This program features two short documentary works showcasing the work and creative processes of a few of the most renowned songwriting talents in Broadway history.

MONDAY, JUNE 2 – 7:30 PM
SUNDAY, JUNE 8 – 7:30 PM
FRIDAY, JUNE 20 – 5 PM
THURSDAY, JUNE 26 – 10 PM
MONDAY, JUNE 30 – 10 PM

THE BROADWAY OF LERNER AND LOEWE
Dir. Norman Jewison, 1962
United States. 51 min.
In English.

First is this 1962 made-for-TV musical special celebrating the fruitful collaborations of lyricist/librettist Alan Jay Lerner and composer Frederick Loewe. Hosted by Maurice Chevalier, the film features a cavalcade of Broadway stars, including Richard Burton, Julie Andrews, Robert Goulet, and Stanley Holloway, performing a selection of the duo’s work from iconic shows like MY FAIR LADY, CAMELOT, and GIGI. Each number opens with the performers, writers, and directors in dialogue before seamlessly unfolding into full-on musical productions, aided by some incredibly deft multi-camera direction courtesy of a little-known NBC segment director named Norman Jewison.

SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH… STEPHEN
Dirs. Bob Portway & Anthony Lee, 1990
United Kingdom. 50 min.
In English.

Second is this 1990 Omnibus special featuring an intimate conversation with Stephen Sondheim as he mounts the West End premiere of his seminal 1984 musical, SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE. Rather than just provide a behind-the-scenes look at the production, the film acts as a meditation on the same themes of creativity, commitment, emotional connection, and community explored in Sondheim’s musical through the work of pointillist painter, George Seurat. It’s no surprise that Sondheim, a titanic talent with a genius-level intellect, finds profound connections between his own work and Seurat’s, expounding on how every song, every word, every note he writes is a choice in and of itself, not unlike to how every dot Seurat laid to canvas was a “conscious decision to make it green and not blue”.