Broadway: The Golden Age

Released Jun 11, 2004

1 hr. 49 min.

Documentary

List

83%

46 Reviews

Tomatometer

92%

250+ Ratings

Audience Score

Filmmaker Rick McKay directs this oral history about the golden age of live theater in New York City during the 1940s and '50s. The film includes interviews with the actors, singers, dancers, authors, directors and producers of some of Broadway's greatest shows, as well as reminiscences from younger actors inspired by the greats of this era. Over 100 interviews are included, from stars such as Bea Arthur, Angela Lansbury, Charles Nelson Reilly and Elaine Stritch.

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Critics Consensus

Broadway: The Golden Age is a breezy, affectionate tribute to a sparkling array of the era's best and brightest.

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Audience Member

I enjoyed every moment of this film. I only wish it were longer. Full of laughs and historical footage. This film was an endeavor of love and it shows throughout the film! Bravo Rick!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/18/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Very interesting documentary about what Broadway used to be. I really enjoyed the interviews and rare old footage. However, to some degree, it felt like an elegy to a day that we will never see again. Things change. Thats life. it doesn't mean things are worse these days, only different.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

01/23/23

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Audience Member

As a high school student studying theatre and film directing, this movie was surely an educative experience.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/13/23

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Audience Member

This magical doc from director Rick McKay is some kind of miracle. McKay grew up in Indiana in the 1960's, far from the glitz of Broadway. By the time McKay got his break as a singer, writer and producer and was able to witness live theatre in New York City, most of the icons of the stage had moved on. So he set out find them. What results is the movie you have before you. McKay logged more than 250 hours of interviews with numerous legends of the stage, and added rich archival footage, including John Raitt in Carousel and Marlon Brando's legendary performance in A Streetcar Named Desire. It's two magical hours of pure brilliance. Towards the end, the legend herself Elaine Stritch scolds McKay and remarks 'For Christ's sake, Rick, don't you have enough?'. No, but what he does have is sooo worth viewing.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/20/23

Full Review

Audience Member

If you're a fan of Broadway musicals, you have to see this documentary. Rick McKay may not be the best documentary filmmaker ever, but he certainly struck gold when he found a bunch of Broadway legends from the 40s 50s and 60s to talk about the Golden Age of Broadway. This documentary goes over just about everything from how auditions worked to where the hangouts were, you feel like you get a complete history of Broadway in its heyday. This is a documentary meant for the time capsule.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/28/23

Full Review

Audience Member

More a collection of interviews than a cohesive film, but when the subjects are these, who gives a shit? It made me yearn to be a New Yorker in the 1950s - what a life that must have been.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

01/14/23

Full Review

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Rick McKay

Director

Edie Adams

Self

Bea Arthur

Self

Elizabeth Ashley

Self

Alec Baldwin

Self

John Barrowman

Self

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Rachel Proctor May

Austin Chronicle

Rated: 3.5/5

Nov 13, 2004

Full Review

Jeff Strickler

Minneapolis Star Tribune

For theater lovers -- on both sides of the footlights.

Rated: 3.5/4

Oct 28, 2004

Full Review

Tom Long

Detroit News

Old-timers, showbiz buffs and big-stage wanna-bes will not be disappointed.

Rated: B-

Oct 1, 2004

Full Review

Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

Rated: B

Jan 10, 2013

Full Review

Shawn Levy

Oregonian

It's the sort of history you could nibble on for hours.

Rated: B+

Nov 5, 2004

Full Review

Chris Hewitt

St. Paul Pioneer Press

Whether it's Julie Harris weeping as she recalls an Ethel Waters performance she saw 60 years ago or Marian Seldes lamenting the cruelty of show biz or Ann Miller blithely carving a decade off her age, there's no arguing that these years were golden.

Rated: 3/4

Oct 28, 2004

Full Review

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Synopsis

Filmmaker Rick McKay directs this oral history about the golden age of live theater in New York City during the 1940s and '50s. The film includes interviews with the actors, singers, dancers, authors, directors and producers of some of Broadway's greatest shows, as well as reminiscences from younger actors inspired by the greats of this era. Over 100 interviews are included, from stars such as Bea Arthur, Angela Lansbury, Charles Nelson Reilly and Elaine Stritch.

Director: Rick McKay
Screenwriter: Rick McKay
Distributor: Dada Films
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jun 11, 2004, Limited
Release Date (DVD): Nov 9, 2004
Sound Mix: Dolby SR