Broadway: The American Musical Putting It Together: 1980-Present (Season 1, Episode 6)
TV Episode | Documentary, Music

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Broadway: The American Musical

Putting It Together: 1980-Present (Season 1, Episode 6)

TV Episode | Documentary, Music

It is fitting that "The Producers", an homage to the making of Broadway musicals, is one the biggest hits to end this era of Broadway musicals as the producer once again comes to the forefront. Three producers dominate the era. Nicknamed ...See moreIt is fitting that "The Producers", an homage to the making of Broadway musicals, is one the biggest hits to end this era of Broadway musicals as the producer once again comes to the forefront. Three producers dominate the era. Nicknamed the Abominable Showman, David Merrick, who was at the tail end of his career, was known as the type of producer who would do anything needed to get what publicity he wanted for his shows. Cameron Mackintosh, the producer of four of the top six most successful musicals ever in "Cats", "The Phantom of the Opera", "Les Misérables" and "Miss Saigon", revolutionized the idea of bringing overseas productions to Broadway, which in turn brought them to the rest of the world via touring companies. And Michael Eisner brought the popular entertainment of the Disney Corporation's animated musical movies to the stage, which introduced the notion of corporate investment in Broadway itself. Other notable musicals of the era include "Sunday in the Park with George", the first collaboration between composer Stephen Sondheim and director James Lapine and whose development mirrors the story of the making of art; "La Cage aux folles", based on the movie La Cage aux Folles, the stage production which is old fashioned in score but revolutionary in story as the first successful show featuring a gay romance at its core; and the Pulitzer Prize winning "Rent", the death of its creator, Jonathan Larson, on the day before the first preview echoing what was being presented on stage. Two events shape the era. The first is the AIDS crisis, which took the lives of many of those associated with Broadway. The second is 9/11, which had the initial effect of making Broadway a ghost town, but whose longer term effect has been the resurgence of the musical comedy and using recognizable titles for new productions, such as "Hairspray" and "Wicked", the latter which has the known connection for the public to The Wizard of Oz. Written by Huggo See less

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Cast	Add Cast
74 cast members

