Customer Reviews

Catskills on Broadway [VHS]

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Catskills on Broadway is a wonderful way to remember the golden days of the hotels in that area....the food...the activities...and the comedians! Such a training ground for young talent does not exist...which is a shame!

How can you criticize a show that is called "Catskills on Broadway" by complaining that it's too Jewish, too focused on the Catskills, and performed by second-string entertainers?

This show is comedy at its finest! Freddie Roman, Dick Capri, and Mal Z Lawrence were there when it was happening, honing their craft in the Catskills in its golden years. They are hysterical, and when Mal Z goes off on a tangent about the way the guests enjoyed (and lived for) their food in the massive dining rooms, you will be on the floor hysterically laughing.

Louise Duart, although not a borscht belt comedian, is a fine impersonator, and did an incredible job in her poignant interpretation of George Burns that had the audience in tears. But, most of the show had the audience in tears....of laughter!

If you love comedy, if you enjoy memories of the Catskills, and if you love to laugh, you will certainly enjoy this DVD.

The jokes are OK even though dated which was to be expected. However, expected more main stream of the Catskills - missing the big places, i.e. Concord etc. and the comedians who made the big time that started there. These were second string performers; having said that the disc was worth the money. But, PBS has shown better stuff from time to time.

This was an enjoyable DVD but the humor has a limited appeal because it is so narrowly focused on Jewish humor. The comedians are exceptionally talented but their topics are, because of the audience, narrowly circumscribed.