As PlayhouseSquare celebrates its first 90 years, “Staging Success: The PlayhouseSquare Story” pays tribute to the people who were instrumental in saving the theaters and shows how the community worked together to create a cultural showplace in the heart of downtown Cleveland. This new documentary, a production of WVIZ/PBS, in collaboration with Think Media Studios, reveals a Cleveland rags-to-riches tale as dramatic as any on Broadway.
Peter Van DijkselfJoel HenningselfArt FalcoselfLainie Haddenself
Dennis KucinichselfMike BelkinselfPatrick SweeneyselfGeorge VoinovichselfJohn HemsathselfRay Shepardsonself
A retrospective of Chita Rivera's film, television and stage career, including interviews with Dick Van Dyke, Ben Vereen, Carol Lawrence and others. Originally aired as Episode 2 of Season 43 of the PBS series Great Performances.
A documentary on the once promising American rock bands The Brian Jonestown Massacre and The Dandy Warhols. The friendship between respective founders, Anton Newcombe and Courtney Taylor, escalated into bitter rivalry as the Dandy Warhols garnered major international success while the Brian Jonestown Massacre imploded in a haze of drugs.
From the rains of Japan, through threats of arrest for 'public indecency' in Canada, and a birthday tribute to her father in Detroit, this documentary follows Madonna on her 1990 'Blond Ambition' concert tour. Filmed in black and white, with the concert pieces in glittering MTV color, it is an intimate look at the work of the icon, from a prayer circle before each performance to bed games with the dance troupe afterwards.
The brutes and the belles. The gadflies and the good ol' boys. The taboos and the profound truths. They're all part of a tennessee state of mind -- a realm of places, personalities and ideas. Williams is front and center for this exploration, reading from his works, placing them in the context of his life, and serving as guide in visits to his career-shaping refuge in New Orleans and his later-day writing quarters in Key West. Also, dramatizations by distinguished actors -- including Jessica Tandy, Broadway's original Blanche DuBois, in a recreation of her A Streetcar Named Desire triumph -- give flesh-and-bone immediacy to some of the writer's famed works. In his own words. In his own places. The resilient character and memorable characters of one of our greatest writers reside in Tennessee Williams' South.
Adam Jacobs was the original "Aladdin" in Disney's smash Broadway musical, with a list of other hits like Les Miserables and Something Rotten, but this docu-concert – filmed as a special one-night-only performance – explores his emotional personal journey, from growing up as a Filipino American in California to landing the role of a lifetime.
An evening of celebrated stars performing the titles songs from Broadway’s best.
In this witty monologue, Quentin Crisp advises and opines about personal style (with a few digressions).
She mesmerised the crowd. The first sight would rapidly disappear and anyone who would get closer would also be surprised. It is not known if she did it for "beauty or precision", as Guimarães Rosa used to say. But the truth is that stereotypes would be destroyed as soon as she would fetch her followers. And revelations would unfold. Behind her suavely acute and toned voice, there was a deep tone that only few could reach. Behind her humble upbringing, there was an uncommon sensibility and intelligence. Her disguise was her irrepressible technique. Elis was pure emotion. And singing was not her final objective, she really wanted to make people happy. This film honours Elis and creates a singular portrait of Brazil's biggest star.
Music DVD with rare live and TV performances from the period 1963-1975.
A documentary film about the Afro-American Woodstock concert held in Los Angeles seven years after the Watts riots. Director Mel Stuart mixes footage from the concert with footage of the living conditions in the current-day Watts neighborhood.
A documentary film that highlights two street derived dance styles, Clowning and Krumping, that came out of the low income neighborhoods of L.A.. Director David LaChapelle interviews each dance crew about how their unique dances evolved. A new and positive activity away from the drugs, guns, and gangs that ruled their neighborhood. A raw film about a growing sub-culture movements in America.
Marisa Monte's debut album concert. The show was recorded live at the Villa-Lobos Theater and featured special appearances by Ed Motta, Paulo Moura, and Nouvelle Cusine.
The Big One is an investigative documentary from director Michael Moore who goes around the country asking why big American corporations produce their product abroad where labor is cheaper while so many Americans are unemployed, losing their jobs, and would happily be hired by such companies as Nike.
Neil Diamond performing his greatest hits at the Aquarius Theatre in Los Angeles, California.
Atmospheric soundtrack follows this compilation of nature footage that focuses on the ocean and various life forms that live, mate and die in it.
When Marvin Hamlisch passed away in August 2012 the worlds of music, theatre and cinema lost a talent the likes of which we may never see again. Seemingly destined for greatness, Hamlisch was accepted into New York’s Juilliard School as a 6-year-old musical prodigy and rapidly developed into a phenomenon. With instantly classic hits ‘The Way We Were’ and ‘Nobody Does It Better’ and scores for Hollywood films such as The Swimmer, The Sting and Sophie’s Choice and the Broadway juggernaut A Chorus Line; Hamlisch became the go-to composer for film and Broadway producers and a prominent presence on the international Concert Hall circuit. His streak was staggering, vast, unprecedented and glorious, by the age of 31 Hamlisch had won 4 Grammys, an Emmy, 3 Oscars, a Tony and a Pulitzer prize: success that burned so bright, it proved impossible to match.