I do these quirky lists every month or so, trawling the new Netflix on-demand offerings for shows which are either about the theater or feature familiar theater types.
Actresses. Real Korean film stars play themselves in this comedy about animosity and one-upmanship at a Vogue photo shoot.
Almost Love. South Korean romance between childhood friends who become an actress and a martial artist.
Baby Jane? Drag stage stars remake the iconic Bette Davis classic.
Bikini Girls on Ice. Not actually an ice show. A horror show.
Card Subject to Change. We all know that championship wrestling is scripted, but it’s much messier and looser in the small-town circuit. Kind of like the community theater of the sports world. A documentary.
The Captains: Documentary survey, produced and narrated by William Shatner of those who’ve played captains on various Star Trek series. May remind you of the the astonishment and excitement which arose when RSC member Patrick Stewart got plucked to star in Next Generation. Of similar interest, with theater-friendly title: William Shatner’s Gonzo ballet.
Circus Rosaire. Documentary concerning the struggles of a Florida circus family.
Copyright Criminals. A documentary about sound-sampling, particularly in the hip-hop world but applicable to a lot of the sort of idea-lifting and intellectual property disputes common in theater dramaturgy and design.
Dance Fu. Directed by Cedric the entertainer, a martial arts parody in which the hero’s talents are terpsichorean rather than Tae Kwan Do.
Do Not Disturb. Short films with theater dynamics: they’re all small-cast relationship dramas, albeit with horror elements, and all take place in the same room.
Eating Out: Drama Camp. Fourth in Q. Allan Brocka series of gay romantic comedies, this one set at a theater camp with more than the usual number of drama queens.
5 Sides of a Coin. Multi-faceted in-depth look at the hip-hop movement.
Flip the Script. Like Tyler Perry, Terrah Bennett Smith came to movies having done over a dozen stage productions. Like Tyler Perry, she specializes in modern African-American romantic melodramas.
F/X. One Brian Dennehy’s biggest screen successes. In recent years Dennehy’s done almost nothing but stage work, and is coming here to New Haven next month to do his rendition of Krapp’s Last Tape.
Gordon Glass. Omar Benson Miller directs and stars as a security guard longing to be a professional actor.
Harmony (Hamoni). Drama of female inmates in a Korean prison starting a choir.
Lisa Picard is Famous. Griffin Dunne’s 2000 film about an aspiring TV actress jealous of the success of her playwright friend.
Paul Simon & Friends. A Library of Congress concert from when the Capeman composer was awarded the first Gershwin Prize for Popular Music.
Perfect Host. David Hyde Pierce, who began his acting career in the regional theater and has spent much of the last decade on Broadway, stars in this dinner party thriller.
The Reinactors: Documentary about the celebrity impersonators along Hollywood Boulevard.
Screen at Komchanod. An audience of ghosts gather to watch a movie in this horror tale. I know you’re out there; I can hear you not breathing.
Stage Fright. Horror film about an acting ensemble trapped in an old theater where a mass murder once occurred.
The Storytellers. A Hollywood screenwriter frustrated by ageist producers uses her grandson as a front to sell her work.
Super Troopers: Before they got a movie deal, Broken Lizard was a live comedy troupe.
You Got Served. Dance competition musical.
That Championship Season. The 1999 remake, directed by Paul Sorvino and starring Vincent D’Onofrio and Terry Kinney.
200 Pound Beauty. A singer undergoes plastic surgery to fit show biz ideals in this Korean drama.
Welcome to Nollywood. Documentary about the developing Nigerian film industry, which has roots in community theater.
World Intergender Wrestling Champion. Not the first documentary to examine comedian Andy Kaufman’s foray into the sports arena.
Stand-up stuff includes Kevin Hart I’m a Grown Little Man, Michael Winslow Live, Adam Ferrara Funny as Hell, Earthquake Presents From the Outhouse to the White House (political humor from black stand-ups), Tom Wilson: Bigger Than You, Certifiably Jonathan. Winters (do you remember Winters as the corpse in the film version of Arthur Kopit’s Oh Dad Poor Dad?), Run On (with three so-called Christian comedians: Tommy Blaze, Brad Stine, David A.R. White), Paul Rodriguez—Comedy Rehab (any Rodriguez special is a master class in working a room and keeping it fresh) and Brazilian stand-up Rafinha Bastos’ A Arte do Insulto. Jeffrey Ross: No Offense is of special interest, since Ross has mined a special strain of live comedy as roastmaster of the Friars Club specials.
StarzPlay, which operates somewhat differently from the main Netflix library in that the offerings can be short-term (and which will reportedly end its relationship with Netflix next February due to licensing issues) currently has several theatry things on its menu: The Blues Brothers, Step Up 3, Fantastic Flesh—The Art of Make-Up EFX, Cannibal! The Musical, Marvin’s Room, Prelude to a Kiss, Topsy-Turvy, Roger Guenver Smith’s A Huey Newton Story, Frank Langella’s Dracula flick and—wow!—the 1975 Zero Mostel/Estelle Parsons sex-romp anthology Foreplay.
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