Satirizing
Hollywood may have been for Kaufman and Hart what their title says. But
their 1932 send-up of flimsy films
and capricious cinemoguls turned
out to be a forerunner of plays and even movies themselves that put down what playwrights
often regard as an infamous industry. For Asolo Rep, director Mark Rucker puts 19 performers through paces
demanded by 70+ roles and three acts of madcapery. What goes by, from a shabby
NYC hotel room onward, are scenes on a train (with everyone bouncing slightly
inside as cacti may be glanced being passed by outside the windows), also in a
huge art deco studio reception room with a panoply of doors, and on sets no
Broadway designer would own up to. In between are Austin Forbord’s fine projections
from old movies or ones made for this production, B&W of course, that
mostly separate or designate scenes in the play. (One “on the beach“ will
definitely not be confused with a movie of that name.)
The slight plot
follows the fortunes and friendship of three vaudevillians whose run just
finished a last lap. Ambitious
promoter Jerry (adequate Andrew Carter) sells their act to afford a move to the
new entertainment mecca, Hollywood. Practical May (attractive, intelligent
Hillary Clemens) determines they’ll start an elocution business, vocally
coaching silent screen stars who have to transition to talkies. Westward ho,
they meet influential columnist Helen Hobart (Kate Hampton, lovelier than
Louella, more hip than Hedda) who—for half of any profits--will arrange
an in with studio boss Herman Glogauer. Goofy but always loveable George (Jason
Bradley, the real star) goes along reluctantly until he meets curly-haired,
empty-headed Susan Walker
(hilarious Ashley Scallon).
With his winning ways, he captures her heart as well as the approval of her mom (Carolyn Michel, effective epitome of a stage mother). Most importantly, George unwittingly bowls over meglomaniac
Glogauer (David Breitbarth, acing
every test of screwball comic skills).
As the elocutionists
fail to meet their goal, so apparently does May and Jerry’s romance. They just can’t overcome challenges
such as presented by the glittery gibberish of glamour girls Florabel Leigh and
Phyllis Fontaine (rightly cloying Katie Cunningham and Summer Dawn Wallace). A
hokey script and screaming foreign director (James Clarke, out-VonStroheiming
Erich) bring everyone to the edge of doom. Thanks to nutty (in more ways than
one) George and pretentious critics, Glogauer gets a triumphant film. The fun
is in showing how he got there and how George brings his friends with him into
cinema history. Along the way comes an array of comic caricatures: secretaries dressed in gowns who seem to be continually auditioning for
another role; media forerunners of tabloid sensationalists and papparazi; off-camera technicians , police and
porters, restaurant and night club workers, salespeople and
servants—mostly wanabee actors who regard every action as a screen test.
Representing the playwrights who never get to see the boss who pays them or the
movie-makers who ignore their scripts or even fail to assign them, Jake Staley
stands out unreeling the frustrations of writer Lawrence Vail.
Behind the scenes
stars of this production are Erik Flatmo with gimmicky sets lit by Burke Brown;
Alex Jaeger’s costumes of feathers, fur, and all kinds of splash; assistant
director Amy Corcoran, the movement specialist whose job of keeping (almost)
everyone from bumping into each other is absolutely crucial. Director Rucker’s demands on energy from all seem a bit
much for cast and crew, as well as audiences who must spend 2 hours and 45
minutes on protracted fluff. It’s
said this play inspired the film Singing in the Rain Ironically, that may be its best claim
to lasting fame.
Sound Design and
Composer: Cliff Carruthers. Hair,
Makeup: Michelle Hart. Stage
Manager: Patrick Lanczki.