Broadway: The American Musical Syncopated City: 1919-1933 (Season 1, Episode 2)
TV Episode | Documentary, Music

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Broadway: The American Musical

Syncopated City: 1919-1933 (Season 1, Episode 2)

TV Episode | Documentary, Music

The radical cultural changes that occurred in the 1920's were reflected in the Broadway musical. Musically, jazz ruled the Broadway musical stage. There was also a sense of liberation in the style of the performances, in part as a reaction...See moreThe radical cultural changes that occurred in the 1920's were reflected in the Broadway musical. Musically, jazz ruled the Broadway musical stage. There was also a sense of liberation in the style of the performances, in part as a reaction to the supposed strictness of Prohibition. What ended up on stage were primarily musical comedies, still revue style, more often than not featuring stories of the newly liberated woman, often poor, who ends up with a rich husband. These stories reflected the newly mingling classes that spent time together in the speakeasies in New York, and the American fantasy of dreams coming true. Although the classes were mixing, colors still did not. However, black musicals were also featured on Broadway, such as composers Eubie Blake and Noble Sissle's 1921 show, "Shuffle Along", which did influence the big names of the time, such as Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. and Irving Berlin. Broadway musical stars of the time included singer Al Jolson, dancer Marilyn Miller and comedians The Marx Brothers. Another influential behind the scenes figure was producer/dancer George White, whose new dances, such as The Charleston, were all the rage. Young songwriting teams were emerging, such as composer George Gershwin/lyricist Ira Gershwin, composer Richard Rodgers/lyricist Lorenz Hart, and composer Ray Henderson/lyricists Buddy G. DeSylva and Lew Brown. Media of the time helped disseminate what was happening on Broadway to the American masses, most specifically through radio commentator and newspaper columnist Walter Winchell, who coined the nickname 'The Big Apple'. But the advent of talking motion pictures coinciding with the stock market crash ended what was the golden age of Broadway. Written by Huggo See less

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Cast	+ Add Cast
59 cast members

