2008 Woodie Awards
'Moonlight and Magnolias' is laugh-out-loud funny
Issue date: 10/29/07 Section: Fine Arts
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The Mobile Theatre Guild kept the crowd laughing this past Friday night with their rendition of writer Ron Hutchinson's "Moonlight and Magnolias," the original title of the epic "Gone With the Wind." The play, set in Los Angeles 1939, reimagines the chaos surrounding the halted production of "Gone With the Wind" and the replacement of the movie's director, George Cukor.
"Moonlight and Magnolias," directed by Michale McKee, presents movie producer David O. Selznick, played by Allen Lyle, seeking the help of script writer Ben Hecht, played by Gene Murrell and director Victor Fleming, played by Zebulon Brown, as his former crew has been fired, stopping the production of the film. Selznick demands that Hecht and Fleming save his sanity and help production to begin immediately. Hecht and Fleming, who are both convinced they are wasting their time, are locked in Selznick's office for five days, given only brain-nourishing banana's and peanuts.
Hecht, appearing to be the only person in America not to have read Margaret Mitchell's literary melodrama, must enlist the help of Selznick and Fleming, who act out each scene. This makes for a good laugh as Selznick so adamantly portrays the whoreish heroine Scarlet O'Hara and Fleming as her esteemed lover, Ashley Wilkes.
Selznick's continual fear of failure is undoubtedly expected by his father-in-law, Louis B. Mayer, who remains on "hold" throughout the duration of the play. Selznick must prove himself to his father-in-law, as well as to the world. The only means of doing so are found through Vivien Leigh's cleavage and Rhett Butler's sarcasm. Hecht, who remains skeptical of the entire production, finds the film to be filled with a racist, child-abusing plot. However, according to Selznick, that is merely reminiscent of the true nature of the South and caters to what the audience is expecting.
Fleming becomes disgusted with Hecht, accusing him of being no more than a measly newspaper writer. Hecht fires back, reminding Fleming of his days as an overlooked chauffeur. Each man slowly looses his sanity, as the room becomes filled with banana peels and wads of paper.
"Moonlight and Magnolias," directed by Michale McKee, presents movie producer David O. Selznick, played by Allen Lyle, seeking the help of script writer Ben Hecht, played by Gene Murrell and director Victor Fleming, played by Zebulon Brown, as his former crew has been fired, stopping the production of the film. Selznick demands that Hecht and Fleming save his sanity and help production to begin immediately. Hecht and Fleming, who are both convinced they are wasting their time, are locked in Selznick's office for five days, given only brain-nourishing banana's and peanuts.
Hecht, appearing to be the only person in America not to have read Margaret Mitchell's literary melodrama, must enlist the help of Selznick and Fleming, who act out each scene. This makes for a good laugh as Selznick so adamantly portrays the whoreish heroine Scarlet O'Hara and Fleming as her esteemed lover, Ashley Wilkes.
Selznick's continual fear of failure is undoubtedly expected by his father-in-law, Louis B. Mayer, who remains on "hold" throughout the duration of the play. Selznick must prove himself to his father-in-law, as well as to the world. The only means of doing so are found through Vivien Leigh's cleavage and Rhett Butler's sarcasm. Hecht, who remains skeptical of the entire production, finds the film to be filled with a racist, child-abusing plot. However, according to Selznick, that is merely reminiscent of the true nature of the South and caters to what the audience is expecting.
Fleming becomes disgusted with Hecht, accusing him of being no more than a measly newspaper writer. Hecht fires back, reminding Fleming of his days as an overlooked chauffeur. Each man slowly looses his sanity, as the room becomes filled with banana peels and wads of paper.
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