Broadway: Beyond The Golden Age to Premiere at Palm Springs International Film Festival
Director Rick McKay’s Broadway: Beyond the Golden Age, a sequel to his 2004 film Broadway: The Golden Age, will make its world premiere at the 27th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival, which runs January 1-11.
The new film, the second installment in McKay’s Broadway trilogy, will once again feature never-before-seen footage and interviews with over 100 legendary stars. Together with his legendary cast, McKay tells the story of the heyday of Broadway from 1959 to 1983, utilizing interviews commingled with performance footage, home movies, and photos.
In Broadway: Beyond the Golden Age, McKay profiles the rise of the director/choreographer on Broadway with Gower Champion, Michael Bennett, Bob Fosse and more; tells the story of the creation of Bye, Bye Birdie, Fiorello, Pippin, A Chorus Line, 42nd Street, and Chicago; and recounts the opening night of Barefoot in the Park.
The film also features Glenn Close, Alec Baldwin, Jeff Daniels, John Lithgow, and Peter Weller reliving the struggles of starting a career on Broadway in the 70’s when Times Square and New York City were at one of its lowest points.
McKay pays special attention to minorities on Broadway, including the story of Jane White, whose father was the head of the NAACP in the 50’s when Jane went "white face" to play the queen in 1959’s Once Upon a Mattress. Original cast members Ken Page, Andre de Shields, Armelia McQueen, and Charlaine Woodard also tell the story of the birth of Ain't Misbehavin'. And Raisin in the Sun's historic journey to Broadway with its groundbreaking creative team, is recounted by interviews with original cast members Lou Gossett, Jr. and Glynn Turman, as well as the final interviews of producer Philip Rose and director Lloyd Richards.
The film is produced by McKay with his team of Jamie deRoy, Ann L. Bernstein, Richard Weigle, Jane Klain, Fran Bator, Michael Anastasio, Jack Coco, and Celia Castevens. Rick McKay will be at the festival to introduce the film's three screenings and to do Q&A’s with some of the film’s cast members after each screening on January 7, 8, and 10.
