Post by Buff on Aug 11, 2005 10:51:22 GMT 11
On ABC TV on Sunday 7:30pm starts a 6 part series entitled:
Broadway: The American Musical
Give My Regards To Broadway 1893 To 1927
7:30pm Sunday, August 14, 2005
While the Broadway musical has entertained audiences for over a century, the history behind these entertainments provides a fascinating window into the culture of America. Though Broadway theatres themselves have mostly stayed the same, musicals have always reflected the changing times. Whether offering an escape from a world wearied by Depression and war, or celebrating life with a brash, upbeat optimism, the Broadway musical has sung the promise of America.
Presented by Julie Andrews, the Grand Dame of musicals, Broadway: The American Musical is a fascinating six-part series that chronicles the birth of this entertainment institution.
Episode One: Screens Sunday 14 August
When producer Florenz Ziegfeld Junior first hits New York in 1893, the intersection of Broadway and 42nd is nobody's idea of 'the crossroads of the world'. "But by 1913, The Ziegfeld Follies really were an amalgamation of everything that was happening in America, and in New York, at that time," says writer Philip Furia. "Flo Ziegfeld was like the Broadway equivalent of the melting pot itself'. Ziegfeld's story introduces many of the era's key figures: Irving Berlin, a Russian immigrant who becomes the voice of assimilated America; entertainers, like Jewish comedienne Fanny Brice and African American Bert Williams, who become America's first 'crossover' artists; and the brash Irish-American George M. Cohan, whose song-and-dance routines embody the energy of Broadway.
This is also the story of the onset of a world war, and the Red Summer of 1919, when labour unrest sweeps the nation - and Broadway. Episode One culminates in Ziegfeld's 1927 production of Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II's far-sighted masterpiece, Show Boat. "The history of the American musical theatre is divided quite simply into two eras: everything before Show Boat, and everything after Show Boat," says writer Miles Kreuger. With the Great Depression, the Ziegfeld era becomes a memory.
Buff
Broadway: The American Musical
Give My Regards To Broadway 1893 To 1927
7:30pm Sunday, August 14, 2005
While the Broadway musical has entertained audiences for over a century, the history behind these entertainments provides a fascinating window into the culture of America. Though Broadway theatres themselves have mostly stayed the same, musicals have always reflected the changing times. Whether offering an escape from a world wearied by Depression and war, or celebrating life with a brash, upbeat optimism, the Broadway musical has sung the promise of America.
Presented by Julie Andrews, the Grand Dame of musicals, Broadway: The American Musical is a fascinating six-part series that chronicles the birth of this entertainment institution.
Episode One: Screens Sunday 14 August
When producer Florenz Ziegfeld Junior first hits New York in 1893, the intersection of Broadway and 42nd is nobody's idea of 'the crossroads of the world'. "But by 1913, The Ziegfeld Follies really were an amalgamation of everything that was happening in America, and in New York, at that time," says writer Philip Furia. "Flo Ziegfeld was like the Broadway equivalent of the melting pot itself'. Ziegfeld's story introduces many of the era's key figures: Irving Berlin, a Russian immigrant who becomes the voice of assimilated America; entertainers, like Jewish comedienne Fanny Brice and African American Bert Williams, who become America's first 'crossover' artists; and the brash Irish-American George M. Cohan, whose song-and-dance routines embody the energy of Broadway.
This is also the story of the onset of a world war, and the Red Summer of 1919, when labour unrest sweeps the nation - and Broadway. Episode One culminates in Ziegfeld's 1927 production of Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II's far-sighted masterpiece, Show Boat. "The history of the American musical theatre is divided quite simply into two eras: everything before Show Boat, and everything after Show Boat," says writer Miles Kreuger. With the Great Depression, the Ziegfeld era becomes a memory.
Buff
but fortunately I taped it.
For some reason, it recorded fine until about five minutes in when the sound decided to disappear 
oh well, at least I got to point out 'Glinda in her bubble' to my mother ;D