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Movies / On DVD / Broadway: The Golden Age
Broadway: The Golden Age

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Broadway: The Golden Age (2004)

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Reviews Counted:44

Fresh:36

Rotten:8

Average Rating:7/10

Consensus: Broadway: The Golden Age is a breezy, affectionate tribute to a sparkling array of the era's best and brightest.

Runtime: 1 hr 51 mins

Genre: Education/General Interest

Synopsis: BROADWAY: THE GOLDEN AGE is a labor of love from filmmaker Rick McKay to a bygone era stemming from his own experience of arriving in New York City in the early 1980s and discovering that the Great... BROADWAY: THE GOLDEN AGE is a labor of love from filmmaker Rick McKay to a bygone era stemming from his own experience of arriving in New York City in the early 1980s and discovering that the Great White Way of his dreams no longer existed. Almost 20 years later, McKay began interviewing the legends of Broadway in order to investigate whether or not the 1930s through the '60s actually constituted a "golden age." McKay interviewed more than 100 performers, composers, and writers over the course of five years with no crew and no budget, just moxie and his digital camera. The result is a compelling walk down memory lane, with anecdotes from the stars and creators of the finest musical and dramatic productions of yesteryear. Among those interviewed are Angela Lansbury, Chita Rivera, Ben Gazzara, Shirley MacLaine, Stephen Sondheim, Hal Prince, Gwen Verdon, Uta Hagen, Bea Arthur, Jerry Orbach, Julie Harris, Robert Goulet, and Elizabeth Ashley. His interviews also result in the rediscovery of some long-forgotten stars. Peppered with clips of original Broadway performances, McKay's film preserves a period in the history of American theater that will likely never be repeated, and that should be celebrated. [More]

Starring: Beatrice Arthur, Elizabeth Ashley, Ben Gazzara, Uta Hagen

Starring: Beatrice Arthur, Elizabeth Ashley, Ben Gazzara, Uta Hagen, Julie Harris, Angela Lansbury, Harold Prince, Stephen Sondheim, Chita Rivera, Elaine Stritch, Shirley MacLaine

Director: Rick McKay

Director: Rick McKay
Screenwriter: Rick McKay
Producer: Rick McKay

[See More Credits]

Reviews for Broadway: The Golden Age

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1 - 20 (sorted by comments; UK critics are listed first)
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Broadway buffs everywhere are sure to applaud.

Full Review Source: E! Online | comment Comment
07/09/04
E! Online
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | comment Comment
07/24/04
Boston Phoenix
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch | comment Comment
09/17/04
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Arizona Republic | comment Comment
10/19/04
Arizona Republic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Sydney Morning Herald | comment Comment
05/13/05
Sydney Morning Herald

The autograph-hound sensibility that colors [McKay's] interviews ... provokes mostly unmemorable nostalgia from his roster of geriatric luminaries.

Full Review Source: Village Voice | comment Comment
06/08/04
Charles McNulty
Charles McNulty
Village Voice

It's like a love letter to live theatre. If you can recall the first time you saw a play that knocked your socks off, you'll probably get a kick out of this documentary.

Full Review Source: TheMovieChicks.com | comment Comment
06/25/04
Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone
Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone
TheMovieChicks.com

there’s too little discipline here, and the parade of talking heads is too lost in nostalgia to be all that helpful

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
06/26/04
Chris Barsanti
Chris Barsanti
Filmcritic.com

Whether it's Julie Harris weeping as she recalls an Ethel Waters performance she saw 60 years ago or Marian Seldes lamenting the cruelty of show biz or Ann Miller blithely carving a decade off her age, there's no arguing that these years were golden.

Full Review Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press | comment Comment
10/28/04
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
St. Paul Pioneer Press

Packed with priceless footage.

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
08/08/04
David Noh
David Noh
Film Journal International

More archival footage and fewer talking heads would have made it more watchable, and most viewers under 60 will be mightily confused as to who many of these people are.

Full Review Source: Christian Science Monitor | comment Comment
06/10/04
David Sterritt
David Sterritt
Christian Science Monitor

The stories they tell in this warm, evocative documentary crackle with humor and glow with reverence. By listening to those stories, you'll glow too.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
08/06/04
Desson Thomson
Desson Thomson
Washington Post

That the speakers are themselves fascinating characters is unquestionable. McKay's film is about as thorough a record of their time spent in the golden age as anyone is likely to produce.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Daily News | comment Comment
07/02/04
Evan Henerson
Evan Henerson
Los Angeles Daily News

While less than artfully composed, Rick McKay's homegrown documentary about the glory days of the American theater represents an invaluable oral history.

Full Review Source: Hollywood Reporter | comment Comment
07/29/04
Frank Scheck
Frank Scheck
Hollywood Reporter
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

This is a picture that devotees of the American theatre will cherish.

Full Review Source: One Guy's Opinion | comment Comment
07/18/04
Frank Swietek
Frank Swietek
One Guy's Opinion

If you've ever fantasized about sitting in an all-night deli listening to veteran theater people dish and reminiscence about the Great White Way in mid-20th century bloom, filmmaker Rick McKay's cascading cavalcade of talking heads is the next best thing.

Full Review Source: Newsday | comment Comment
06/11/04
Gene Seymour
Gene Seymour
Newsday

What could have introduced a young audience to the Broadway songs of yesteryear instead focuses on talking heads well past their Broadway prime.

Full Review Source: Compuserve | comment Comment
06/24/04
Harvey S. Karten
Harvey S. Karten
Compuserve

The strength of McKay's film is not in identifying a cultural period, but in giving voice to so many great theater people.

Full Review Source: New York Daily News | comment Comment
06/11/04
Jack Mathews
Jack Mathews
New York Daily News

Its appeal isn't likely to cross over to those who don't already have the Broadway bug, or share the recollections themselves.

Full Review Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel | comment Comment
10/14/04
Jack Zink
Jack Zink
South Florida Sun-Sentinel

For theater lovers -- on both sides of the footlights.

Full Review Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune | comment Comment
10/28/04
Jeff Strickler
Jeff Strickler
Minneapolis Star Tribune
 
 
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