MUSICAL BIOPICS: PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST?

Sheryl Flatow

DESCRIPTION: In the 1940’s, Hollywood produced several movies about the lives of some of Broadway’s best composers and lyricists. The studios referred to them as biographies, but the lives depicted in these films had only a passing acquaintance with reality. In essence, these were the first juke box musicals – showcases for the song catalogues of popular artists. But the plots, while inspired by the lives of these great songwriters, came largely from the imaginations of screenwriters, who created fake love interests, fictional mentors, and myriad “details” about the lives and careers of these artists that didn’t come close to capturing their “true” essence. This series will separate fact from fiction in the biopics of George Gershwin, Cole Porter, Jerome Kern, and the team of Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart. We’ll feature scenes and musical numbers from their “biographical” films, comparing what’s on screen to what really happened, to create a more complete portrait of these men who contributed so much to the artistic life of this country.

FOUR LECTURES:

1. Rhapsody in Blue – Robert Alda stars as George Gershwin
   
   
2. Night and Day – Cary Grant stars as Cole Porter
   
   
3. Till the Clouds Roll By – Robert Walker stars as Jerome Kern, backed by a parade of MGM stars
   
   
4. Words and Music – Tom Drake plays Richard Rodgers, Mickey Rooney plays Lorenz Hart; more MGM stars

BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION: Sheryl Flatow has written about theatre and dance for more than 30-years. She curated major exhibitions in San Francisco on Stephen Sondheim, Richard Rodgers, George Gershwin, George Balanchine, and several others. She has led pre-performance talks; moderated panel discussions on theatre and dance; and conducted public interviews with leading figures in the arts, including Patti LuPone, Barbara Cook, Natalia Makarova and Judith Jamison. She also wrote the CD liner notes for Into the Woods and Jerome Robbins’ Broadway.