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Broadway Video Database - Documentary- 2024

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Documentaries

Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds (2/7/2017)

An intimate portrait of two of Hollywood's most fascinating personalities, Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds has become, poignantly, both a requiem and celebration of the two movie icons, who sadly and unexpectedly died one day apart in December 2016: Star Wars actress/author Carrie Fisher and her mother, Singin' in the Rain star Debbie Reynolds. Shot mainly inside the Beverly Hills compound where both Fisher and Reynolds lived (their two houses were connected by one wal...

Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds Cover
Broadway - The Golden Age, by the Legends Who Were There ()

In their own words, and not a moment too soon - 'Broadway' tells the stories of our theatrical legends.

Broadway - The Golden Age, by the Legends Who Were There Cover
Broadway & Hollywood Legends - The Songwriters ()

In the informal style usually reserved for show business parties, here is the unique performance writers bring to their own songs and the stories; the special moments, creative triumphs, occasional regrets, laughs and heartbreaks of their spectacularly creative lives.

Broadway & Hollywood Legends - The Songwriters Cover
Broadway Idiot (5/6/2014)

From punk rock mosh pits and sold out stadiums to the Great White Way, this electrifying documentary follows Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong as he works with Broadway veterans to turn his mega-hit album, American Idiot, into a Broadway musical. Broadway Idiot is a portrait of a world famous artist having the guts to try something totally new. The film provides insider access to the actors' rehearsals, the creative team's process, and live performances that reveal Billie's personal transformati...

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Broadway Musicals: A Jewish Legacy (5/7/2013)

Engaging, humorous, and provocative, Broadway Musicals: A Jewish Legacy examines the unique role of Jewish composers and lyricists in the creation of the modern American musical. The film showcases the work of legends such as Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern, George and Ira Gershwin, Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II, Leonard Bernstein, and Stephen Sondheim. Interviews with songwriters and luminaries including Sheldon Harnick, Stephen Schwartz, Harold Prince, Arthur Laurents, Charles...

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Broadway: The American Musical ()

A six-part documentary about the Broadway musical

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Broadway's Lost Treasures Collection ()

A comprehensive collection of great performances captured on film as part of the annual Tony Award® broadcasts. Broadway royalty and Tony® winners, including Lauren Bacall, Bebe Neuwirth, Robert Goulet, and Harvey Fierstein, serve as hosts and share their own Broadway and Tony® memories. Produced as PBS specials, Broadway’s Lost Treasures I, II, & III feature legendary stars—including Patti LuPone, Nell Carter, Jerry Orbach, Gwen Verdon, Ethel Merman, Kristin Chenoweth, Angela Lansbury, Joel Gr...

Broadway's Lost Treasures Collection Cover
Children Will Listen ()

This documentary tracks the junior production of Stephen Sondheim's "Into the Woods," featuring 140 Washington, DC public school children in a performance at the Kennedy Center. The film captures the growth and transformation of these children, who were given a rare theater experience.

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Circo (9/20/2011)

Gorgeously filmed along the back roads of rural Mexico and set to the music of Calexico, Circo follows the Ponce family's hardscrabble circus as it struggles to stay together. Tino, the ringmaster, is driven by his dream to lead his parents' circus to success and corrals the energy of his whole family, including his four young children, towards this singular goal. But his wife Ivonne is determined to make a change. Feeling exploited by her in-laws, she longs to return to her kids a childhood los...

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Elaine Paige - Rare and Unseen (12/31/2011)

Singer and actress Elaine Paige is best known for her work in musical theatre. Paige was selected to play Eva Perón in the first production of Evita in 1978, which brought her to the attention of the broader public. In 1985, Paige released "I Know Him So Well" with Barbara Dickson from the musical Chess, which remains the biggest-selling record by a female duo. She appeared in The King and I from 2000 to 2001, and six years later she returned to the West End stage in The Drowsy Chaperone. She ha...

Elaine Paige - Rare and Unseen Cover
Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me (6/24/2014)

The uncompromising Tony and Emmy Award-winner is showcased both on and off stage via rare archival footage and intimate cinema vérité.

Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me Cover
Every Act Of Life (5/14/2019)

The life of Tony-winning playwright Terrence McNally (Master Class, Ragtime): 60 years of groundbreaking plays and musicals, the struggle for LGBT rights, addiction and recovery, finding true love, and the relentless pursuit of inspiration.

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Fiddler's Journey to the Big Screen (6/28/2022)

2022 documentary on making the film version of Fiddler on the Roof. Captures the humor and drama of director Norman Jewison's quest to recreate the lost world of Jewish life in Tsarist Russia and re-envision the beloved stage hit as a wide-screen epic. From filmmaker Daniel Raim. Narrated by Jeff Goldblum. Draws on behind-the-scenes footage and never-before-seen stills as well as original interviews with Jewison, Topol (Tevye), composer John Williams, production designer Robert F. Boyle, film c...

