HIT MUSICALS TAKE A BOW IN 'ROAD TO BROADWAY'.Byline: Bob Strauss Film Critic Director Dori Berinstein picked a particularly interesting stage season to document in "ShowBusiness: The Road to Broadway." The big new musicals of 2003-04 -- "Wicked," "Avenue Q," "Taboo" and "Caroline, or Change" -- were uniquely diverse, and the offstage dramas that accompanied each represented just about everything that musical theater can aspire to aspire to verb aim for, desire, pursue, hope for, long for, crave, seek out, wish for, dream about, yearn for, hunger for, hanker after, be eager for, set your heart on, set your sights on, be ambitious for . This is coupled with how bizarrely those aspirations can work out or go wrong. Blessed with both unusual access to the creative artists and an unerring un·err·ing adj. Committing no mistakes; consistently accurate. un·err  ing·ly adv. sense of comprehensiveness, Berinstein immerses us in the hard
work and dumb gambler's luck that has always defined this ancient
union of creativity and commerce. We hear from writers, composers,
performers, directors and producers, of course, but also publicists, the
public and a gaggle of critics who quip quip n. 1. A clever, witty remark often prompted by the occasion. 2. A clever, often sarcastic remark; a gibe. See Synonyms at joke. 3. A petty distinction or objection; a quibble. 4. and question, smartly, around tables at Orso and Sardi's. Each show's story is fascinating. My personal preference goes to "Caroline," Tony Kushner's serious consideration of racial politics in his childhood South, if only because director George C. Wolfe and composer Jeanine Tesori are so marvelously articulate about the painstaking effort of making meaningful art in a fundamentally frivolous field. But there's also the sheer fun of watching the Sesame-Street- gone-bad concept of "Avenue Q" -- which pundits were convinced had no definable audience -- win popular and critical support. It's also interesting to see how veteran lyricist/composer Stephen Schwartz really doesn't seem to know what to do with "Wicked," yet manages to turn the artistically wobbly "Wizard of Oz Wizard of Oz reaches and departs from Oz in circus balloon. [Children’s Lit.: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz] See : Ballooning Wizard of Oz false wizard takes up residence in Emerald City. [Am. Lit. " redux Refers to being brought back, revived or restored. From the Latin "reducere." into a commercial and cultural phenomenon. Then there's the Boy George George Alan O'Dowd, better known as Boy George (born June 14, 1961 in Eltham, London) is a rock singer-songwriter. George grew up in a large, working-class Irish family, which originated in Thurles, in Co. Tipperary, Ireland. story, "Taboo," a promising property that seems doomed at every turn by novice producer Rosie O'Donnell's uncanny ability, even back then, to divert attention from whatever she's supposed to be doing to her personal soap opera soap opera Broadcast serial drama, characterized by a permanent cast of actors, a continuing story, tangled interpersonal situations, and a melodramatic or sentimental style. . From early auditions through opening night, we see how each show was built from scratch. The documentary's final act will be particularly amusing for L.A. audiences, focusing as it does on all things Tony Awards. Though our own endless awards season is far more aggrandizing, it's also much easier to dismiss as an ego-boasting sideshow See Windows SideShow. to the real business of movies. In contrast, nominations and statuettes mean life or death for Broadway shows, and Berinstein, herself a three-time Tony-winning producer, presents this aspect of the whole endeavor with all the sympathetic seriousness it demands. Fans of theater, of course, will be delighted by "ShowBusiness' " treasure trove TREASURE TROVE. Found treasure. 2. This name is given to such money or coin, gold, silver, plate, or bullion, which having been hidden or concealed in the earth or other private place, so long that its owner is unknown, has been discovered by accident. of backstage intimacy. But anyone should be fascinated by the thoroughness and all-around intelligence this documentary applies to a multilayered and very entertaining subject. Bob Strauss, (818) 713-3670 bob.strauss(at)dailynews.com SHOWBUSINESS: THE ROAD TO BROADWAY - Three stars (PG: language) Director: Dori Berinstein. Running time: 1 hr. 43 min. Playing: Landmark's Westside Pavilion, West Los Angeles
In a nutshell: Comprehensive documentary about the 2003-04 musical season is revealing for casual theater fans, nirvana for stage junkies. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: From early auditions through opening night, we see how "Wicked" and several other musicals were built from scratch. |
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