Since The Musical Theater Project’s mission is to educate as well a entertain, we thought we’d share our favorite Broadway-themed documentaries to catch up on while you’re spending time at home. Most of these are available for streaming, some even for free. Check out the trailers for all of them right here and add these to your Watch List!
Nancy Maier recommends Best Worst Thing That Ever Could Have Happened about the short-lived Merrily We Roll Along. “It truly captures the high hopes of Merrily‘s original young company and their ultimate disappointment when the show failed. Heartbreaking and exhilarating at the same time – and transformative for them all.”
Available on: Netflix and iTunes.
Bill Rudman recommends Pennebaker’s Original Cast Album: Company. “It MUST be seen by anyone who has collected cast albums over the years because it captures all the disciplined but frantic art and craft of taking one medium (stage) and making it work for another (recording). Pennebaker makes you feel you’re there and every MINUTE of this it is riveting.”
Available on: DVD on Amazon
Bridie Carroll Srsen recommends Every Little Step about casting the revival of A Chorus Line. “This was fascinating to me when it came out because I knew people involved in the production and this was what what I did for a living. To see it all out there, raw and real of how it actually happens is intense!”
Available on: Amazon Prime and YouTube
Heidi Lang recommends Annie: Life After Tomorrow. “Growing up in the late 70’s and early 80’s, I this was one of my all-time favorite musicals. I had big dreams of playing an orphan or even the lead role of Annie. It’s very eye opening to see that the lives of those ‘stars’ that I idolized were not as glamorous as I imagined.
Available on: Amazon Prime and YouTube
Heather Meeker recommends Merely Marvelous: The Dancing Genius of Gwen Verdon. “The rare clips of her dancing are stunning, but what the film really shows off is her unparalleled work ethic. You can see in the interview footage with current dancers what she meant to them and how she really changed the shape of Broadway.”
Available on: Amazon Prime
Joanna Cullinan recommends Show Business: The Road to Broadway. “The film follows four shows from one Broadway season: Wicked, Avenue Q, Caroline or Change, and Taboo. What’s cool is you get to look at the shows from all different aspects of the business from the early writing stages to production and even how critics and the media play a role in a show’s success. It’s a real insiders look.”
Available on: Amazon Prime