tlashop.com

http://reviewsbyamoslassen.com/?p=4627 wrote on 04/01/2011:

We love theater and we love Broadway but seldom do we get to know what goes on behind the scenes. Here! TV is screening the documentary “ShowBusiness: The Road to Broadway” and it is an in depth look behind the scenes of four major Broadway shows—two successes, one bomb and one that almost became a hot ticket. All four shows—“Wicked”, “Taboo”, “Avenue Q” and “Caroline, or Change” were nominated for the Tony Award (Broadway’s highest award) as best musical of 2004. The documentary takes us behind the scenes from the initial casting to the out of town previews and to the awards ceremony and gives us a look at the inner workings of the Broadway Theater. We have interviews with the principals, the actors, the creators, the critics. We have film of rehearsals and opening nights and we get an all around look at the world of theater.
Many feel that musical theater is as American as apple pie and mom. But musicals do not appeal to everyone as we have seen with the demise of musical motion pictures. But for me, there is nothing better than a Broadway musical. When the overture begins, I feel as if I am transported to another world and for the next two hours, I am on the stage with the show. Of course the Broadway Theater is not what it once was and the glorious musicals of yesteryear are not around any more except in revivals. However, there is still a life left in the theater as this movie shows us. Dori Bernstein has assembled a beautiful homage to theater after whittling down over 250 hours of film and we go where the action is—backstage, where creativity reigns. The documentary moves quickly and jumps from show to show. Nonetheless, we get a beautiful movie and a look at the theater we rarely see. Let’s face it—the days of “My Fair Lady”, “Showboat” and “Oklahoma” are no more but we have something else—a youthful creativity that is trying to revive a theater that is so important to all of us.
Here is an alterative look at theater. The shows features here are unique in their own way—one deals with racial relations in the South, one with the land of Oz. one with club kids and one is a glorified puppet show. We see how people finance the activity, how actors interpret the material and how changes are made. This is a fun movie and its intentions are noble and the documentary is at times highly emotional. I unquestionably love this movie but then I love theater.
To me going to the Broadway Theater is akin to going to a temple for prayer and I revere it and honor it. So does this film.