Blog: 'Broadway Musicals: A Jewish Legacy' Premieres Tuesday January 1

This is a must-see for anyone who loves the legacy of the American Broadway musical. This new 90-minute documentary by Michael Kantor, creator of the Emmy-winning series, Broadway: The American Musical airs on Great Performances Tuesday night at 9:30 p.m. on PBS (check local listings). 

Why has the Broadway musical proven to be such fertile territory for Jewish artists of all kinds? From Broadway’s golden age, names like Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern, the Gershwins, Arthur Laurents, Jerome Robbins, Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim immediately come to mind. More recently, Broadway babies such as Stephen Schwartz, Marc Shaiman and Andrew Lippa represent a sampling of the Jewish talents who continue to leave their mark on musical theater.

Filmmaker Michael Kantor focuses on this central question left largely unaddressed in his Emmy-winning BROADWAY: THE AMERICAN MUSICAL, combining interviews with performance footage, including many of the rousing anthems and timeless ballads America has loved for a century.

Sandi Berg is also a freelance journalist and writes about television for several magazines including Written By (Writer's Guild of America), Life After 50 and Whole Life Times Magazine.