Broadway – The Golden Age

Broadway: The Golden Age is a film by Rick McKay. It asks the questions “Did Broadway have a Golden Age?” and “Did the Golden Age die?”. The retrospect is told by the actual Broadway performers that were the headliners, writers and musical directors from the 1940’s through the 1960’s.

Many of the artists interviewed  have died since and the film is a little sad as they recognize the memories of Broadway’s golden heyday. Some of the artists who got their start on Broadway might surprise you like Alec Baldwin, Tom Bosley and Marlon Brando.

The movie ends with them saying that somewhere in some remote part of the world there is someone who is downloading music, reading scripts and immersing themselves in the genre to create the next Broadway hit. They infer there will be a new Golden Age and there are people we don’t know now who will be the movers and shakers of the theatre world to come. And that made me smile…

Broadway: The Golden Age

Broadway: The Golden Age is a 2004 documentary by Rick McKay, telling the story of the “golden age” of Broadway by the oral history of the legendary actors of the 40s and 50s, incorporating rare lost footage of actual performances and never-before-seen personal home movies and photos.

The film, being the first installment of a trilogy, played in extended runs in theatres in over 135 cities in the summer of 2004, and was on 18 critics Top Ten Films of 2004 by year’s end , including Leonard Maltin of Entertainment Tonight, Rex Reed, Peter Travers of Rolling Stone, Jeffrey Lyons of NBC and critics all over the country.