The COMPANY of PLAYERS
Moonlight and Magnolias
by Ron Hutchinson
1st - 9th April 2011
Directed by Paul Morton

Legendary film producer David O. Selznick is five weeks into shooting Gone With the Wind when he realizes the script is awful and the director doesn't have a clue. He has five days to replace them and restart the shoot or the production shuts down.

Selznick calls Victor Fleming from the set of The Wizard to Oz to direct, and he taps legendary playwright, screenwriter and "script doctor" Ben Hecht to rewrite the script. There's only one problem - Hecht hasn't read the book.

Over the course of five madcap days, the three men, assisted by Selznick's assistant, Miss Poppenghul, frantically craft one of the most beloved screenplays of all time, as Selznick and Fleming act out the book for Hecht and the phone rings off the hook with calls from the likes of Vivien Leigh, Louis B. Mayer and Ed Sullivan.

The play is written as farce, but the characters also deal with serious questions about race and the tenuous power of Jewish executives in Hollywood.


Cast
Ian Houghton David O. Selznick
Ray Newton Ben Hecht
Chris Janes Victor Fleming
Jackie Lawn Mrs.Poppenguhl
Crew
Alex Brace Stage Manager
Derek Palmer Lighting
Tony Mason Sound
Karen Janes
& Angela Reiss
Props
Verity Mann Wardrobe
Pippa Morton Prompt



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