ShowBusiness: The Road to Broadway (2005)

Critic Reviews

• , Atlanta Journal-Constitution

  Bright lights, big drama. A delectable trip down Broadway.

• Philip Kennicott, Washington Post

  It is filled with neurotic people in greasepaint, some charming, most amusing, and by the time you've spent an hour and a half with them, you're more than invested in their lives and cares.

• Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle

  Along the way, the film includes insightful observations about the creative process.

• Miriam Di Nunzio, Chicago Sun-Times

  In the end, I wish Berenstein had devoted her filmmaking to two musicals instead of four, thus affording even more screen time to each show's creative process (the audition process, the choreography, early rehearsals and such).

• Ty Burr, Boston Globe

  The film's slick and entertaining, an obvious must-see for musical hounds. It holds water for laypeople, though, because the insights into a communal creative process are so sharp.

• Frank Scheck, Hollywood Reporter

  Sheds much-needed light on a fascinating show-business institution.

• Phil Hall, Film Threat

  Anyone who thinks show biz is glamorous and easy should watch this film.

• Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone, TheMovieChicks.com

  It whets your appetite for the stage; it certainly made me want to watch every one of these plays.

• Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch

  For those who believe there's no business like show business, this documentary will be a singular sensation.

• Marc Mohan, Oregonian

  This sounds like the sort of thing that could bore to tears anyone not enamored of the musical theater, but in fact it's a compelling, often amusing look backstage.

• Mark Keizer, Boxoffice Magazine

  Thanks to Berinstein's celebratory but lucid documentary, now have a better sense of what it takes to make it on Broadway.

• Karina Montgomery, Cinerina

  It's a rosy and warty look at what makes the big shows happen, and what makes them tick. I hope you'll see it, even if you're not 'into' musical theatre -- it's really well done.

• Robert W. Butler, Kansas City Star

  Berinstein's film captures all the hopes, thrills and heartache of an endeavor in which every night is a high-wire act.

• Emily S. Mendel, culturevulture.net

  ShowBusiness: The Road to Broadway is a tasty bonbon for theater buffs that has many fascinating backstage details.

• Hank Sartin, Time Out

  For the Broadway babies out there, ShowBusiness will make you want to schedule a trip to the Great White Way.

• Karina Montgomery, rec.arts.movies.reviews

  It's incredibly prescient of Berinstein to know where to be and get in there...It's a rosy and warty look at what makes the big shows happen, and what makes them tick. I hope you'll see it, even if you're not "into" musical theatre.

• Jonathan W. Hickman, Entertainment Insiders

  By keeping the theme squarely on the process and the toll it takes on the players, Berinstein gives viewers a captivating look behind the scenes.

• Misha Berson, Seattle Times

  This is an entertaining visit to a strange planet.

• Gianni Truzzi, Seattle Post-Intelligencer

  The star-struck [Dori] Berinstein squanders her opportunity to ask some tough questions about the state of, and prospects for, the American musical.

• Beth Accomando, KPBS.org

  Showbusiness: The Road to Broadway is essentially a valentine to a profession that filmmaker Dori Berinstein loves and admires.

Read all 22 critic reviews