Broadway Musicals: A Jewish Legacy
Alan Yentob looks at the unique role Jews have played in creating the modern American musical, from Porgy and Bess to West Side Story and Cabaret.
For generations of Jewish songwriters, the bright lights of Broadway have been a catalyst for transformation. New York's musical theatres offered a chance for those who had fled persecution and oppression to make it big in America.
On Broadway, the idea of outsiders beating the odds could be dramatised in a uniquely American art form, with melodies derived from Jewish prayers inspiring catchy new songs that tens of millions around the world would come to embrace. imagine... looks at the unique role Jews have played in creating the modern American musical, from Porgy and Bess to West Side Story and Cabaret.
Featuring performances by Broadway's most creative talents, plus a medley of amazing archive footage and interviews, the film explores the work of some of America's pre-eminent musical maestros - including Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern, George and Ira Gershwin, Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II, Kurt Weill, Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim, and Jule Styne.
Last on
More episodes
Clip
-
![]()
Bent notes
Duration: 01:23
Music Played
Timings (where shown) are from the start of the programme in hours and minutes
-
![]()
John Du Prez
You Won't Succeed on Broadway
Composer: Eric Idle. -
![]()
Irving Berlin
There's No Business Like Show Business
-
![]()
George Gershwin
I Got Rhythm
Composer: Ira Gershwin. -
![]()
Jerry Bock
Sunrise, Sunset
Lyricist: Sheldon Harnick. -
![]()
Stephen Sondheim
America
Lyricist: Leonard Bernstein. -
![]()
Jerry Bock
Tradition
Lyricist: Sheldon Harnick. -
![]()
Arnold Perlmutter
Dem Pastuchel's Chulem
Composer: Herman Wohl. -
![]()
Mel Brooks
The King of Broadway
-
![]()
George Gershwin
Swanee
Composer: Irving Caesar. -
![]()
George Gershwin
Let's Call the Whole Thing Off
Composer: Ira Gershwin. -
![]()
George Gershwin
Rhapsody in Blue
-
![]()
George Gershwin
It Ain't Necessarily So
Composer: Ira Gershwin. -
![]()
Richard Rodgers
Manhattan
Composer: Lorenz Hart. -
![]()
Irving Berlin
Florida by the Sea
-
![]()
Irving Berlin
When My Dreams Come True
-
![]()
Frederick Loewe
Wouldn't It Be Loverly
Lyricist: Alan J. Lerner. -
![]()
Jerome Kern
Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man
Composer: Oscar Hammerstein II. -
![]()
Jerry Herman
Mame
-
![]()
Leonard Bernstein
Carried Away
Lyricist: Betty Comden. Lyricist: Adolph Green. -
![]()
Cole Porter
You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To
-
![]()
Cole Porter
So In Love
-
![]()
Cole Porter
My Heart Belongs to Daddy
-
![]()
Cole Porter
My Heart Belongs to Daddy
-
![]()
Kurt Weill
Threepenny Opera overture
Composer: Marc Blitzstein. Lyricist: Bertolt Brecht. -
![]()
Kurt Weill
Threepenny Opera overture
Composer: Marc Blitzstein. Lyricist: Bertolt Brecht. -
![]()
Kurt Weill
My Ship
Lyricist: Ira Gershwin. -
![]()
Kurt Weill
My Ship
Lyricist: Ira Gershwin. -
![]()
Kurt Weill
Pirate Jenny
Composer: Marc Blitzstein. Lyricist: Bertolt Brecht. -
![]()
Kurt Weill
Join the Army
Composer: Bertolt Brecht. Composer: Marc Blitzstein. -
![]()
Kurt Weill
The Bilbao Song
Composer: Bertolt Brecht. -
![]()
Kurt Weill
September Song
Composer: Maxwell Anderson. -
![]()
Kurt Weill
One Life To Live
Lyricist: Ira Gershwin. -
![]()
Kurt Weill
Tchaikowsky
Lyricist: Ira Gershwin. -
![]()
Kurt Weill
My Ship
Lyricist: Ira Gershwin. -
![]()
Irving Berlin
God Bless America
-
![]()
Irving Berlin
Alexander's Ragtime Band
-
![]()
Richard Rodgers
Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin'
Lyricist: Oscar Hammerstein II. -
![]()
Richard Rodgers
Bali Ha'i
Lyricist: Oscar Hammerstein II. -
![]()
Richard Rodgers
You've Got to Be Taught
Lyricist: Oscar Hammerstein II. -
![]()
Leonard Bernstein
Somewhere
-
![]()
Leonard Bernstein
America
Lyricist: Stephen Sondheim. -
![]()
Jule Styne
Let Me Entertain You
Lyricist: Stephen Sondheim. -
![]()
Jule Styne
Some People
Lyricist: Stephen Sondheim. -
![]()
Irving Berlin
Yiddle, On Your Fiddle, Play Some Ragtime
-
![]()
Jule Styne
People
Composer: Bob Merrill. -
![]()
Jule Styne
Don't Rain on My Parade
Composer: Bob Merrill. -
![]()
Jerry Bock
Tradition
Lyricist: Sheldon Harnick. -
![]()
Jerry Bock
If I Were a Rich Man
Lyricist: Sheldon Harnick. -
![]()
Jerry Bock
Sabbath Prayer
Lyricist: Sheldon Harnick. -
![]()
Jerry Bock
Tradition
Lyricist: Sheldon Harnick. -
![]()
Jerry Bock
If I Were a Rich Man
Lyricist: Sheldon Harnick. -
![]()
John Kander
Willkommen
Lyricist: Fred Ebb. -
![]()
John Kander
What Would You Do?
Lyricist: Fred Ebb. -
![]()
John Kander
If You Could See Her Through My Eyes
Lyricist: Fred Ebb. -
![]()
Charles Strouse
Put on a Happy Face
Lyricist: Lee Adams. -
![]()
Charles Strouse
Tomorrow
Lyricist: Martin Charnin. -
![]()
Stephen Sondheim
Another Hundred People
-
![]()
Stephen Sondheim
Send in the Clowns
-
![]()
Jerry Herman
We are What We Are
-
![]()
Jerry Herman
I Am What I Am
-
![]()
Mel Brooks
Springtime for Hitler
-
![]()
Mel Brooks
Heil Myself
-
![]()
Stephen Lawrence Schwartz
For Good
-
![]()
Irving Berlin
There's No Business Like Show Business
-
![]()
Richard Rodgers
Edelweiss
Lyricist: Oscar Hammerstein II. -
![]()
Leonard Bernstein
America
Composer: Stephen Sondheim. -
![]()
Leonard Bernstein
Somewhere
-
![]()
Jerry Bock
Tradition
Lyricist: Sheldon Harnick. -
![]()
Irving Berlin
There's No Business Like Show Business
-
![]()
Leonard Bernstein
America
Lyricist: Stephen Sondheim.
Credits
| Role | Contributor |
|---|---|
| Presenter | Alan Yentob |
| Producer | Michael Kantor |
| Director | Michael Kantor |
| Series Editor | Alan Yentob |