Thu 4/13 @ 7PM
In the 1930s, there was no more celebrated pair than Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire. The singing/dancing/romancing duo were the era’s supreme romcom couple, making film films in a period of six year between 1933 and 1939. If you haven’t seen The Gay Divorcee, Swing Time, Shall We Dance or the sublime Top Hat, go and watch them NOW. Yes, the plots are silly (Fred sees Ginger, falls in love, she thinks he’s someone else and rebuffs him and he almost loses her until the truth comes out. The end) but the dancing, music, clothes and settings are pure escapist fantasy.
After their final film together, 1939’s The Story of Irene and Vernon Castle, Rogers decided to try her hand at serious drama while Astaire paired up with other female leads such as Cyd Charisse, Rita Hayworth and Lila Dale. But in 1949, Judy Garland’s health and emotional issues caused her to drop out of playing the femme leader opposite Astaire in The Barkleys of Broadway, and the producer reached out to Rogers. That became their last film together, playing, as in the Castle film, a husband-and-wife dance team.
The Barkleys of Broadway is the topic of the next edition of The Musical Theater Project’s Movies at Home. TMTP’s artistic director Bill Rudman has recorded his video to tell you what to look for when you watch the film. Then go watch the film on the Internet Archive. Finally, join Bill and other musical aficionados on Zoom on Thursday April 13 to talk about it. It’s free and open to all; here’s the link.