Kevin K.
Location: MN
“The Broadway Melody of 2011”
Directed by
: James Bobin
Choreography by:
Graciela Daniele
Written by:
Etan Cohen and Nicholas Stoller
Executive Producer:
John Wells
Produced By:
Scott Rudin
Director of Photography:
Seamus McGarvey
Editor
: Virginia Katz
Production Desinger:
Wynn Thomas
Art Direction:
Tom Warren
Set Decoration:
Ted Glass
Costume Designer:
Patricia Field
Cast:
Aaron Tveit: Will Barneson
Roger Bart: Tim Simmons
Tammy Blanchard: Brittany Sachs
Alan Cumming: Charlie Banning
Laura Osnes: Linda Bart
John Logan: himself
Matt Stone: himself
Trey Parker: himself
Song List:
The Broadway Melody: Will (opening credits)
There’s Nothing Like a Show on Broadway: Tim & Charlie
There’s No Business Like Show Business: Brittany
I’ve Got a Feeling You’re Fooling: Tim
Should I?: Will
You Were Meant for Me: Tim & Charlie
Anything Goes
montage: Will, Linda & Anything Goes cast
The Broadway Melody/Broadway Rhythm: Company
Tagline:
Gotta Dance!
Synopsis:
The show starts with Will Barneson (Aaron Tveit) exiting JFK airport in New York City. A big-name showbiz reporter out of Los Angeles, Will has come to New York City to write an article about the death of Broadway. Actually, he just came to write a story about the current state of Broadway, but he seems dedicated from the start to write about how he’s convinced commercialization has killed the true Broadway inspiration, leaving the once-great scene with nothing but adaptations, revivals, and campy parodies. This much annoys his assistant Tim Simmons (Roger Bart), who grew up in New York City and has loved going to shows all of his life. It doesn’t help that Will doesn’t seem to like musicals in the first place (“I much preferred Gene Kelly in Inherit the Wind”), but that doesn’t stop Tim from vowing to show Will how great Broadway can be.
Arriving at their hotel, Tim immediately decides to ask the concierge Charlie (Alan Cumming) what shows are playing in the nearby theatres. When Will shows resistance to the idea of going to a show, Tim and Charlie do their best to try and convince him(There’s Nothing Like a Show on Broadway). Despite their enthusiasm, Will still blows them off, saying he wants to get a head start on writing his article (“You don’t have to watch a show to know that it’s going to be terrible”) and noticing their common passion for the theatre, Tim and Charlie decide to go to a show themselves.
The next day, Will goes on interviews with Broadway moguls (including cameos from playwright/screenwriter John Logan and a hilarious appearance by Matt Stone and Trey Parker that they wrote themselves), ending with the flamboyant Brittany Sachs, who was known as a master of big-spectacle, ambitious shows before her latest production, Voltron: Five Warriors United has been hit by disaster after disaster, with crumbling sets, mediocre music, and injuries among the cast. Despite these setbacks, Sachs remains utterly convinced her show can be a success that everybody will love, and it seems she likes simply likes the feeling of being in charge of a large-scale production (There’s No Business Like Show Business).
Returning to the hotel following these interviews, Will’s surprised to see that Tim and Charlie still want him to go to a show before he goes back to L.A. When he tells them what he heard in his interviews completely confirmed his suspicions, they still seem less than convinced (“Of course you’ll think that after talking to Brittany Sachs!”). Tim starts to think that Will’s writing is insincere and that he’s insisting on a negative tone because it attracts more attention (I’ve Got a Feeling You’re Foolin’), They say they have tickets to a revival of Anything Goes and that they want to take him. Will goes back to his hotel room to debate with himself whether to go, with the mere mention of the title seeming to have shaken him (Should I?). Meanwhile, Tim and Charlie remain in the lobby talking, and eventually realize that through their shared passion for Broadway they’re falling in love with each other (You Were Meant for Me). Finally coming back, Will agrees to go to the show.
