Looking at the current Broadway season, both at shows that have already closed and upcoming productions, the most prevalent trend is star power. And by star, I don’t mean theatrical heavyweights like Ethel Merman, George M. Cohan or Bert Lahr — these names certainly mean little to nothing when it comes to the current theatregoing masses. Stars on Broadway this season mean Jude Law, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Scarlett Johansson.
All of these actors have names that transcend the stage — something producers surely hope will fill seats as tourists roll into town. While some of these recognizable names won over even the toughest of Broadway critics, and proved more than capable of handling a live production, it was name alone that won them the role.
The trend of casting Hollywood celebrities in Broadway shows is nothing new, and has been griped about by many a theatre columnist, however, with news of Ragtime, a completely star-less musical closing after a brief revival, the subject should once again be analyzed.
Broadway advertisements should cease saying a particular show is “starring” an actor if by actor it means movie star. Moving forward, it would be wonderful to see commercials and posters touting a Broadway show is “celebritying” a Hollywood actor and leave “starring” for the theatrical legends. Angela Lansbury is starring in A Little Night Music, while Catherine Zeta-Jones is celebritying in the Stephen Sondheim musical.
To be fair, Zeta-Jones is delightful in Night Music, and her singing and dancing abilities are on par with many a strong stage actor, however, Christiane Noll delivers a knockout performance (see video) in Ragtime, but it would be a cold day in hell before her name showed up on PerezHilton.com, so saying Noll is starring in a production means little money in the bank for producers.
In this time of economic uncertainty producers shouldn’t be blamed for trying everything in their power to fill seats. It was a brilliant move teaming up Hugh Jackman and Daniel Craig on stage in A Steady Rain, as Jackman has proven an exception to the celebrity rule after making Broadway is second home. But, while A Steady Rain might have brought in the bucks it sacrificed cultural value — the production was a complete snore.
Ragtime’s lack of celebrity is one of many reasons why the musical failed to set box office records, as was pointed out by Patrick Healy in The New York Times last week. While that ultimately led to an early demise — the production is set to close on January 3rd — Ragtime should wear that as a badge of honor.
Set at the turn of the century, Ragtime is a sweeping story that follows three truly American stories, a Jewish immigrant and his daughter, a well-to-do white family and a Harlem musician (Coalhouse Walker, Jr.) dead set on attaining equal rights for African Americans. Not something light and mindless like White Christmas, but certainly more fulfilling.
The cast and crew of Ragtime should go their closing proudly and remember the words passionately sung by Coalhouse at the show’s end:
And say to those who blame us
for the way we chose to fight
that sometimes there are battles
which are more than black or white
Ragtime chose to stand up to the celebrity factor and prove a point, that actors and a strong story, not a celebrity, make a fulfilling show. So to Christiane Noll (Mother), Quentin Earl Darrington (Coalhouse), Bobby Steggert (Mother’s Younger Brother), Robert Petkoff (Tateh), Stephanie Umoh (Sarah), Ron Bohmer (Father) and the daring producers of Ragtime, thank you for a worthy revival of this important musical.
With a new season of Showtime’s The Tudors coming up and Barack Obama now bogged down by controversial plans for Afghanistan, it seems appropriate to reflect on a recent trend that graced the Broadway stage over the past couple years. George W. Bush’s reign got Americans riled up, doubting their Commander-in-Chief’s decision-making abilities and crying for “change.” Hope is a theme on display in the current Broadway revival of Ragtime — possibly a little late to the game seeing how Obama’s grace period is over — but looking back at the recent cultural landscape, outrage and fear were strong themes playing out on stage throughout 2008-2009.
Broadway
Surveying some of Broadway’s best offerings over the last couple years, as well as a quick glance at prime-time television programming, one common storyline jumps out. King Henry VIII and all of the Tudors-related atrocities have seen a prominent revival, most recently with the recently updated play Mary Stuart, along with the recent Broadway revival of A Man for All Seasons and the latest season of The Tudors. Three politically weighty stories, each attacking another aspect of the Tudor’s reign in Britain. American audiences have embraced these productions, on some level, because of a fury over the Bush throne, built up and managed not unlike a royal bloodline.
When London’s Donmar Warehouse staged a newly updated production of Friedrich Schiller’s Mary Stuart in 2005, British audiences had an opportunity to relate not only to the shrewd railings against their own royal history, but also their prime minister Tony Blair’s link with Bush. American audiences then had a chance to embrace the tale of Mary Queen of Scots and her archrival Elizabeth I, as the London production transferred with much fanfare to Broadway’s Broadhurst Theatre, having opened in April of this year. Without a storied Monarch to draw comparisons with, the onus falls directly onto the shoulders of the Bush administration when justifying our recent interest in the Tudors lot. Peter Oswald’s adaptation of Mary Stuart provided an exciting look into an epic political battle between two of history’s most power hungry leaders.
After King Henry VIII died, his crown was passed down to his sole son, but only briefly, as within a few years King Edward VI would succumb to a grave illness. Enter Queen Mary I and then Elizabeth I, all Henry’s descendents. But Elizabeth’s throne was not without dispute, especially from cousin Mary Stuart and her loyal followers. Religion was a main proponent of their quarrel, with Mary advocating the return of Catholicism in England. Nothing like a good ideological dispute to send shivers down a country’s spine.