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Guys & Dolls - Off the Record ()

Off the Record is an exciting documentary that goes behind the scenes and follows the cast around while they are making the recording of the Tony Award® winning production Guys and Dolls. This recording features original cast members from the smash 1992 revival. This program captures all of the backstage energy and stars Peter Gallagher, Josie de Guzman, Nathan Lane and Faith Prince preparing for their roles. The stars sing some of the all-time favorite songs and then sit down to talk about the...

Guys & Dolls - Off the Record Cover
Hair: Let the Sunshine In ()

Since its overwhelming success on Broadway forty years ago, HAIR has inspired generations with its messages of love, non-violence and liberation. This definitive and entertaining documentary highlights the continuing relevance of the show and its still-radical, transformative power. A wealth of archival footage covers US and international productions and portrays an era, a generation and its politics. The efforts of author and co-creator Jim Rado to bring HAIR’s vibrant energy and fantastic scor...

Hair: Let the Sunshine In Cover
Hamilton: One Shot to Broadway (11/1/2017)

The story of the hit musical that changed Broadway forever and brought the genius of Lin Manuel Miranda to the attention of legions of fans across the world. Featuring interviews with Miranda, as well as the cast and crew of Hamilton.

Hamilton: One Shot to Broadway Cover
Heart & Soul: The Life and Music of Frank Loesser ()

A documentary profile of the tough-talking, tender-hearted genius behind Broadway's "Guys & Dolls" and "How to Succeed in Business" and pop standards from "Heart & Soul" to "Baby, It's Cold Outside."

Heart & Soul: The Life and Music of Frank Loesser Cover
If the Dancer Dances (7/23/2019)

If a dance is not danced, it vanishes. If the Dancer Dances follows a group of New York City's top modern dancers as they reconstruct an iconic and mysterious work by the legendary Merce Cunningham, revealing what it takes to keep a dance alive. Timed to coincide with Cunningham's centennial, the film confronts one of the most urgent issues facing the dance world today: how do we prevent the loss of masterworks to time?

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Irving Berlin: An American Song ()

From the award-winning A&E TV series. The legendary composer's songs sparkle in this illuminating portrait of his life. Join A&E's Biography for an in-depth rags-to-riches tale of a man who's words and music defined a half-century of American popular culture. Through a web of personal misfortune, Irving Berlin conquered Broadway and Hollywood alike with such timeless tunes as "God Bless America", "White Christmas" and "There's No Business Like Show Business". Discover the story behind the extra...

Irving Berlin: An American Song	Cover
Jig (10/4/2011)

JIG is the remarkable story of the fortieth Irish Dancing World Championships, held in March 2010 in Glasgow. Three thousand dancers, their families and teachers from around the globe descend upon Glasgow for one drama filled week. Clad in wigs, make up, fake tan, diamantes and dresses costing thousands of pounds they compete for the coveted world titles.

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Lady Sings the Blues (2/23/2021)

1972 biopic about Billie Holiday. Diana Ross, Billy Dee Williams, Richard Pryor, James T. Callahan, and Scatman Crothers.

Lady Sings the Blues Cover
Leonard Bernstein's New York ()

A new generation of American musical theater artists come together in a "glorious mosaic of Leonard Bernstein’s show tunes" (New York Times). Brilliantly filmed in the very New York locations celebrated by the songs - Coney Island, Central Park, Times Square - this DVD joins today’s performers with the ageless music of perhaps New York’s greatest musical personality. On the Town, Wonderful Town and West Side Story chronicle the city in all its variety and excitement, and these performances bring...

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Leonard Soloway's Broadway (11/1/2019)

Through verité documentary footage, humorous storytelling, interviews and archival film material, Leonard Soloway's Broadway captures a Broadway few ever see as told through the eyes of a legendary Broadway producer you've probably never heard of. He lived an unconventional life on his own terms who, over a 70-year span, staged over 100 shows (and counting) which generated history making headlines, over 40 Tony Awards, 62 Tony Nominations, 21 Drama Desk Awards, 29 Drama Desk nominations and 3 P...

Leonard Soloway's Broadway Cover
Life After Tomorrow ()

The award winning Life After Tomorrow, a film by Julie Stevens and Gil Cates, Jr., reunites more than 40 women who played orphans in the original Broadway production of Annie and reveals the highs and lows of their experiences as child actresses in a cultural phenomenon. Once the curtain came down, many found it could be a hard-knock-life, fraught with out-of-control stage mothers, separation anxiety, and worst of all, pubescent growth spurts that could find the moppets being replaced by smaller...

