USA
1997, 35mm, Color, 98 min.
U.S. Premiere

Directors: D.A. Pennebaker, Chris Hegedus
Producers: Frazer Pennebaker, Wendy Ettinger
Cinematographers: D.A. Pennebaker, Nick Doob, James Desmond
Editors: Chris Hegedus, D.A. Pennebaker
Principal Cast: Carol Burnett, Philip Bosco, Ken Ludwig, Tom Moore, Elizabeth Williams, Rocco Landesman

Following their triumphant, Oscar-nominated political saga The War Room, D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus take an eye-opening, no-holds-barred look at the high-risk adventure of producing a Broadway hit. Holed up in a downtown loft, Carol Burnett and Broadway veteran Philip Bosco begin rehearsals on "Full Moon Over Buffalo," a new farce by Ken Ludwig ("Lend Me a Tenor," "Crazy for You"). Ken wonders if Carol, one of TV's most beloved stars, is quite the lead he's written for. Carol wonders if her return to the Broadway stage after 30 years isn't too much of a gamble as she, Phil, and the troupe stumble through a blizzard of rewrites. They feel their input as comedic actors is continually ignored. "The pact you make with the devil in modern theater," Ken complains, " is that you need a star to sell tickets...it will never be the play I wrote!" Producers Elizabeth Williams and Rocco Landesman don't disagree: "You are living in 1995. We have two-and-a-half-million dollars worth of show. Reality Check." Only those few lucky enough to glimpse backstage through the curtains have seen Broadway quite like this.