Tribeca ‘Documusical’ shows Rudy Giuliani in a whole new light
Break a leg, Rudy.
Using archival footage, interviews and Broadway-style show tunes, Brooklyn-born director Jed Rothstein tries to capture the many sides of former Mayor Rudy Giuliani in “Rudy! A Documusical.”
“Rudy’s life is like an opera; it’s got these grand highs and lows,” Rothstein, a Boerum Hill native, told The Post. “He’s a larger than life figure, and I wanted to tell his story in an unconventional way.”
Guiliani never responded to Rothstein’s request for an interview, but he hopes the city’s 107th mayor attends the film premiere Thursday at the Tribeca Film Festival, at the SVA Theatre on West 23rd Street.
“Rudy, we’ll have two tickets for you,” Rothstein said.
Giuliani is praised for being a tough-on-crime lawyer who took on the Mafia as Manhattan’s top federal prosecutor in the ‘80s and as steady leader after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
He has also seen plenty of controversy of late, with an appeals court last year suspending him from practicing law in New York for violating professional conduct rules by pushing election-fraud theories.
“His experience after 9/11 is unique in history in terms of the level of adulation and popularity he achieved for a good period of time after that,” said Rothstein, who received an Oscar nomination in 2011 for his documentary short, “Killing in the Name.”
“The only time I’ve seen him shaken is when his law license was suspended. That got to him in ways like nothing else ever had. It’s sad to see a man who’s achieved such greatness be rattled, but at the same time, it’s because of his own actions,” he added.
The titular attorney will be portrayed by Broadway actor Blakely Slaybaugh, who recently played Pinocchio in “Shrek: The Musical.”
The hyper-stylized musical segments are meant to be deep looks into Giuliani’s psyche and character.
“I hope it adds an understanding to his life that sometimes makes him more heroic and sometimes more reprehensible,” Rothstein said.
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