Life After Tomorrow Cover
Looking for Richard ()

The camera follows the cast and crew throughout rehearsals, eavesdropping on the behind-the-scenes process that goes into creating characters and mounting a production. With appearances from Sir John Gielgud, Kenneth Branagh, Vanessa Redgrave, James Earl Jones and Kevin Kline. "Looking For Richard" is "outrageous fun" (Rolling Stone).

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Making The Boys (9/20/2011)

Before Prop 8, "Will & Grace," AIDS, gay pride or Stonewall, "The Boys in the Band" changed everything. Crayton Robey's Making the Boys explores the enduring legacy of the first-ever gay play and subsequent Hollywood movie to successfully reach a mainstream audience. Beloved by some for breaking new ground and condemned by others for reinforcing gay stereotypes, "The Boys in the Band" sparked heated controversy that endures to this day. Featuring interviews with its author Mart Crowley, survivin...

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Making War Horse (11/15/2011)

Documentary about the National Theatre production of War Horse.

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Mitzi Gaynor: Razzle Dazzle! The Special Years ()

'Mitzi Gaynor: Razzle Dazzle! The Special Years' is an all new documentary that captures the creative excellence, the brilliant fusion of song and dance, the glamorous Bob Mackie costumes and the non-stop excitement that were the hallmark of her glittering annual television events. Experience the ground breaking Emmy winning performances, unseen for three decades, as well as photos and footage from Gaynor's personal archive that illuminate the behind-the-scenes stories and impact of her landmark...

Mitzi Gaynor: Razzle Dazzle! The Special Years Cover
On Broadway (8/20/2021)

Documentary features all-star cast telling the inside story of the last time Broadway theater came back from the brink. Hugh Jackman, Helen Mirren, Christine Baranski, August Wilson, James Corden, Alec Baldwin, John Lithgow, Viola Davis, and Ian McKellen, and others take us behind the scenes of Broadway's most groundbreaking and beloved shows. Archival clips of iconic performances by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Patti Lupone, Bernadette Peters, James Earl Jones and Mandy Patinkin. Directed by Oren Jacob...

On Broadway Cover
Recording 'The Producers' - A Musical Romp with Mel Brooks ()

The exuberant atmosphere of the Broadway blockbuster is captured in "Recording The Producers: A Musical Romp with Mel Brooks," a new 85-minute film from the Emmy Award-winning director Susan Froemke and Maysles Films. The documentary candidly captures the excitement of translating the show into a complete experience for the recording's audience.

Recording 'The Producers' - A Musical Romp with Mel Brooks Cover
Repeat Attenders (5/16/2020)

Documentary film by Mark Dooley. Delves into the psychology of the most extreme Broadway superfans, revealing the complexities of their devotion. Filmed over a six-year period on Broadway, in London’s West End, and in Germany and Australia, Repeat Attenders introduces audiences to fans of Cats, Rent, Les Miserables, Starlight Express, and more. Preordering on Vimeo for 5/16/20 release. To be available later at Amazon and on iTunes.

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Richard M. Sherman: Songs of a Lifetime (9/5/2017)

2015 Emmy-nominated PBS special. An hour with Disney musical legend Richard M. Sherman as he talks and sings about his career with brother Robert; the two wrote some of the most beloved songs of all time. Guests include Ashley Brown, Juliana Hansen, Wesley Alfvin, and The Dapper Dans of Disneyland

Richard M. Sherman: Songs of a Lifetime Cover
Salaam 'Bombay Dreams' ()

In June 2002, London’s West End was taken by storm when Andrew Lloyd Webber presented a new musical phenomenon – AR Rahman’s Bombay Dreams. This lavish and breathtaking production which combines the glamour of the movies, heart-aching romance and epic spectacle, won the acclaim of audiences and critics alike. It was labelled as London’s "hottest most exotic new musical", "one of the wonders of the West End" and "the best musical since The Phantom of the Opera". Salaam Bombay Dreams is an exclus...

Salaam 'Bombay Dreams' Cover
Sing Your Song: Harry Belafonte (6/29/2012)

Wonderfully archived, and told with a remarkable sense of intimacy, visual style and musical panache, SING YOUR SONG surveys the life and times of singer/actor/activist Harry Belafonte. From his rise to fame as a singer and his experiences touring a segregated country, to his provocative crossover into Hollywood, Belafonte's groundbreaking career personifies the American civil rights movement and impacted many other social-justice movements. The documentary reveals Belafonte as a tenacious hands...

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Six by Sondheim (6/13/2014)

An intimate and candid look at the life and art of the legendary composer-lyricist.