Name	Known for
Cindy Adams Self Self See fewer	Singing in the Dark (1956)
Alan Alda Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	MAS*H (1972)
Julie Andrews Self - Host Self - Host See fewer	The Sound of Music (1965)
Anne Bancroft Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	The Graduate (1967)
Gene Barry Georges (in 'La Cage aux folles') (archive footage) Georges (in 'La Cage aux folles') (archive footage) See fewer	The War of the Worlds (1953)
Matthew Broderick Leo Bloom (in 'The Producers') (archive footage) Leo Bloom (in 'The Producers') (archive footage) See fewer	The Producers (2005)
Mel Brooks Self Self See fewer	Spaceballs (1987)
Betty Buckley Grizabella (archive footage) Grizabella (archive footage) See fewer	Split (IX) (2016)
Carol Burnett Self Self See fewer	The Carol Burnett Show (1967)
Kristin Chenoweth Self / Glinda Self / Glinda See fewer	Pushing Daisies (2007)
Glenn Close Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Fatal Attraction (1987)
Didi Conn Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Grease (1978)
Fred Ebb Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Chicago (2002)
Michael Eisner Self Self See fewer	Glenn Martin DDS (2009)
Harvey Fierstein Self Self See fewer	Mrs. Doubtfire (1993)
Peter Gallagher Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	American Beauty (1999)
Brendan Gill Self Self See fewer	Playdate (1961)
Rudy Giuliani Self (archive footage) (as Mayor Rudolph Giuliani) Self (archive footage) (as Mayor Rudolph Giuliani) See fewer	Anger Management (2003)
Michael Greif Self (as Michael Grief) Self (as Michael Grief) See fewer	Dear Evan Hansen (2021)
Joel Grey Self Self See fewer	Cabaret (1972)
Mark Hamill Self Self See fewer	Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977)
Stephen Hanan Self (as Stephen Mo Hanan) Self (as Stephen Mo Hanan) See fewer	Malcolm X (1992)
Valerie Harper Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970)
George Hearn Albin (in 'La Cage aux folles') (archive footage) Albin (in 'La Cage aux folles') (archive footage) See fewer	Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (1982)
Jerry Herman Self Self See fewer	Mystery Men (1999)
Al Hirschfeld Self Self See fewer	Fantasia 2000 (1999)
Elton John Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017)
Kristin Johnston Self Self See fewer	Naked Frailties (1998)
John Kander Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Chicago (2002)
Danny Kaye Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	The Danny Kaye Show (1963)
Larry Kert Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	New York, New York (1977)
John Lahr Self Self See fewer	Prick Up Your Ears (1987)
Rocco Landesman Self Self See fewer	Big River
Nathan Lane Self / Max Bialystock (in 'The Producers') Self / Max Bialystock (in 'The Producers') See fewer	The Producers (2005)
James Lapine Self Self See fewer	Into the Woods (2014)
Jonathan Larson Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	tick, tick... BOOM! (2021)
Arthur Laurents Self Self See fewer	Rope (1948)
Michele Lee Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Knots Landing (1979)
Andrew Lloyd Webber Self Self See fewer	The Phantom of the Opera (2004)
Lebo M. Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Congo (1995)
Cameron Mackintosh Self Self See fewer	Les Misérables (2012)
Richard Maltby Jr. Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Miss Potter (2006)
Joe Mantello Self Self See fewer	The Normal Heart (2014)
Jesse L. Martin Self Self See fewer	Rent (2005)
Idina Menzel Self / Elphaba Self / Elphaba See fewer	Frozen (I) (2013)
James Nederlander Sr. Self (as James L. Nederlander) Self (as James L. Nederlander) See fewer	The Will Rogers Follies (1991)
Bebe Neuwirth Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Cheers (1982)
James C. Nicola Self Self See fewer	tick, tick... BOOM! (2021)
Cynthia Nixon Self Self See fewer	Sex and the City 2 (2010)
Trevor Nunn Self Self See fewer	Twelfth Night (1996)
Walter O'Neil Self Self See fewer	Baja Run (1996)
Jerry Orbach Self / Julian Marsh (in '42nd Street') Self / Julian Marsh (in '42nd Street') See fewer	Law & Order (1990)
Sarah Jessica Parker Self Self See fewer	Sex and the City (1998)
Adam Pascal Roger Davis (in 'Rent') (archive footage) Roger Davis (in 'Rent') (archive footage) See fewer	Rent (2005)
Mandy Patinkin Georges Seurat / George (in 'Sunday in the Park with George') (archive footage) Georges Seurat / George (in 'Sunday in the Park with George') (archive footage) See fewer	Homeland (2011)
Bernadette Peters Self / Dot / Marie (archive footage) Self / Dot / Marie (archive footage) See fewer	The Jerk (1979)
Marc Platt Self Self See fewer	La La Land (2016)
Harold Prince Self (as Hal Prince) Self (as Hal Prince) See fewer	West Side Story (1961)
Tim Rice Self Self See fewer	Aladdin (1992)
Frank Rich Self Self See fewer	Succession (2018)
Wanda Richert Peggy Sawyer (in '42nd Street') (archive footage) Peggy Sawyer (in '42nd Street') (archive footage) See fewer	Law & Order (1990)
Paul Rudd Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Ant-Man (2015)
Lea Salonga Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Mulan (1998)
Stephen Schwartz Self Self See fewer	The Prince of Egypt (1998)
Carole Shelley Self Self See fewer	Hercules (1997)
Brooke Shields Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	The Blue Lagoon (1980)
David Shire Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Zodiac (2007)
Stephen Sondheim Self Self See fewer	Dick Tracy (1990)
David Stone Self Self See fewer	Wicked: Part I (2024)
Susan Stroman Self Self See fewer	The Producers (2005)
Julie Taymor Self Self See fewer	Frida (2002)
Tommy Tune Self Self See fewer	Hello, Dolly! (1969)
Marissa Jaret Winokur Tracy Turnblad (in 'Hairspray') (archive footage) Tracy Turnblad (in 'Hairspray') (archive footage) See fewer	Bupkis (2023)
Kristoffer Cusick Self (uncredited) Self (uncredited) See fewer	Test (I) (2013)