By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Karen Thorsen | Tracie Holder
Country: united_states
Year: 2012
Running time: 82
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1567350/
Bruce says: “Credibility is hard to come by with a title JOE PAPP IN FIVE ACTS, knowing that a major portion of Joe Papp’s life, an act unto itself, was edited out of the film. Or worse, perhaps the filmmakers never intended to put it in in the first place. The fact remains that Joe Papp had a big blip in his career as theatre director for Lincoln Center for almost five years in the 70s, a period which is not covered in this film. That major complaint aside, the remainder of the film is quite enjoyable and informative.
“Joe Papp was one of the greatest influences in American theatre in the twentieth century. His vision was ever evolving which made him more successful than most. Influenced by Shakespeare at an early age, Papp was determined to bring Shakespeare to the masses. And he insisted that it be free. He believed in democratic theatre, that the demographic on stage should be the same as that of the audience. He pioneered colorblind casting and unconventional approaches to traditional theatre. Papp began Shakespeare in the Park in 1957 and founded the Public Theater on Lafayette Street in the East Village a decade later. He invented the idea of workshopping to develop a play.
“The film mixes archival footage of Papp on talk shows and at special venues with talking heads testifying about his influence, his perseverance, and the quality of his productions. We get a glimpse of him singing ‘Brother Can You Spare a Dime?’ at a cabaret. Many still photos and some videotaping of performances are also included. The performances are not always well labeled and many of his best achievements are not represented in this documentary.
“The filmmakers claim that they have been working on this film for eighteen years and that the problem lies in getting rights to some of the footage they have chosen to include. That explains why Meryl Streep and some others look so young; they probably were almost twenty years younger when the interviews occurred. The filmmakers also claimed that most documentary filmmakers cannot use archival footage because most has ended up in the hands of a few corporations and the fees are exorbitant. Empirical evidence tells me otherwise. I suspect that there is some infighting at the Public as to what the
administration wants the viewer to see.
“Joe Papp was always charismatic and forever controversial. Liz Swados says he was ‘so flawed, like the Shakespeare characters he loved so much.’ He never told people what they wanted to hear. He made careers for actors like Kevin Kline and Meryl Streep. His foresight downtown brought ‘Hair,’ ‘That Championship Season,’ ‘Two Gentlemen of Verona,’ and ‘A Chorus Line’ uptown to Broadway. An amazing legacy! 3.5 cats
“(JOE PAPP IN FIVE ACTS screened as part of the 2012 Tribeca International film Festival.)”