Lurching towards a classic
Last week, I got the absolute treat of seeing Moonlight & Magnolias at New Stage Theatre. What a hoot! A friend and I laughed ourselves silly.
Here's the set-up - It's 1936, and David Selznick has halted production of Gone with the Wind three weeks into filming because the script isn't working. He's also fired director Cukor, so now he has a cast under contract and a budget threatening to spiral out of control. To salvage the script, Selznic calls screenwriter Ben Hecht (who, unfortunately, has never read the famous novel). To replace Cukor, Selznick pulls Victor Fleming off The Wizard of Oz.
Desperate to salvage his production, Selznick practically takes Hecht and Fleming hostage in his office for five consecutive days to hammer out the script. The men subsist on peanuts and bananas (which Selznick insists are "brain food"). Because Hecht is unfamiliar with the novel, Selznick and Fleming are forced to act out all of the scenes for him, making for some hilarious pantomime.
The New Stage production was tight as a drum. With a small cast such as this one, every actor gets the chance to flex. The standout was Russ Blackwell as Victor Fleming. He was absolute inspiration, and he knew who his character was from the moment he appeared on stage. (He was also the brightest star in last fall's production of The Crucible. His John Proctor was a revelation.) Turner Crumbley as Selznick and Bill Campbell as Hecht were also very strong, with Francine Thomas Reynolds rounding out the cast as Miss Poppenghul, Selznick's secretary. We SO enjoyed this show; I love productions with smaller casts, as they tend to feature stronger performers overall and better pacing. Scenes in which Fleming and Selznick were acting out events from the book as Hecht struggled to grasp the storyline were particularly enjoyable. If you missed it, YOU MISSED OUT! Sorry for not alerting you to my great experience while it was still running, but I've had a busy week. I do think it's safe to say, though, that if New Stage casts Russ Blackwell in ANYTHING again, it's worth your time to come check out his performance.
On a side note, we enjoyed dinner at an old favorite, Hal and Mal's, before the show. I'd never ordered their fried oyester platter before, so I had no idea how substantial it was. It is HUGE, and plenty to split between two or maybe even three people. YUM!
Lastly, a new publication caught my eye this week. It's a slick, four-color magazine titled Portico Jackson. I thought it was pretty well-written, and it contained some articles on interesting, if not new, topics. As a Jacksonian, I've watched over the past several years as one magazine after another started up and then quickly went out of business. Magazines are tough work. You've got to sell lots of ads, find the best talent (writers and photographers) that you can, and then pray for success. While I think Portico has some good content going for it, it didn't cover any new ground. I'll reserve final judgement until I see more.
Here's the set-up - It's 1936, and David Selznick has halted production of Gone with the Wind three weeks into filming because the script isn't working. He's also fired director Cukor, so now he has a cast under contract and a budget threatening to spiral out of control. To salvage the script, Selznic calls screenwriter Ben Hecht (who, unfortunately, has never read the famous novel). To replace Cukor, Selznick pulls Victor Fleming off The Wizard of Oz.
Desperate to salvage his production, Selznick practically takes Hecht and Fleming hostage in his office for five consecutive days to hammer out the script. The men subsist on peanuts and bananas (which Selznick insists are "brain food"). Because Hecht is unfamiliar with the novel, Selznick and Fleming are forced to act out all of the scenes for him, making for some hilarious pantomime.
The New Stage production was tight as a drum. With a small cast such as this one, every actor gets the chance to flex. The standout was Russ Blackwell as Victor Fleming. He was absolute inspiration, and he knew who his character was from the moment he appeared on stage. (He was also the brightest star in last fall's production of The Crucible. His John Proctor was a revelation.) Turner Crumbley as Selznick and Bill Campbell as Hecht were also very strong, with Francine Thomas Reynolds rounding out the cast as Miss Poppenghul, Selznick's secretary. We SO enjoyed this show; I love productions with smaller casts, as they tend to feature stronger performers overall and better pacing. Scenes in which Fleming and Selznick were acting out events from the book as Hecht struggled to grasp the storyline were particularly enjoyable. If you missed it, YOU MISSED OUT! Sorry for not alerting you to my great experience while it was still running, but I've had a busy week. I do think it's safe to say, though, that if New Stage casts Russ Blackwell in ANYTHING again, it's worth your time to come check out his performance.
On a side note, we enjoyed dinner at an old favorite, Hal and Mal's, before the show. I'd never ordered their fried oyester platter before, so I had no idea how substantial it was. It is HUGE, and plenty to split between two or maybe even three people. YUM!
Lastly, a new publication caught my eye this week. It's a slick, four-color magazine titled Portico Jackson. I thought it was pretty well-written, and it contained some articles on interesting, if not new, topics. As a Jacksonian, I've watched over the past several years as one magazine after another started up and then quickly went out of business. Magazines are tough work. You've got to sell lots of ads, find the best talent (writers and photographers) that you can, and then pray for success. While I think Portico has some good content going for it, it didn't cover any new ground. I'll reserve final judgement until I see more.
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