Research Catalog

Title

[Interview with Al Hirschfeld : raw footage] [1996-12-18] [videorecording] / [directed by Michael Kantor]

Publication

New York, 1996.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Additional Authors

• Hirschfeld, Al
• Kantor, Michael, 1961-
• Hunt, Mead
• Broadway Film Project, Inc, donor.
• Thirteen/WNET, donor.

Description

2 videocassettes (VHS) (95 min.) : sd., col. SP; 1/2 in.

Summary

Hirschfeld goes on to discuss the difficulty of mounting a play on Broadway; the challenges faced by today's playwrights; Zero Mostel's interpretation of his role as John in the play Rhinoceros, and his conflict with playwright Eugene Ionesco; how he creates his theater drawings, and what he views as his mission as an artist of the theater; his incorporation of the name of his daughter, Nina, into his drawings; attending the theater before there was air conditioning. Interview is interrupted ca. 16 min. with silent depiction of Hirschfeld lettering the word "Broadway." Interview resumes ca. 20 min. with discussion on New York Times drama editor and playwright George S. Kaufman and its critic Brooks Atkinson. Hirschfeld discusses how reviews were written and submitted during Atkinson's day, and how important reviews were to Broadway's business. Remaining topics of discussion include the changes in theatergoers' dress since the 1920s; more on George S. Kaufman, who was often called in to help re-work plays which were "in trouble"; the opening night of My fair lady; composer Jerome Kern and his influence on the Broadway musical; more on Mostel, who entertained his friends with his clever imitations; his views on producers David Merrick and George Abbott, and Broadway star Ethel Merman; more on Billy Rose, whose lively auditions at the Hippodrome Hirschfeld attended; the now, largely defunct, system of out-of-town tryouts for new shows; the importance of critics and of word-of-mouth discussion to a show's future success; the demise of the Broadway star system, in which well known stars were regularly cast in new works. Interview ends ca. 43 min. and continues for several minutes more with audio-only discussion on the popularity of the hidden "Nina" in his drawings, and the Pentagon's use of his drawings in their training of young bomber pilots.

Alternative Title

• Broadway, the American musical
• Broadway: the American musical : Al Hirschfeld interview

Subject

• Hirschfeld, Al > Interviews
• Theater > New York (State) > New York
• Musical theater > New York (State) > New York
• Musical theater > Production and direction
• Cartoonists > United States > Interviews
• Artists and theater
• Theater audiences
• Theater critics
• Press agents
• Producers and directors
• Broadway (New York, N.Y.)

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.
• The second interview conducted with Al Hirschfeld for this documentary is available on NCOX 2128.
• 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 various takes, at occasional brief intervals, audio continues without sound.

Credits (note)

• Cameraman: Mead Hunt.

Performer (note)

• Interviewer: Michael Kantor. Interviewee: Al Hirschfeld.

Event (note)

• Videotaped at Al Hirschfeld's residence in New York, N.Y. on Dec. 18, 1996.

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 2149

OCLC

140265652

Title

[Interview with Al Hirschfeld : raw footage] [1996-12-18] [videorecording] / [directed by Michael Kantor]

Imprint

New York, 1996.

Credits

Cameraman: Mead Hunt.

Performer

Interviewer: Michael Kantor. Interviewee: Al Hirschfeld.

Event

Videotaped at Al Hirschfeld's residence in New York, N.Y. on Dec. 18, 1996.

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

Hirschfeld, Al, interviewee.

Kantor, Michael, 1961- interviewer.

Kantor, Michael, 1961- director.

Hunt, Mead, cameraman.

Broadway Film Project, Inc, donor.

Thirteen/WNET, donor.

Research Call Number

NCOX 2149