At the theatre, Will seems subtly agitated as the lights go down, but when the show actually beings, he gets unusually drawn in, and we see through a flashback why: in college, he was in love with the girl who played Hope in a production of Anything Goes. She broke his heart, and he hasn’t gone to a show ever since. Fading back to the present, though, something seems to have changed with Will: seeing the actors do their thing, watching them sing, dance, and have fun on stage has caught Will’s attention and he seems to be really enjoying himself… practically singing along with the show. Tim notices this, and once they leave the theatre he asks Will how he feels. Will has a simple response…. “Gotta dance!” which leads to a final, massive song-and-dance number through the streets of New York (Broadway Rhythm/The Broadway Melody) followed by a voiceover of Will’s article stating that as long as there are some artists on Broadway dedicated to making a good show, the magic will NEVER be gone.
Awards Campaign:
An unabashedly nostalgic tone combines with a modern edge in this new movie musical from MGM! Despite the title, this new movie doesn’t follow the template of the old MGM musicals, which were often melodramatic and cheesy, instead embracing a style more in the vein of Singin’ In the Rain(from which it shares many of the same songs, though in different contexts). While ostensibly a story about Broadway, The Broadway Melody of 2011 earns its modern setting via an obvious parallel with the film industry: Will Barneson attitude that the showbiz industry must be dead due to commercialization and the recycling of materials is a biting satire of modern film journalism and blogs, whose artificially negative stories seems deliberately designed to generate attention rather than to accurately reflect the film industry.
With such an insincere attitude, it could be incredibly easy to see Will as an unlikable character, but Aaron Tveit’s performance is great at making him a real, layered character. Simply the fact that they cast a Broadway actor in the role (He originated the lead in the Broadway musical Catch Me If YouCan) helps underline the satire: Will seems to be consciously trying to stop himself from joining in during the musical numbers, and when he finally breaks out into song and dance at the end, there’s a feeling like a massive weight been lifted off his shoulders. The sweet side romance between Will’s assistant Tim and Charlie the concierge is also refreshing: yeah, it’s two men falling in love, but so what? It happens all of the time. If you’ll forgive the obvious pun, it’s incredibly rare to see a gay romance played straight without camp or tragedy attached to it in a mainstream film, and Roger Bart and Alan Cumming’s scenes together provide a refreshing break from the showbiz satire scenes involving Will.
Of course, The Broadway Melody of 2011 is smart enough to know that the commercialization of Broadway (and Hollywood) has resulted in some wastes, and the screenplay adds some great satire there as well: Tammy Blanchard comes close to stealing the show as Britany Sachs, whose role seems at first to be a parody of Julie Taymor, but also comes off across as a sort of Michael Bay of the Great White Way. She’s become so intoxicated by the scale of her successful shows that she always needs to make something bigger and more extravagant because “that’s what the people want!” The glimpses we see of her Voltron musical are completely over-the-top and all the more hilarious as the result.
Of course, the success of any musical live or dies on the song and dance sequences, and director James Bobin (The Muppets) , working with veteran choreographer Graciela Daniele (Everyone Says I Love You) comes up with sequences that are fun, filled with energy, and (in another throwback to the classic MGM musicals) shot mostly in only one or two takes. The production design creates sets for hotel rooms, New York streets, and offices that look authentic while still being utilitarian for the dance sequences. In the final scene, where what seems to be the entire cast is dancing in the streets of New York City, you want to rub your eyes so you can be sure they weren’t on location.
Yes, the movie’s screenplay is a little cheesy, but that’s part of the charm. It follows the rules of the classical movie musical, where any problems can be solved through a little song and dance, and the movie itself could easily be prescribed as a cure to depression. It will be difficult to find a more charming and purely fun movie this year than The Broadway Melody of 2011.