The Golden Globe nominations were announced this week, placing a handful of Hollywood directors on a pedestal for all others to admire. Martin Scorsese will be bestowed with the prestigious Cecil B. DeMille Award while James Cameron has returned from his post-’Titanic‘ absence to join Clint Eastwood, Quentein Tarantino, Jason Reitman and Kathryn Bigelow in the Best Director category.
All of these talented individuals will certainly be showered with warm write-ups and have hefty paychecks in their futures; however, I’d like to look a few directors that won’t be getting much attention this awards season — this might be because they are either dead, lacking a recent film or were simply shunned by the industry.
Of course, there are plenty of directors that could make a top-whatever list, so I’ve decided to focus on those directors that recently popped up in an internet video. There were some real treasures that showed up on YouTube and other video sharing sites this season, and some of them deserve another round of accolades.
Topping the list is perhaps the best discovery made, in terms of Hollywood history, in a long while. Thought to be lost forever, a six-part interview with the master of suspense, Alfred Hitchcock, turned up on YouTube earlier this year. The interview originally aired as one of the first Tomorrow Shows with Tom Snyder in 1973.
Next up is a personal favorite of mine, David Lynch. Suspense might not be the best word to describe Lynch’s style, rather introspective and nutty better fit this eccentric director. From ‘Blue Velvet‘ and ‘Twin Peaks‘ to ‘Dune’ and ‘Mulholland Drive,’ Lynch never fails to cause debate amongst film buffs and simply confuse the average moviegoer. Now, imagine if Lynch had directed the Star Wars film ‘Return of the Jedi,’ because George Lucas offered him the gig.
Werner Herzog wouldn’t be considered bizarre in Lynchian terms, but the foreign director is by no means easy to digest. I’ll simply ignore his recent addition to motion pictures — ‘The Bad Lieutenant’ stars Nicholas Cage, therefore making it an utter waste of time — but his filmography is full of gems like ‘Grizzly Man’ and ‘Fitzcarraldo.’ It’s the latter film that earned him recent recognition, long after its 1980s release, as the director published a book that compiles his notebooks during the film shoot. Time Magazine caught up with the director and posted this cool chat with Werner in July.
While predominantly known as an actress, Natalie Portman is a woman of many hats, or at least two, as she recently directed a segment for the charming film ‘New York, I Love You.’ To be honest, the only reason I’m calling her out as a director is to have a reason to post a clip from the Funny or Die series ‘Between Two Ferns With Zach Galifinakis.’ Perhaps the most awkward interview show ever…
Finally, the American Film Institute has been hard at work fillings its YouTube archives with plenty of treats for film lovers including awards show highlights and archived Q & A’s with Hollywood heavyweights. One such interview clip is with one of the big boys, Steven Spielberg. Despite a recent lack of luck developing his long gestating Abraham Lincoln feature film starring Liam Neeson, Spielberg is always on my radar — as long as he doesn’t puke out another ‘Jurassic Park‘ flick. Here he is talking up the benefits of filming in continuity, something not many directors believe in.
Being born and raised in Southern California can mean many things: spotting movie stars at concerts, spending more than half the year under sunny skies, and visiting Disneyland more times than can be remembered. All three of these stereotypes ring true for me, especially the last bit.
I often joke about my being a Disney baby, seeing how my father was working behind-the-scenes on Disney’s ‘Something Wicked This Way Comes‘ around the time I was born. So began my lifelong love of all things Mickey Mouse and friends.
Summer breaks from school were filled with frequent trips to the “happiest place on earth,” Disneyland. Sitting in wonderment in front of our television as one animated Disney classic after another came across the screen was always a joy for me. Take one look at my DVD collection and you might think I’m obsessed — I prefer to think of it as collecting movies I hope to show to my children one day, or at least that’s what I tell people.
I’m also Jewish. How exactly is that relevant in a nostalgic trip down Disney lane? Well, it happens to factor into a discovery I made a couple holiday seasons ago while riding on the cherished Disneyland attraction ‘It’s a Small World.’
Starting in 1997, Disneyland began giving a holiday makeover to ‘It’s a Small World’ complete with seasonal music like “Jingle Bells” and “Deck the Halls” playing in between bits of the often infectious and sometimes annoying iconic theme song. Disneyland.com describes the holiday attraction as showcasing “different holiday customs and traditions throughout the world.” Just don’t expect any of the more than 300 somewhat creepy audio-animatronics to be celebrating Chanukah.
While exiting the ride a few seasons ago it dawned on me that I didn’t remember seeing a Star of David, menorah or dreidle. The line was far too long to hop back on, but I made it a point to disprove my casual observation upon my next visit. This year I brought my Flip camera along and documented the ride from start to finish. Low and behold, no Jewishness to be found, at least not to my eyes nor the camera’s lens.
So, what gives?
Anti-semitism is by no means unknown to the Disney empire, as highlighted by author Neal Gabler in his well-researched biography, Walt Disney: The Triumph of The American Imagination. In the book, Gabler writes of Jew hating rumors surrounding Walt and Roy Disney throughout their lives.
There were unsubstantiated accounts from disgruntled Jewish employees, including animator and director David Swift, who said at the time he left Disney to work for another studio Walt told him, “Okay, Davy Boy, off you go to work with those Jews. It’s where you belong, with those Jews.”
From all accounts presented in Gabler’s book — they fall on both sides of the argument — there is no telling whether or not Walt was anti-semetic, especially since he often donated to various Jewish organizations.
The Golden Globe 
