Tag: play

Moonlight and Magnolias

Can this screenplay be fixed before production is “gone with the wind?”

City Theatre of Independence is proud to present Moonlight and Magnolias, a comedic play written by Ron Hutchinson. Our cast features the amazing talents of Nino Casisi as David O. Selznick, Jack McCord as Ben Hecht, Ray Ettinger as Victor Fleming, and Maddy Phillip as Miss Poppenghul. The production is directed by Melissa Trierweiler and stage managed by Andrew Draker.

What is Moonlight and Magnolias about? The film Gone With the Wind is in the midst of production, but the director needs to be canned and the screenplay needs a complete overhaul. Hollywood producer David O. Selznick is determined to get everything back on track. The catch? He only has five days to do it, his writer has never read the novel, and his choice of director is busy filming The Wizard of Oz. Hilarity ensues as this team scrambles to make movie magic.

Who really are these characters? David O. Selznick was an American film producer best known for his work on Gone With the Wind, but also won the Academy Award for Outstanding Production for the 1940 film adaptation of Daphne du Maurie’s novel Rebecca. Selznick has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his contributions to the film industry. Victor Fleming was a Hollywood director who has gone down in infamy as the man who slapped actress Judy Garland on set of The Wizard of Oz – a moment that gets brought up in the action of Moonlight and Magnolias. While The Wizard of Oz and Gone With the Wind are his two most successful films, his directing career spanned approximately 30 years. Ben Hecht was the screenplay writer for Gone With the Wind, but he was also a novelist, journalist, director, producer, and playwright. He is regarded as one of the most successful screenplay writers in motion picture history. He was credited for having a knack for writing realistic dialogue and outrageous but well grounded plots.

Moonlight and Magnolias was first produced in 2004 at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago, Illinois. City Theatre of Independence’s production opens March 24th and runs through April 2nd. Mature audience is suggested due to offensive language. The board of directors would also like to advise any audience members with peanut allergies to take caution as the actors consume peanuts onstage.

Tickets are available for purchase at:

https://citytheatreofindependence.ticketleap.com/moonlight–magnolias/