FYC:
Best Picture
Best Director
Best Actor - Aaron Tveit
Best Supporting Actor - Roger Bart
Best Supporting Actress - Tammy Blanchard
Best Original Screenplay
Best Crew
Location: MN
“The Broadway Melody of 2011”
Directed by
: James Bobin
Choreography by:
Graciela Daniele
Written by:
Etan Cohen and Nicholas Stoller
Executive Producer:
John Wells
Produced By:
Scott Rudin
Director of Photography:
Seamus McGarvey
Editor
: Virginia Katz
Production Desinger:
Wynn Thomas
Art Direction:
Tom Warren
Set Decoration:
Ted Glass
Costume Designer:
Patricia Field
Cast:
Aaron Tveit: Will Barneson
Roger Bart: Tim Simmons
Tammy Blanchard: Brittany Sachs
Alan Cumming: Charlie Banning
Laura Osnes: Linda Bart
John Logan: himself
Matt Stone: himself
Trey Parker: himself
Song List:
The Broadway Melody: Will (opening credits)
There’s Nothing Like a Show on Broadway: Tim & Charlie
There’s No Business Like Show Business: Brittany
I’ve Got a Feeling You’re Fooling: Tim
Should I?: Will
You Were Meant for Me: Tim & Charlie
Anything Goes
montage: Will, Linda & Anything Goes cast
The Broadway Melody/Broadway Rhythm: Company
Tagline:
Gotta Dance!
Synopsis:
The show starts with Will Barneson (Aaron Tveit) exiting JFK airport in New York City. A big-name showbiz reporter out of Los Angeles, Will has come to New York City to write an article about the death of Broadway. Actually, he just came to write a story about the current state of Broadway, but he seems dedicated from the start to write about how he’s convinced commercialization has killed the true Broadway inspiration, leaving the once-great scene with nothing but adaptations, revivals, and campy parodies. This much annoys his assistant Tim Simmons (Roger Bart), who grew up in New York City and has loved going to shows all of his life. It doesn’t help that Will doesn’t seem to like musicals in the first place (“I much preferred Gene Kelly in Inherit the Wind”), but that doesn’t stop Tim from vowing to show Will how great Broadway can be.
Arriving at their hotel, Tim immediately decides to ask the concierge Charlie (Alan Cumming) what shows are playing in the nearby theatres. When Will shows resistance to the idea of going to a show, Tim and Charlie do their best to try and convince him(There’s Nothing Like a Show on Broadway). Despite their enthusiasm, Will still blows them off, saying he wants to get a head start on writing his article (“You don’t have to watch a show to know that it’s going to be terrible”) and noticing their common passion for the theatre, Tim and Charlie decide to go to a show themselves.
The next day, Will goes on interviews with Broadway moguls (including cameos from playwright/screenwriter John Logan and a hilarious appearance by Matt Stone and Trey Parker that they wrote themselves), ending with the flamboyant Brittany Sachs, who was known as a master of big-spectacle, ambitious shows before her latest production, Voltron: Five Warriors United has been hit by disaster after disaster, with crumbling sets, mediocre music, and injuries among the cast. Despite these setbacks, Sachs remains utterly convinced her show can be a success that everybody will love, and it seems she likes simply likes the feeling of being in charge of a large-scale production (There’s No Business Like Show Business).
Returning to the hotel following these interviews, Will’s surprised to see that Tim and Charlie still want him to go to a show before he goes back to L.A. When he tells them what he heard in his interviews completely confirmed his suspicions, they still seem less than convinced (“Of course you’ll think that after talking to Brittany Sachs!”). Tim starts to think that Will’s writing is insincere and that he’s insisting on a negative tone because it attracts more attention (I’ve Got a Feeling You’re Foolin’), They say they have tickets to a revival of Anything Goes and that they want to take him. Will goes back to his hotel room to debate with himself whether to go, with the mere mention of the title seeming to have shaken him (Should I?). Meanwhile, Tim and Charlie remain in the lobby talking, and eventually realize that through their shared passion for Broadway they’re falling in love with each other (You Were Meant for Me). Finally coming back, Will agrees to go to the show.
