The Art of Making Theater: 2 Views

By STEVE VINEBERG

Backstage movies have a built-in appeal. Last year's Oscar winner, Shakespeare in Love, imagined a way in which Shakespeare's romantic life might have shaped the writing of Romeo and Juliet, and that irresistible premise kept the picture afloat. Two current films, Mike Leigh's Topsy-Turvy and Tim Robbins's Cradle Will Rock, dramatize the events around...