A new documentary by award-winning filmmaker and Newtown resident Amber Edwards takes viewers backstage through insightful interviews, behind-the-scenes rehearsal sessions, rare photographs, and never-before-seen archival footage of original Broadway performances to create a warm, humorous, and moving portrait of a living theater legend. Words and Music by Jerry Herman will premiere in the New York metro area on WNET New York on Monday, December 31, at 10 pm; and nationwide on PBS on Tuesday, January 1, at 9:30 pm. (Check local listings.)

Nila Aronow was executive producer of the documentary, which has been formatted to screening in Standard CC Stereo and High Definition CC Stereo.

Five years in the making, this 90-minute special from NJN Public Television chronicles Herman’s rapid rise from witty, topical off-Broadway revues during the 1950s to his first Broadway hits in the 1960s (Milk and Honey, followed quickly by the record-breaking Dolly and then Mame) through the less successful shows from the 1970s (Dear World, Mack & Mabel, and The Grand Tour) to his triumphant return in 1983 with La Cage aux Folles, which made social and political history.

The “supporting cast” of the documentary is truly a Who’s Who of Broadway: Carol Channing, Angela Lansbury, Charles Nelson Reilly, Marge Champion, Arthur Laurents, Charles Strouse, Fred Ebb, George Hearn, Phyllis Newman, Michael Feinstein, musical director Donald Pippin, singers Leslie Uggams and Jason Graae, author Francine Pascal, and historians Miles Krueger and Ken Bloom.

Theater aficionados will marvel at the collection of archival motion picture footage. There is Carol Channing and the original Broadway Hello, Dolly! company performing the title song; Angela Lansbury in the only known footage of Mame and Dear World; film of the 1955 college musical Mr Herman wrote at the University of Miami; Robert Preston and a bevy of showgirls from Mack & Mabel; and other material that captures these original, ephemeral theater performances that, until now, existed only in the memories of those lucky enough to have seen them on stage. Naturally, the film is filled with music, with original cast recordings and live performances, while the piano underscoring is played by Jerry Herman himself.

True to the spirit of its subject, who describes himself as “a builder,” the documentary creates a dramatic arc that examines a career of hits and flops and highs and lows, culminating in Mr Herman’s final act as a Broadway composer/lyricist: La Cage aux Folles — which was not only a critical and commercial smash, but a political and social turning point.

Never before had two men held hands in a musical, or sung a love ballad to one another. George Hearn’s star turn as Za Za, belting out what is probably the most dramatic Act One closer ever written, “I Am What I Am,” still brings audiences to their feet with its forceful call for tolerance and dignity — a surpassingly powerful statement from a composer/lyricist who declared all along that he wanted only to entertain people.

It was, Mr Hearn recalls in the film, truly “The Best of Times,” until shortly after the show opened, and cast members began dying of a mysterious plague. AIDS had entered the world, and it swept through the theater community. Half of the original La Cage chorus did not live to finish the run. And Jerry Herman himself was diagnosed as HIV-positive in 1985; he is one of the fortunate ones who survived to see experimental drug therapies take hold and is still, as one of his lyrics proclaims, “alive and well and thriving.”

With his ebullient, hummable songs that personify the “show tune,” Jerry Herman extended the Golden Age of Broadway almost single-handedly, as new generations keep discovering his tuneful, optimistic, and deceptively simple songs. Yet, as Michael Feinstein says, “Jerry has succeeded so well in his mission, that people don’t give him credit...because to be simple without being cliché is nearly impossible.”

The Director, Producer, Writer & Editor

Amber Edwards, who was the director, producer, writer, and editor of Words and Music by Jerry Herman, has won 12 Emmy Awards during her career. Her most recent award was received in April during the 50th Annual New York Emmy Awards. She and Susan Wallner shared the Emmy for Magazine Program for an episode of State of the Arts, a New Jersey Public TV program for which Ms Edwards is the senior producer and Ms Wallner is the series producer.

Ms Edwards has been the host and producer of State of the Arts, which interviews major figures of fine and performing arts and also presents segments on cultural issues and events, since 1988. It is the longest running local arts program in the country.

Previous PBS documentaries include The Dancing Man — Peg Leg Bates (1992); Vladimir Feltsman in Moscow (1993); Against the Odds: The Artists of the Harlem Renaissance (1994); Quicksand & Banana Peels: A Year in the Life of Two Principals (1999), and George Segal: American Still Life (2001).

Ms Edwards also produces, writes, and narrates the “Jersey Arts on the Radio” series, heard on NJN Public Radio, WWFM, and WBJB public radio, and has been a regular contributor to WBGO-FM’s weekly Journal.

Her numerous awards also include six CINE Golden Eagles, two “Chris” statuettes from the Columbus International Film Festival, two CEN Programming awards, a Gold Plaque from WorldFest Houston, a NETA award, a silver plaque from the Chicago International Film Festival, the Silver Screen Award from the US International Film & Video Festival, and two Silver Apples from the National Educational Media Network.

Her documentaries have been screened at festivals in New York, Paris, Dublin, Montreal, Amsterdam, St Petersburg, Sydney, Naples (Italy), Upsala (Sweden), Durham, N.C.; New Haven; Taos, Calif.; and have been broadcast in the UK, Norway, Italy, Israel, and Japan.

In addition to her film and broadcasting work, Ms Edwards sings professionally. She has performed in the 92nd Street Y’s famous “Lyrics and Lyricists” series, and appears regularly in public and private cabaret venues in New York City and the region.

Ms Edwards is married to the novelist Justin Scott.