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Six By Sondheim (2/9/2021)

From award-winning director and frequent Sondheim collaborator James Lapine, Six by Sondheim is an intimate and candid look at the life and art of legendary composer-lyricist Stephen Sondheim, who redefined musical theater through such works as Company, Sweeney Todd and Sunday in the Park with George. Told primarily in Sondheims own words from dozens of interviews spanning decades, the film is a highly personal profile of a great American artist as revealed through the creation and performance ...

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Stage by Stage: Les Misérables ()

An interview with the production team behind the hit Broadway musical as they discuss the conception and development of Les Miserables as a pop-culture phenomenon.

Stage by Stage: Les Misérables	Cover
That's Dancing! ()

The history of dance depicted on film.

That's Dancing! Cover
The Best of the Tony Awards: The Plays ()

Four-time Tony®-winning actor and playwright Harvey Fierstein is your host for a compilation of amazing dramatic performances from the archives of the Tony Award® broadcasts. Legendary stars perform key scenes from 19 legendary shows, performances seen only once in their original telecast. Collected here with commentary by a Broadway veteran, they become a treasure-trove for fans of great drama. James Earl Jones, Jane Alexander, cast, THE GREAT WHITE HOPE Gary Sinise, Tim Sampson, cast, ONE...

The Best of the Tony Awards: The Plays Cover
The Boys: The Sherman Brothers' Story ()

The Boys: The Sherman Brothers’ Story is an intimate journey through the lives of Robert B. Sherman and Richard M. Sherman, the astoundingly prolific, Academy Award®-winning songwriting team that defined family musical entertainment for five decades with unforgettable songs like “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocous” from Mary Poppins, “I Wanna Be Like You” from The Jungle Book and the most translated song ever written "It’s a Small World (After All)" from the Disneyland attraction. The feature-le...

The Boys: The Sherman Brothers' Story Cover
The Making of 'Miss Saigon' ()

THE MAKING OF MISS SAIGON is the definitive documentary film companion to one of the greatest Broadway hits of all time. Witness the evolution of this monumental production from its inception in the sumptuous hills of Provence to its glamorous London debut on a fascinating insider's voyage into the world of the theater. Under the exacting leadership of famed Broadway producer Cameron Mackintosh (The Phantom of the Opera, Cats, Les Misérables) the artistic forces behind the Tony Award®-winning sh...

The Making of 'Miss Saigon' Cover
The Making of West Side Story ()

A documentary which shows, in great detail, the making of the 1985 Bernstein-conducted recording of the entire score of "West Side Story", featuring operatic stars.

The Making of West Side Story Cover
The Yellow Brick Road and Beyond ()

This feature documentary takes a look at the phenomenon that is "The Wizard of Oz" using clips and interviews with such celebrities as Tommy Tune, Joan Leslie, Mickey Rooney, Dom DeLuise, Joel Grey, as well as three of the original munchkins from the classic 1939 film and its producer Mervyn LeRoy. THE YELLOW BRICK ROAD AND BEYOND tells the complete history of THE WIZARD OF OZ story, highlighting some of the earliest stage and screen adaptations. From the quintessential 1939 film to the successf...

The Yellow Brick Road and Beyond	Cover
Tony Palmer's Film About The Fantastic World of Michael Crawford ()

Michael Crawford has starred in some of the biggest box-office hits of all time. This DVD is a behind-the-scenes intimate portrait of one of the funniest and most versatile actors, whose popularity in the United States outshines any other British entertainer in the last 30 years.

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Try to Remember - The Fantasticks ()

17,162 Performances, 42 Years, One Show, The Fantasticks!

Try to Remember - The Fantasticks Cover
Waking Sleeping Beauty ()

By the mid-1980s, the fabled animation studios of Walt Disney had fallen on hard times. The artists were polarized between newcomers hungry to innovate and old timers not yet ready to relinquish control. These conditions produced a series of box-office flops and pessimistic forecasts - maybe the best days of animation were over. Maybe the public didn't care. Only a miracle or a magic spell could produce a happy ending. Waking Sleeping Beauty is no fairy tale. It's the true story of how Disney re...

Waking Sleeping Beauty Cover
Words and Music by Jerry Herman ()

WORDS AND MUSIC is the story of one of Broadway's iconic figures: the composer/lyricist of Hello, Dolly!, Mame and La Cage aux Folles. Jerry Herman and an all-star cast, from Carol Channing to Angela Lansbury to Michael Feinstein, chart his rise from 1950s off-Broadway through all of his smash hits. Featuring never-before-seen footage of original stage performances, and a score full of classic show tunes.

Words and Music by Jerry Herman Cover



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