You’ve heard the expression, “Ya
either love it or ya hate it.”
Gone
with the Wind is often regarded as one of the most
adored films that has stood the test of time and deemed a well-loved classic.According
to Ron Hutchinson's MOONLIGHT & MAGNOLIAS these triumphs are all the more
extraordinary because the timeless screenplay was whipped out in a measly five
days!If you, like myself, are an avid fan
of this 1939 box office hit, you will delight in the nostalgia of this
production.If, however, you thought both
Mitchell’s book and Selznick’s film
were post-modern tripe, fraught with a soap opera storyline, a manipulative
slut for a heroine, a contrived setting, and an ending that makes you fancy
those hours of your life back, you will still be hooting loudly from your
seat.
MOONLIGHT
effectively tells an absurd yet entertaining backstage story of the legendary (yet
in this case damn near psychotic) David O. Selznick, producer of the celebrated
film.We sneak into the Hollywood mogul’s office, where his
magnum opus yet-to-be is perforated with problems due to an impractical screenplay – and production is to begin in one week’s time!Madness ensues and the audience witnesses the
chaos in his solution – to lock himself, screenwriter Ben Hecht (who hasn’t
even read Mitchell’s book) and director Victor Fleming (yanked off the set of
The Wizard of Oz) in said office for five days, with nothing but the clothes on
their back, one bathroom, a typewriter, and only bananas and peanuts for
sustenance.
Director
Martha Wilkinson crafts a wonderful production team and cast for this
harebrained, darling show.Gary Hoff’s
jackpot set, Trish Clark’s wonderfully period costumes, and Michael Barnett’s
light design create a superb environment to set the stage for talented actors Shane
Bridges (Selznick), David Pasto-Crosby (Fleming), Pete Vann (Hecht), and Evelyn
Blythe (Mrs. Poppenguhl).
Bridges
is likable and convincing as Selznick, suggesting both the man's extreme
anxiety and his legitimate wish to do the story justice in a comical and
convincing give-a-damn performance.Vann’s smart
aleck Hecht and Crosby’s all-arrogance Fleming effectively clash as they attack each other's
film work and past professions.All
three gentlemen, though possibly younger than the actual characters they portray,
give a splendid slapstick performance, with Wilkinson’s excellently operated
blocking and physical comedy takes to boot.These
three actors embrace difficult, challenging, inventive, and illuminating
material.Though
Blythe’s Poppenguhl doesn’t necessarily steal her scenes, she does garner a few
adorable moments with her period working woman compliance and subsequent
other-side-of-the-door breakdown as evidenced by a downward spiralling
appearance each time the office door swings open.
TRUDY’S TRUTH IN THEATRE:
I
have always found Hutchinson’s dialogue about race in this script to be somewhat manufactured to
make the story more sympathetic and give it a moment of seriousness it doesn’t
really need.However, I did see
something interesting as Hecht wrestles with the racial overtones in Gone with the Wind . . . and this is
that Fleming and Selznick comedically wrestle each other while attempting to act out the
story for him.Maybe I’m sounding a bit artificial
myself, but it IS rather normal of many of us to “not see the forest for the
trees” when it comes to that issue.I
can admit that very possibly my doubt in the necessity of said dialogue was my
own discomfort. Regardless of when the script was written, it certainly wasn’t a
comfortable issue in 1939 – a movie that briefly addresses racial relations in the south while many Jewish were
fleeing Europe to save their lives.It’s easy to want to deflect
from serious issues with comedy so that we don’t have to deal with it.Hutchinson didn’t do that; he "gave a damn" and dealt with it – and then brought us back with
bananas, peanuts, a mess of an office, and the most unusual baby-birthin’ I know I’VE ever
seen!
Go
see MOONLIGHT & MAGNOLIAS in its last week at The Tennessee Repertory
Theatre.Enjoy the excellent chemistry between
three of Nashville’s funniest stage junkies –
besides, isn’t it time you get out and laugh your head off a bit?
"Director John Carpenter did a lot of things right with his production of CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN, but, most
certainly, the best thing he did was create an environment where the actors
could tell a great story and have fun doing it.."
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