Theater is back. That means many of us have been buying tickets for upcoming stage productions, whether on Broadway, London’s West End or local or regional productions.
Social dramas, comedies, improv, so many genres from which to choose, but who can resist revivals of musical theater classics. From Gilbert and Sullivan, Rodgers and Hart, Cole Porter, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Comden and Green, and Stephen Sondheim, these are old and new classics. Films can help supplement the desire to see theater.
Extravagant Hollywood feature film adaptations of great musical theater are available on Blu-ray, DVD, and for streaming. The mid 20th Century hits include Oklahoma, Carousel, The King and I, South Pacific, On the Town, West Side Story, Kiss Me Kate, and Kismet. In another related genre, the semi-biographical feature Topsy Turvy from 1999 is an introduction to late 19th Century legends Gilbert and Sullivan and the D’Oyly Carte stage company.
Sondheim enthusiasts can see an array of documentary films spotlighting his works. A visit to IMDb.com will provide good information on titles. Here are a few Sondheim-related docs that are as revealing of the process of theatrical creativity as they are entertaining.
Follies in Concert is a star-studded version of the Sondheim gem filmed from the stage of Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center in the mid-1980s. The presentation features George Hearn, Carol Burnett, Elaine Stritch, Mandy Patinkin, Comden and Green and others. Warning: You may develop a need to watch this doc over and over. It’s an addiction! I own two DVDs of this title, just in case something happens to one of them.
Sondheim! The Birthday Concert with the New York Philharmonic from 2010 is a tribute concert in honor of Sondheim’s 80th birthday. Hosted by David Hyde Pierce and filmed from the stage of Avery Fisher Hall, beloved and brilliant talents such as Marin Mazzie, Patti LuPone, Joanna Gleason, Mandy Patinkin, Bernadette Peters, and Elaine Stritch perform Sondheim songs.
Company is one of Sondheim’s most significant shows, a musical that looks at the lives of several quirky married couples and their single friend, Bobby. As performed with minimalist scenery and props by Neil Patrick Harris, Patti LuPone, Anika Noni Rose, Stephen Colbert and others with the NY Philharmonic Orchestra, this is a fine example of a performance documented on film or tape.
D.A. Pennebaker’s Original Cast Album: Company from 1970 was released just a few months ago in a newly restored 4K digital transfer from the Criterion Collection on Blu-ray, DVD, and for streaming. The late Pennebaker is a revered documentary filmmaker, one of the pioneers in modern, fly-on-the-wall documentation. Of all the documentaries on musical theater, this film is the most telling, the most intimate look at the creative process. The cameras roll late into the night as members of the original Broadway cast of Company record their musical numbers for posterity. The highlight is the real-life drama provided by Elaine Stritch as she attempts to record “The Ladies Who Lunch” for the cast album. With no chance for a second take, Pennebaker and his remarkable, expert crew capture the events of the evening as they unfold.
All genres of theater have been recorded, from Shakespeare to O’Neill to Caryl Churchill and Lynn Nottage. National Theatre Live, National Theatre at Home, Broadway on Demand, Broadway HD, Kanopy, and other avenues of home viewing allow theater to be more than an occasional experience.
Audrey Kupferberg is a film and video archivist and appraiser. She is lecturer emeritus and the former director of Film Studies at the University at Albany and co-authored several entertainment biographies with her late husband and creative partner, Rob Edelman.
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