Movie Review: Springsteen on Broadway, Directed by Thom Zimny (2018)

Bruce Springsteen, performing Springsteen on Broadway, 2018.

CD cover for Springsteen on Broadway, 2018.

Bruce Springsteen’s series of Broadway appearances recently concluded in December. Springsteen on Broadway ran for 236 performances at the Walter Kerr Theatre. The show was also filmed and released on Netflix in December. The film of Springsteen on Broadway was directed by Thom Zimny, who has directed numerous Springsteen documentaries, as well as the excellent documentary Elvis Presley: The Searcher. 

Springsteen on Broadway puts us up close and personal with the Boss as he regales the audiences with stories of his life and sings some of his most famous songs. It’s no surprise that there are many stories about his father, with whom Bruce had a difficult and complicated relationship. Springsteen is very aware of the ironies and contradictions of his career. He talks about being the voice of the working man, and then tells us that doing this Broadway show is the only time in his life he’s ever worked five days a week. He’s never punched a time clock or worked the night shift at the refinery, which is a testament to how effective a writer he is. Springsteen also talks about wanting to get out of his home town, finally adding the punch line: “I now live ten minutes away from my home town.” (Of course, he did get out and lived away from New Jersey for many years.) 

The show highlights Springsteen’s acute self-awareness, and how deep his emotions run. At the end of the show he describes his feelings as he drove by the house where he grew up and discovered that the huge beech tree in front of his house had been cut down. It’s beautiful how Springsteen describes his thoughts and feelings about this tree. I probably would have said something like, “I was so sad that the tree had been cut down. It meant a lot to me.” Trust me; Bruce was much more eloquent than I would be. Springsteen is such a poet, and it’s so clear throughout the show how much he loves words, as he uses the cadence of a preacher to arouse our emotions. He has the soul of a poet, but also the instincts of a showman. There are very few performers in the history of rock and roll who have been able to merge the two as successfully as he has. He’s very masculine, and at the same time, amazingly sensitive. 

Bruce is joined by his wife Patti Scialfa for two songs, “Tougher than the Rest” and the lovely “Brilliant Disguise,” both from his 1987 album Tunnel of Love. Other than that, it’s just Springsteen and a guitar, or a piano, singing his songs and telling his stories. It’s an intensely emotional experience, and it’s pretty amazing that Springsteen could perform this show night after night for so long.