is plenty to enjoy with On Broadway like the songs and the stars and, yes, all that magic and neon lights, but there just isn’t enough time to luxuriate in any of it.
Release: Currently in limited release and expanding across America icluding a few virtual theatres via Kino Marquee. Find out where over here.
Reader Comments (5)
@ Glenn
That was George Benson's jazzy version of "On Broadway," but I enjoyed imagining a George Clinton cover of the song.
My first choice documentary of theater history offers remarkable rare footage and a provocative point of view. The 2012 film Broadway Musicals: A Jewish Legacy forwards the argument that Broadway musicals grew from Yiddish theater as an avenue of artistic expression for the immigrant and the disenfranchised. The Michael Kantor film is worth seeking out.
I'm more interested in watching the one that Rick McKay couldn't finish but somehow got released this summer on PBS.
Working Stiff, yes you are correct! Changing now. Thanks.
off topic @Nathaniel
really can't wait for your reaction to the latest Almodovar - I assume you saw it yesterday, lucky man - and how it becomes positioned on your Oscar charts afterward... but just from buzz I feel, it is a Best Picture contender, thanks to the extra and unexpected political/emotional punch that brings something "new" into the Almodovarverse, making it even more poignant than ever before.
(I am still in shock, that "The Silence of Others" didn't make the cut for Documentary, a couple of years ago... but well, it is a branch that gave the Oscar to the mediocrity that is "My Octopus Teacher" over "Collective", which is one of the most amazing docs ever made)