Name	Known for
Nancy Kathryn Anderson Self (voice) (as Nancy Anderson) Self (voice) (as Nancy Anderson) See fewer	Great Performances (1971)
Julie Andrews Self - Host Self - Host See fewer	The Sound of Music (1965)
Warner Baxter Julian Marsh (archive footage) Julian Marsh (archive footage) See fewer	Penthouse (1933)
Eubie Blake Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	My Girl (1991)
Ray Bolger Actor (archive footage) Actor (archive footage) See fewer	The Wizard of Oz (1939)
Fanny Brice Actress (archive footage) Actress (archive footage) See fewer	Be Yourself! (1930)
Mel Brooks Self Self See fewer	Spaceballs (1987)
Eddie Cantor Henry Williams (archive footage) Henry Williams (archive footage) See fewer	Kid Millions (1934)
Carol Channing Self Self See fewer	Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967)
Jerome Chodorov Self Self See fewer	Murder in the Big House (1942)
Bobby Clark Actor (archive footage) Actor (archive footage) See fewer	Kraft Theatre (1947)
Lou Clayton Actor (archive footage) (as Clayton) Actor (archive footage) (as Clayton) See fewer	Roadhouse Nights (1930)
André De Shields Self Self See fewer	tick, tick... BOOM! (2021)
Ann Douglas Self Self See fewer	Broadway: The American Musical (2004)
Jimmy Durante Actor (archive footage) (as Durante) Actor (archive footage) (as Durante) See fewer	It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World (1963)
Chris Ferry Self (voice) Self (voice) See fewer	Salvage (2006)
W.C. Fields Actor (archive footage) Actor (archive footage) See fewer	It's a Gift (1934)
Jonathan Freeman Self (voice) Self (voice) See fewer	Aladdin (1992)
Philip Furia Self Self See fewer	Broadway: The American Musical (2004)
George Gershwin Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Manhattan (1979)
Frances Gershwin Godowsky Self Self See fewer	Great Performances (1971)
Stephen Hanan Self (as Stephen Mo Hanan) Self (as Stephen Mo Hanan) See fewer	Malcolm X (1992)
Lorenz Hart Self (archive footage) (as Larry Hart) Self (archive footage) (as Larry Hart) See fewer	The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)
John Herrera Self (voice) Self (voice) See fewer	Person of Interest (2011)
Al Hirschfeld Self Self See fewer	Fantasia 2000 (1999)
Alberta Hunter Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Radio Parade of 1935 (1934)
Eddie Jackson Actor (archive footage) (as Jackson) Actor (archive footage) (as Jackson) See fewer	Roadhouse Nights (1930)
Margo Jefferson Self Self See fewer	New York: A Documentary Film (1999)
Al Jolson Jack Robin (archive footage) Jack Robin (archive footage) See fewer	The Jazz Singer (1927)
Ruby Keeler Peggy Sawyer (archive footage) Peggy Sawyer (archive footage) See fewer	42nd Street (1933)
Robert Kimball Self Self See fewer	Hard Times for an American Girl: The Great Depression (2009)
Charles King Eddie Kearns (archive footage) Eddie Kearns (archive footage) See fewer	The Broadway Melody (1929)
Jane Krakowski Self (voice) Self (voice) See fewer	30 Rock (2006)
Miles Kreuger Self Self See fewer	The Lady in Red (1979)
Bert Lahr Actor (archive footage) Actor (archive footage) See fewer	The Wizard of Oz (1939)
John Lahr Self Self See fewer	Prick Up Your Ears (1987)
Bessie Love Hank Mahoney (archive footage) Hank Mahoney (archive footage) See fewer	The Broadway Melody (1929)
Chico Marx Signor Emanuel Ravelli (archive footage) (as Marx Brothers) Signor Emanuel Ravelli (archive footage) (as Marx Brothers) See fewer	Duck Soup (1933)
Groucho Marx Captain Jeffrey T. Spaulding (archive footage) (as Marx Brothers) Captain Jeffrey T. Spaulding (archive footage) (as Marx Brothers) See fewer	A Night at the Opera (1935)
Harpo Marx The Professor (archive footage) (as Marx Brothers) The Professor (archive footage) (as Marx Brothers) See fewer	A Night at the Opera (1935)
Zeppo Marx Horatio Jamison (archive footage) (as Marx Brothers) Horatio Jamison (archive footage) (as Marx Brothers) See fewer	Duck Soup (1933)
John McMartin Self (voice) Self (voice) See fewer	Blow Out (1981)
Marilyn Miller Sally (archive footage) (as Marilynn Miller) Sally (archive footage) (as Marilynn Miller) See fewer	Her Majesty, Love (1931)
Steve Nelson Self Self See fewer	Broadway: The American Musical (2004)
Dana O'Connell Self Self See fewer	Broadway: The American Musical (2004)
Zelma O'Neal Angie Howard (archive footage) Angie Howard (archive footage) See fewer	Follow Thru (1930)
Anita Page Queenie Mahoney (archive footage) Queenie Mahoney (archive footage) See fewer	The Broadway Melody (1929)
Dick Powell Billy Lawler (archive footage) Billy Lawler (archive footage) See fewer	Murder, My Sweet (1944)
Bill Robinson Actor (archive footage) Actor (archive footage) See fewer	The Shape of Water (2017)
Richard Rodgers Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)
Will Rogers Actor (archive footage) Actor (archive footage) See fewer	Steamboat Round the Bend (1935)
Jonathan Schwartz Self Self See fewer	Broadway: The American Musical (2004)
Jonathan Sheffer Self Self See fewer	Sphere (1998)
Stephen Sondheim Self Self See fewer	Dick Tracy (1990)
Max Wilk Self Self See fewer	Lights Out (1946)
Walter Winchell Walter Winchell (archive footage) Walter Winchell (archive footage) See fewer	Broadway Thru a Keyhole (1933)
George C. Wolfe Self Self See fewer	Rustin (2023)
Jeffrey Wright Self (voice) Self (voice) See fewer	American Fiction (2023)
Chip Zien Self (voice) Self (voice) See fewer	Howard the Duck (1986)