Just watched the documentary "Show Business: The Road to Broadway"

[zamedy]

Posted: 8/2/11 at 9:50pm

I know I'm behind the times on this but.. GREAT documentary and surprise discovery on YouTube! Great behind-the-scenes footage of four shows.. two flops, two blockbusters.. from pre-rehersal to opening night to the Tonys.

Favorite part: Listening to Michael Riedel, Theatre Columnist for the Post wrongly predict 1). AVENUE Q would close by the following January 2). WICKED was a lock for Best Musical 3). Tonya Pinkins was a lock for Best Actress (I can understand 2 and 3 but listening to him say Q would be a huge flop was laugh-out-loud funny).

Also great to see how truly humble the creative geniuses behind Avenue Q were and continue to be.

[uncageg]

Posted: 8/2/11 at 10:06pm

The only thing I didn't care for about the movie is that they didn't really address the Avenue Q campaign for the Tony.

[CapnHook]

Posted: 8/2/11 at 10:10pm

I also think THE BOY FROM OZ should have gotten some minutes in the film as it was a strong show that season, if not the strongest. If they were going to include mentions of all the other shows that closed that season, why not BOY FROM OZ' success?

[sundayclothes2]

Posted: 8/2/11 at 10:12pm

Considering the circumstances of the time, I really don't think it is that ridiculous for Reidel to predict Ave Q to be a flop. It was a small musical with no names involved opening in a season that included several big name revivals and new musicals with talents like Hugh Jackman, Tony Kushner, and Boy George. Oh, and then there was also that show called Wicked. At the time, I would have thought Reidel would be crazy had he predicted Ave Q would beat Wicked. Although everyone hoped it would happen, nobody actually thought it would.

[blaxx]

Posted: 8/2/11 at 10:13pm

I also think THE BOY FROM OZ should have gotten some minutes in the film as it was a strong show that season, if not the strongest.

The strongest what?

[Sauja]

Posted: 8/2/11 at 10:18pm

Show of the season, blaxx. It was a strong show if not the strongest of the season. Jesus--I'm an editor, and I'm not as picky about grammar as some of the people around here. It's a message board, not the OED. Take the snark down a notch. That was a perfectly understandable sentence.

[twinbelters]

Posted: 8/2/11 at 10:48pm

Seriously.

This film is coming from Netflix. Thanks for whetting my appetite.

[CapnHook]

Posted: 8/2/11 at 10:59pm

Strong box office draw. It recouped, broke box office records, and received a lot of press with Jackman as its star.

I understand the documentary is about the "road to Broadway" focusing on four specific shows, but I find it odd that the documentary basically ignores that THE BOY FROM OZ even existed. It impacted the box office of WICKED, TABOO, CAROLINE OR CHANGE, and AVENUE Q, being the show which had the strongest competition against them. And it was nominated for Best Musical over TABOO.

[blaxx]

Posted: 8/2/11 at 11:41pm

Show of the season, blaxx. It was a strong show if not the strongest of the season. Jesus--I'm an editor, and I'm not as picky about grammar as some of the people around here. It's a message board, not the OED. Take the snark down a notch. That was a perfectly understandable sentence.

Saying it was the strongest show (of the season, if you may) is a subjective statement, love. It needs further clarification, not better grammar. I will take the snark down a notch. Oh wait! I won't. I feel sorry for whoever you work for as an editor.

Thanks for clarifying what you meant, CapnHook.

[blaxx]

Posted: 8/2/11 at 11:46pm

I understand the documentary is about the "road to Broadway" focusing on four specific shows, but I find it odd that the documentary basically ignores that THE BOY FROM OZ even existed. It impacted the box office of WICKED, TABOO, CAROLINE OR CHANGE, and AVENUE Q, being the show which had the strongest competition against them. And it was nominated for Best Musical over TABOO.

I understand where you're coming from. You may be right from a box office perspective. However, it was not exactly a critics darling and come award season it was basically ignored, save for its star. To successfully include a show like The Boy from Oz in this documentary, you'd need to rely heavily on Jackman's presence - that was never going to happen.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 8/3/11 at 12:00am

re: The Boy From Oz, I was always under the impression that they only filmed with/had access to those four shows. Was that not the case?

Anyway, there aren't words for how much I adore this film. Saw it back during the Tribeca Film Festival and still love it.

[alliez92092]

Posted: 8/3/11 at 1:00am

I really loved this film. If you get a chance, watch it with the commentary. It's very enlightening and they talk about how they had so much material and so many different things to focus on but how they chose the story they went with. Very interesting from a film-making perspective as well as a theatrical perspective.

[ElphabaRose]

Posted: 8/3/11 at 1:10am

The Boy From Oz wouldn't give the documentary crew access. That's why they weren't given camera time.

[Square Peg2]

Posted: 8/3/11 at 5:52am

Yep, my understanding is that The Boy From Oz was the only show on Broadway that season to not give the documentary crew access. They filmed stuff from the plays, as well, and decided to focus on the new musicals, except the one that wouldn't let them in.

The DVD is well worth a purchase - I love watching the commentary with Alan Cumming equally as much as the film itself.

[mamaleh]

Posted: 8/3/11 at 9:56am

Yes, unfortunately the producers of THE BOY FROM OZ would not give permission to the docu makers. I still cannot figure out why they would not cooperate; it wasn't as if they were planning to release a DVD of the production. I love the film but get so frustrated when I think of all the great background footage of OZ that might have been.

[broadwayjim42]

Posted: 8/3/11 at 10:02am

Call me brain dead..I have the DVD, have watched it several times and have seen most of the special features but I have never listened to the commentaries....thanks for giving me an excuse to go back.

[madbrian]

Posted: 8/3/11 at 10:14am

LOGO had been showing this, and it had been available via Comcast On Demand for free...not sure it it's still there.

[everythingtaboo]

Posted: 8/3/11 at 11:06am

I'm also glad they OZ didn't work out. They went with original musicals with original scores where the show itself was the compelling story. Plus they were all underdogs out of the gate at the time, whereas Oz surely wasn't.

[greatwhiteway72]

Posted: 8/3/11 at 12:24pm

I just watched the documentary too, and my favorite part was when Donna Murphy was interviewed and she said she could never stop doing theatre. She started tearing up. It was such a cute moment.

[fingerlakessinger]

Posted: 8/3/11 at 12:27pm

Anyone else wanna slap the crap out of the critics when they are just tearing into the shows? It's like they get kicks from seeing shows flounder, if anything they should be hoping for the best. And I found it so funny when they said Avenue Q and WICKED would close. Kinda funny.

[jamiekennywicked]

Posted: 8/3/11 at 12:35pm

"Anyone else wanna slap the crap out of the critics when they are just tearing into the shows? It's like they get kicks from seeing shows flounder, if anything they should be hoping for the best"

^ Something you'll find on the Broadwayworld boards a great amount too!

Updated On: 8/3/11 at 12:35 PM