Even though Premium Hollywood has never claimed to be as much of a “guys portal to the web” as its parent site, Bullz-Eye.com, it still might seem a little iffy for me to recommend a documentary that puts a spotlight on Broadway musicals.
Look, here’s the deal: one of my first attempts at winning the heart of a girl found me trying to impress her by showing her that I was a fan of “Annie.” The bad news is that I didn’t get the girl, but, hey, the good news is that it’s been almost 25 years, and I still know most of the words to “We’d Like To Thank You, Herbert Hoover.” But, anyway, my point is that I’ve had a soft spot for musicals longer than I’ve had a soft spot for The Beatles, so it shouldn’t be too much of a surprise to you that I found a lot to enjoy about “Show Business: The Road to Broadway,” a documentary which follows the birth, premiere, and, in some cases, death of four new musicals.
“New,” of course, is relative to when the motion picture was filmed, which was over the course of the 2003 – 2004 Broadway season, and the four musicals from that particular season to receive the spotlight are “Wicked,” “Avenue Q,” “Caroline, or Change,” and “Taboo.” At the time, director Dori Berinstein had no way of knowing which would flop and which would prosper; obviously, history has revealed to even the most casual observer of Broadway musicals that “Wicked” turned out to be a wicked big hit, while those of us with a slightly more subversive sense of humor are probably also aware of the puppet-driven “Sesame Street” parody of “Avenue Q,” which proved to be enough of a success that it spawned a highly-touted run in Vegas. (It only ended up running for nine months, but, still, at the time, it was highly touted.) “Taboo,” based on the life and times of the ever-flamboyant Boy George, suffered as much from the ever-loud mouth of the woman who bankrolled it, Rosie O’Donnell, closing after only 100 performances, while “Caroline, or Change,” the musical from Tony Kushner (“Angels in America”) did just slightly better, making it to 136 performances.
With “Show Business,” however, the real fascination comes from watching these musicals along the way, including the casting process, the composition of the songs, the building of the sets, and the struggles against the critics. In fact, throughout the film, we pop in on a round-table luncheon of several of the New York theater critics, all of whom prove to be so catty and bitchy that they’re practically walking clichés; despite mouthing off about what’s hot and what’s not in their eyes, they still know their place, because after virtually all of them sit around trashing “Wicked,” one voice of reason in the crowd pipes up, “And it’s making a million dollars a week, so that shows you our influence!”
Perhaps we should’ve known that “Taboo” was doomed, if only because it was predominantly bankrolled by Rosie O’Donnell, who, at the press conference to introduce the musical to the New York crowd (it had already premiered in London, which is where she discovered it and fell in love with it), immediately started mouthing off about how it was essentially critic-proof. That’s as may be, but for a show to last for the long haul, it’s got to be something that the masses are willing to embrace…and God love Boy George, but it’s one thing for people to latch onto a guy wearing a dress, but it’s quite another for them to latch onto a guy who, at the same press conference, looked like this:
When “Taboo” inevitably flops, the person you end up feeling sorry for is its star, Euan Morton, who clearly loves the show (and, for the record, has a fantastic voice) and, when it closes, gets the dual slap in the face by being informed that A) he’s out of a job, and B) he has to leave the country, as his work visa is no longer valid. Ouch. Meanwhile, the “Avenue Q” guys are so down to earth that you’d be rooting for them even if you didn’t know how brilliantly funny their musical is; they’re proud of their work, but they’re not egotistical about it. One of the creators’ dads is caught on camera as they discover they’ve been nominated for several Tony Awards, and although he’s pleased as punch, he can’t help but point out with a grin, “This guy couldn’t hold a job at TCBY, and how he’s been nominated for a Tony!” “Caroline, or Change” didn’t really grab me as a musical, although its star, Tonya Pinkins, certainly came off as a pleasant, real individual; I was, however, instantly smitten with “Popular,” from “Wicked,” as sung by Kristen Chenoweth…like, to the point where I might have to download it from iTunes. But just that one song, I swear…
In addition to the four productions which receive the majority of the attention, there are occasional glimpses at other shows, too, including a montage which is intended to show that not every show is around for the long haul. Proof positive: “Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All,” starring Ellen Burstyn, survived for precisely one performance, while “Bobbi Boland,” starring Farrah Fawcett, never even made it out of previews to have its formal debut. Oh, yeah, and there’s also a priceless clip from the 2004 Tony Awards which finds the unlikely duo of LL Cool J and Carol Channing presenting an award.
LL: “It’s time to read the nominees.”
Carol: “I’m down with that.”
As God as my witness, she really says that. It’s awesome.
Anyway, “Show Business: The Road to Broadway” is really an interesting look at the trials and tribulations that a show goes through before, during, and after premiering on the Great White Way. If you’re a testosterone-pumped manly man, you probably won’t even be able to pick up the box, but if you’re comfortable in your masculinity and enjoy a good show tune mixed with a bit of high drama, you’ll definitely find it worth checking it out.
