ShowBusiness: The Road to Broadway
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| ShowBusiness: The Road to Broadway | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Dori Berinstein |
| Produced by | Dori Berinstein Stewart F. Lane Bonnie Comley Mitchell Cannold Robin Brown |
| Written by | Dori Berinstein Richard Hankin |
| Starring | Alan Cumming Boy George Idina Menzel Rosie O'Donnell Kristen Chenoweth Raul Esparza Euan Morton George C. Wolfe Tonya Pinkins Robert Lopez Jeff Marx Tony Kushner Stephen Schwartz Stephanie D'Abruzzo |
| Music by | Jeanine Tesori |
| Cinematography | Alan S. Deutsch |
| Editing by | Richard Hankin Adam Zucker |
| Distributed by | Regent Releasing |
| Release date(s) | May 11, 2007 |
| Running time | 102 min |
| Language | English |
| Gross revenue | $151,708 |
ShowBusiness: The Road to Broadway is an American documentary film, the first feature film directed by Dori Berinstein, a Broadway producer. Berinstein completed the film in 2005. The film was screened at the 2005 Tribeca Film Festival. It received the Grand Jury Prize for best documentary at the 2006 Florida Film Festival.[1] The film was released commercially in 2007, with the first such showings on 11 May 2007 in New York City.[2]
Berinstein filmed each principal musical on Broadway for her project during the 2003-2004 season, for about 400 hours of initial film footage.[3] She focused the film on four musicals, through the difficulties of pre-production, their openings, attendant publicity around the shows, and their reviews, through the 2004 Tony Award competition. The four musicals, which were nominated for Best Musical in the Tony Awards that season, were:
The film climaxes with the 2004 Tony Awards ceremony. In addition to coverage of the musicals themselves, the movie includes interviews with New York theatre critics, and footage of several theatre critics discussing in a restaurant the various musicals and their predictions for the Tony Award winners.[4] [5] [6]
Several film critics have noted Berinstein's specifically favourable treatment of the Avenue Q creators and the actress Tonya Pinkins. In contrast, theatre critic Michael Riedel received harsh criticism from actors and songwriters who were subjects of the film, after seeing his comments in the film.[5] [6] [3] [7]
[edit] References
- ^ Roberta Hershenson. "A Winning Producer Chronicles a Broadway Season on Film", The New York Times, 6 May 2007. Retrieved on 2008-02-24.
- ^ Zachary Pincus-Roth. ""ShowBusiness" Documentary — About Wicked, Avenue Q and Others — Gets Release May 11", Playbill Arts, 26 January 2007. Retrieved on 2008-02-24.
- ^ a b Michael Buckley. ""Dori Berinstein and Her “Show Business” Documentary", Playbill Arts, 8 May 2005. Retrieved on 2008-02-24.
- ^ Matt Zoller Seitz. "Review of ShowBusiness: The Road to Broadway (2005)", The New York Times, 10 May 2007. Retrieved on 2008-02-24.
- ^ a b Charles McNulty. "Review of ShowBusiness: The Road to Broadway", Los Angeles Times, 1 June 2007. Retrieved on 2008-02-24.
- ^ a b Philip Kennicott. "'ShowBusiness': A Peek Behind the Curtain", Washington Post, 22 June 2007. Retrieved on 2008-02-24.
- ^ Eric Grode. "The Business of Broadway", New York Sun, 11 May 2007. Retrieved on 2008-02-24.
