How Rudy Giuliani’s Life Got Turned Into a Documentary and Musical
10.06.2022 - 00:57
/ variety.com
Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaNo mere documentary can capture the turbulent life story of “America’s mayor.”In order to do justice to the rise and fall of Rudolph “Rudy” Giuliani, director Jed Rothstein had to invent a new genre. The result, “Rudy! A Documusical,” weaves in musical performances by Broadway actors with archival footage from Giuliani’s metamorphosis from top prosecutor to New York City mayor and hero of 9/11 to his sad final act as Donald Trump’s cable news henchman and chief purveyor of election lies.“Rudy is this very unique and mercurial character,” says Rothstein.
“He’s very operatic. His personal story is like an opera with these cartoonishly extravagant highs and lows.”But staging a full-on opera would have been too costly and time consuming for the filmmakers, so Rothstein turned to another Big Apple staple — musical theater.
The numbers themselves were written and performed to delineate key turning points in Giuliani’s life and career. “The songs add an important emotional perspective to a story of a person who has lived in the public eye for a long time and help us better understand why he did what he did,” says Rothstein.In the documentary, which premieres Thursday at the Tribeca Festival, Rothstein talks to political reporters such as Olivia Nuzzi, as well as Giuliani’s friends and associates like former New York City Police Commissioner Bill Bratton and retired detective and media personality Bo Dietl.
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