At the theatre, Will seems subtly agitated as the lights go down, but when the show actually beings, he gets unusually drawn in, and we see through a flashback why: in college, he was in love with the girl who played Hope in a production of Anything Goes. She broke his heart, and he hasn’t gone to a show ever since. Fading back to the present, though, something seems to have changed with Will: seeing the actors do their thing, watching them sing, dance, and have fun on stage has caught Will’s attention and he seems to be really enjoying himself… practically singing along with the show. Tim notices this, and once they leave the theatre he asks Will how he feels. Will has a simple response…. “Gotta dance!” which leads to a final, massive song-and-dance number through the streets of New York (Broadway Rhythm/The Broadway Melody) followed by a voiceover of Will’s article stating that as long as there are some artists on Broadway dedicated to making a good show, the magic will NEVER be gone.
Awards Campaign:
An unabashedly nostalgic tone combines with a modern edge in this new movie musical from MGM! Despite the title, this new movie doesn’t follow the template of the old MGM musicals, which were often melodramatic and cheesy, instead embracing a style more in the vein of Singin’ In the Rain(from which it shares many of the same songs, though in different contexts). While ostensibly a story about Broadway, The Broadway Melody of 2011 earns its modern setting via an obvious parallel with the film industry: Will Barneson attitude that the showbiz industry must be dead due to commercialization and the recycling of materials is a biting satire of modern film journalism and blogs, whose artificially negative stories seems deliberately designed to generate attention rather than to accurately reflect the film industry.
With such an insincere attitude, it could be incredibly easy to see Will as an unlikable character, but Aaron Tveit’s performance is great at making him a real, layered character. Simply the fact that they cast a Broadway actor in the role (He originated the lead in the Broadway musical Catch Me If YouCan) helps underline the satire: Will seems to be consciously trying to stop himself from joining in during the musical numbers, and when he finally breaks out into song and dance at the end, there’s a feeling like a massive weight been lifted off his shoulders. The sweet side romance between Will’s assistant Tim and Charlie the concierge is also refreshing: yeah, it’s two men falling in love, but so what? It happens all of the time. If you’ll forgive the obvious pun, it’s incredibly rare to see a gay romance played straight without camp or tragedy attached to it in a mainstream film, and Roger Bart and Alan Cumming’s scenes together provide a refreshing break from the showbiz satire scenes involving Will.
Of course, The Broadway Melody of 2011 is smart enough to know that the commercialization of Broadway (and Hollywood) has resulted in some wastes, and the screenplay adds some great satire there as well: Tammy Blanchard comes close to stealing the show as Britany Sachs, whose role seems at first to be a parody of Julie Taymor, but also comes off across as a sort of Michael Bay of the Great White Way. She’s become so intoxicated by the scale of her successful shows that she always needs to make something bigger and more extravagant because “that’s what the people want!” The glimpses we see of her Voltron musical are completely over-the-top and all the more hilarious as the result.
Of course, the success of any musical live or dies on the song and dance sequences, and director James Bobin (The Muppets) , working with veteran choreographer Graciela Daniele (Everyone Says I Love You) comes up with sequences that are fun, filled with energy, and (in another throwback to the classic MGM musicals) shot mostly in only one or two takes. The production design creates sets for hotel rooms, New York streets, and offices that look authentic while still being utilitarian for the dance sequences. In the final scene, where what seems to be the entire cast is dancing in the streets of New York City, you want to rub your eyes so you can be sure they weren’t on location.
Yes, the movie’s screenplay is a little cheesy, but that’s part of the charm. It follows the rules of the classical movie musical, where any problems can be solved through a little song and dance, and the movie itself could easily be prescribed as a cure to depression. It will be difficult to find a more charming and purely fun movie this year than The Broadway Melody of 2011.
FYC:
Best Picture
Best Director
Best Actor - Aaron Tveit
Best Supporting Actor - Roger Bart
Best Supporting Actress - Tammy Blanchard
Best Original Screenplay
Best Crew