Research Catalog

[Interview with George C. Wolfe : raw footage]

Title
[Interview with George C. Wolfe : raw footage] [videorecording] / [directed by Michael Kantor] ; Ghost Light Films.
Publication
New York, 1998.

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Moving imageRestricted use NCOX 2107Performing Arts Research Collections - TOFT

Details

Additional Authors
  • Wolfe, George C
  • Kantor, Michael, 1961-
  • Squires, Buddy
  • Ghost Light Films.
  • Broadway Film Project, Inc., donor.
  • Thirteen/WNET, donor.
Description
2 videocassettes (VHS) (91 min.) : sd., col. SP; 1/2 in.
Summary
Raw interview footage used for the documentary Broadway, the American musical. Playwright and theater and film director George C. Wolfe discusses the American theater and the cross cultural influences that shaped it. Topics include the sources of the American musical in the minstrel show and Vaudeville; popular music, and its relationship with the musical; the immigrant experience in relation to the art of Broadway; Rodgers and Hammerstein's The king and I, including its expression of colonialism; the historical significance of Pal Joey and Oklahoma!; the musical as an antidote to reality; the sources of interest and excitement in his work; seeing a revival of West side story at age 13, and early fascination with the theater and with New York City; the meaning of New York to him; the qualities of "intelligence" which make a superior work of musical theater; the "myth" of Broadway; Broadway as a small club, and the difficulty of making it as a newcomer; current corporate influence on Broadway; the prevalence of shows from England on Broadway; cultural cross connections between the immigrant Jewish community and African American art forms, including jazz, and minstrelsy; cultural cross pollination during the 1920s, and its influence on the theater; the influence of jazz on the development of an American "voice," and on the work of Broadway composers; the blues singer Ethel Waters; the historical significance of the musical Shuffle along; "cultural strip mining," in which a culture's arts are presented in a watered-down form; the difficulty in presenting "substantive" works about African Americans on Broadway, due in part to the prevalence of revues; Jelly's last jam, which he wrote and directed, about the life of jazz musican Jelly Roll Morton, including its meaning and use of tap dance to convey the story; Bring in 'da noise, bring in 'da funk, the dance musical he wrote and directed, choreographed by Savion Glover; his direction of the revival of On the town, and the songwriting of Betty Comden and Adolph Green.
Alternative Title
  • Broadway the American musical, George C. Wolfe interview
  • Broadway, the American musical
Subjects
Genre/Form
  • Documentaries and factual works.
  • Musicals.
  • Unedited footage.
Note
  • This interview is one of a group of interviews with 90 individuals used in making the documentary Broadway, the American musical. The completed production is available on NCOX 2058.
  • Credits for completed production from pbs.org: A film by Michael Kantor ; produced by Jeff Dupre, Michael Kantor and Sally Rosenthal ; written by Marc Fields, Michael Kantor, Laurence Maslon, and JoAnne Young ; directed by Michael Kantor.
  • Time code on frame.
  • Contains several takes; at occasional, brief intervals the audio continues without image.
Credits (note)
  • Cameraman: Buddy Squires.
Event (note)
  • Videotaped in New York, N.Y. on October 15, 1998.
Biography (note)
  • Broadway, the American musical, which aired on PBS in October 2004, is a documentary chronicling the entire history of a unique American art form, the Broadway musical. Each of its six episodes covers a different era in American theater history, and features the Broadway shows and songs which defined the period. The series draws on feature films, television broadcasts, archival news footage, original cast recordings, still photos, diaries, journals, first-person accounts, and on-camera interviews with many of the principals involved in the development of the genre.
Call Number
NCOX 2107
OCLC
105314020
Title
[Interview with George C. Wolfe : raw footage] [videorecording] / [directed by Michael Kantor] ; Ghost Light Films.
Imprint
New York, 1998.
Credits
Cameraman: Buddy Squires.
Performer
Interviewer: Michael Kantor. Interviewee: George C. Wolfe
Event
Videotaped in New York, N.Y. on October 15, 1998.
Biography
Broadway, the American musical, which aired on PBS in October 2004, is a documentary chronicling the entire history of a unique American art form, the Broadway musical. Each of its six episodes covers a different era in American theater history, and features the Broadway shows and songs which defined the period. The series draws on feature films, television broadcasts, archival news footage, original cast recordings, still photos, diaries, journals, first-person accounts, and on-camera interviews with many of the principals involved in the development of the genre.
Local Note
Gift of Broadway Film Project, Inc. and Thirteen/WNET, 2005.
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Added Author
Wolfe, George C, interviewee.
Kantor, Michael, 1961- interviewer.
Kantor, Michael, 1961- director.
Squires, Buddy, cameraman.
Ghost Light Films.
Broadway Film Project, Inc., donor.
Thirteen/WNET, donor.
Research Call Number
NCOX 2107
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