Sturm
und Drang
by
Michael Dresdner
L to R: Jacob Tice, Katelyn Hoffman, Tedd Saint-James, Blake R. York photo by: DK Photography
Moonlight
and Magnolias is considered a second stage production at Tacoma Little Theatre,
which means that it opens tonight and closes in only nine days. That’s a shame,
since there’s obviously been a whole lot of love, talent, energy, and
creativity poured into it, and the result is well worth your time. To get a
jump on things, I went to the preview last night.
The
conceit of the play, supposedly based on a real event, is that producer David
O. Selznick, in the midst of making the film Gone With the Wind, has fired his
writer and director and instead brought screenwriter Ben Hecht and director
Victor Fleming to his office. He bullies them into being locked in his office
for five days with nothing but bananas and peanuts to eat in order to, in that
short time, write a credible screen play for the stalled movie.
To make
matters worse, Hecht has not even read the book, so the other two men decide to
act it out for him, scene by scene, while he types up dialog. Their
intentionally cheesy acting, especially when the two men play the roles of
Scarlett and her maid Prissy, creates easily the funniest scenes in the play.
As they
get more exhausted and tense from endless coddling, arguing, bombast, sniping,
and yes, bouts of humor, they eventually emerge with a script, and the rest is
history. All in all, the direction by Pavlina Morris is well-paced and
realistic, and the acting very solid.
At the
low end of the office food chain is Selznick’s secretary, Miss Poppenghul, played
to a fare-thee-well by Katelyn Hoffman. Her costume, posture, demeanor, and
responses are all spot on and perfectly create the iconic 1930s secretary, from
the top of her disciplined red hair to her appropriate stacked-heel shoes. I
can’t imagine anyone doing it better.
Tedd
Saint-James ably plays the put-upon playwright Ben Hecht as skeptical, largely
unconvinced, and torn between the words of the book, about which he seems to
care little, and his own ethical imperatives. One can almost imagine a voice
from beyond chiding “silly rabbit; you want movies to be ethical teaching
tools?”
Jacob
Tice covers the role of director Victor Fleming with his usual energy, style,
humor, and hair-trigger emotional responses. Tice is an excellent actor who
routinely makes the most of whatever the script has to offer him, as he does
here.
Doing
the bulk of the heavy lifting as David O. Selznick is Blake R. York. The past
few years have seen him mostly designing and creating sets for the theatre, but
in this play he emerges onstage to remind us that, though we may think of him
as a behind-the-scenes artist, he is first and foremost an absolutely terrific
actor. York inhabits his character convincingly. No, I don’t know what the real
Selznick was like, but it hardly matters; this one is certainly real enough.
Speaking
of sets, this same Blake R. York designed and built the set as well, and it’s
amazing. It boasts a completely convincing, high-end Hollywood office of the
period, replete with grand symmetry, Art Deco styling, shiny leather diamond-tufted
couch and matching chair, and the obligatory commanding desk and window. Amplified
by Jen Ankrum’s very capable painting skills, the set alone is worth going to
see.
The play
is further amplified by spot-on costumes (Michele Graves), especially Hoffman’s,
unobtrusively correct lighting (director Morris), sound (Darren Hembd), props (Katelyn
Simpson) and a very hard working backstage crew (Briana Osborne, RuthAnn
Saunders) who “age” the set between scenes to reflect its descent from order to
chaos.
However,
in spite of grand acting and directing, a flawless set and costumes, and all
the rest, the property itself gets in its own way. While this is not what you
would call a fluff piece, it is nevertheless a light, or less than significant,
work. To quote the Scottish play, it is “…full of sound and fury, signifying
nothing.”
Granted,
the play raises high emotions with repeated cycles of angst-ridden philosophical
arguments about “the Jewish question,” the reason for movies to exist, and the opinion
that the ultimate control is in the hands of hoi polloi who buy tickets. However,
none of these high-minded discussions are resolved; there’s no grand conclusion
or moment of discovery. By the end, you may emerge a bit worn out from the
emotions, but you won’t have gone through any significant catharsis that
changes your views on life, the universe, or anything.
Fortunately,
none of that is required for a night of good theatre. Come see it for what it
does offer; an interesting insight into the movie making process, a fine cast
and crew, and a compelling swirl of drama and comedy. But remember, Moonlight
and Magnolias runs only this week and next, so don’t wait or you’ll miss it
all.
Moonlight
and Magnolias
June 13
to June 22, 2014
Tacoma
Little Theatre
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