Thu 1/6 @ 7PM
The movie A Star Is Born has been remade numerous times, most recently in 2018 as a vehicle for Lady Gaga, co-starring with Bradley Cooper. But the classic version — and the first musical version — is the 1954 one in which Judy Garland stars as the young up-and-comer mentored by a star on his way down (James Mason). At the time Garland had been dropped by her studio and hadn’t made a film in four years; she was considered washed up. It represented a triumphant comeback, fueled by her own struggles. It also provided one of the classic songs in her repertoire “The Man That Got Away,” written by Harold Arlen (who also wrote the music to “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”) and lyricist Ira Gershwin.
This version of a star is born provides the grist for The Musical Theater Project’s next edition of Movie at Home — its 50th. As usual, TMTP’s artistic director Bill Rudman has posted an intro for you to watch first, giving you some background to take into your viewing of the film. Then go and watch it on YouTube, Amazon Prime, Google Play, Vudu or Apple TV.
Finally join Bill on Thursday January 6 to talk about the film, It’s free and no advance registration is needed. Just log on here.