Act One (play)

Last updated

Act One is a play written by James Lapine, based on Moss Hart's 1959 autobiography of the same title. The play premiered on Broadway in 2014.

Contents

Production

Act One premiered on Broadway at the Vivian Beaumont Theater in Lincoln Center on March 20, 2014 (previews), officially on April 17, 2014. Directed by James Lapine, the cast featured Santino Fontana, Tony Shalhoub (as George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart) and Andrea Martin as Hart's theatrical agent Frieda Fishbein. [1] Martin played three women in Moss Hart's life; Shalhoub also played three roles: as the older Hart, Moss's father, and George S. Kaufman. [2] The play closed on June 15, 2014, after 67 performances and 31 previews. It was filmed to be shown on the PBS television program "Live from Lincoln Center." [3] The filmed production was first televised on PBS in November 2015 & then uploaded to the Lincoln Center At Home Youtube page on June 19, 2020. [4]

The play had a reading on Martha's Vineyard in July 2012, with Tony Shalhoub, Debra Monk, Chuck Cooper and David Turner. The play was developed at the Vineyard Arts Project. [5] The book had previously been adapted into a film in 1963.

Overview

The play is an adaptation of Moss Hart's autobiography Act One . [6] The play, narrated by the older Moss Hart, traces his life from being poor in The Bronx to becoming famous and successful as a Broadway writer and director. The play depicts Hart's meeting and collaboration with George S. Kaufman. Act One ends with the production of the Hart-Kaufman successful play, Once in a Lifetime in 1930.

Critical reception

Ben Brantley, in his review for The New York Times , wrote "whatever its flaws, 'Act One,'... brims contagiously with the ineffable, irrational and irrefutable passion for that endangered religion called the Theater." [2]

Elysa Gardner, in her review in USA Today, wrote that the play "... is rather an appreciation, most notable for its deep affection and almost deferential reverence. To say the play lacks the complex poignance of the 'Sunday in the Park with George' and 'Into the Woods' librettist's best work wouldn't be fair; however wry Hart's humor or complicated his relationships — with show business, his family, other people — his 'Act One' is a nostalgic and ultimately upbeat reflection on fulfilling a dream....Lapine captures that essence and the period, on the page and on the stage." [7]

The play received nominations for five Tony Awards, with Beowulf Boritt winning for what Playbill called his "captivating, multi-level set design, built on a large-scale revolve..." [4]

Awards and nominations

Original Broadway production

YearAward ceremonyCategoryNomineeResult
2014 Tony Award Best Play James Lapine Nominated
Best Actor in a Play Tony Shalhoub Nominated
Best Scenic Design of a Play Beowulf Boritt Won
Best Costume Design of a Play Jane Greenwood Nominated
Best Sound Design of a Play Dan Moses Schreier Nominated
Drama Desk Award Outstanding Sound Design of a Play Dan Moses SchreierNominated
Drama League Award Distinguished Performance Tony Shalhoub Nominated
Outer Critics Circle Award Outstanding New Broadway PlayNominated
Outstanding Actor in a PlayTony ShalhoubNominated
Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play Andrea Martin Won
Outstanding Set DesignBeowulf BorittNominated

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tony Shalhoub</span> American actor (born 1953)

Anthony Marc Shalhoub is an American actor. His breakout role was as Antonio Scarpacci on the sitcom Wings from 1991 to 1997. He later starred as Adrian Monk in the USA Network series Monk from 2002 to 2009, earning three Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series. For his supporting role as Abe Weissman on Amazon's The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, he won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Lapine</span> American stage director and librettist

James Elliot Lapine is an American stage director, playwright, screenwriter, and librettist. He has won the Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical three times, for Into the Woods, Falsettos, and Passion. He has frequently collaborated with Stephen Sondheim and William Finn.

<i>Cinderella</i> (Rodgers and Hammerstein musical) Musical by Rodgers and Hammerstein

Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella is a musical written for television, but later played on stage, with music by Richard Rodgers and a book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. It is based upon the fairy tale Cinderella, particularly the French version Cendrillon, ou la petite pantoufle de verre, by Charles Perrault. The story concerns a young woman forced into a life of servitude by her cruel stepmother and self-centered stepsisters, who dreams of a better life. With the help of her fairy godmother, Cinderella is transformed into a princess and finds her prince.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephanie J. Block</span> American actress and singer (born 1972)

Stephanie Janette Block is an American actress and singer, best known for her work on the Broadway stage.

David Norman Yazbek is an American writer, musician, composer, and lyricist. He wrote the music and lyrics for the Broadway musicals The Full Monty (2000), Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (2005), Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (2010), The Band's Visit (2017), and Tootsie (2019). His most recent projects include the musicals Dead Outlaw and Buena Vista Social Club.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kelli O'Hara</span> American actress and singer (born 1976)

Kelli Christine O'Hara is an American actress and singer, most known for her work on the Broadway and opera stages.

Santino Fontana is an American actor and singer. He began his career in 2006 playing Hamlet at the Guthrie Theater and soon gained wide acclaim for his leading performances on and Off-Broadway. He has received a Tony Award, two Drama Desk Awards, an Outer Critics Circle Award, Lucille Lortel Award, Obie Award, and Clarence Derwent Award. In 2019, Fontana won the Tony, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle Awards for his lead performance as Michael Dorsey in the stage adaptation of Tootsie.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laura Osnes</span> American actress

Laura Ann Osnes is an American actress and singer known for her work on the Broadway stage. She has played starring roles in Grease as Sandy, South Pacific as Nellie Forbush, Anything Goes as Hope Harcourt, and Bonnie and Clyde as Bonnie Parker, for which she received a Tony Award nomination for Best Actress in a Musical. She also starred in the title role of Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella on Broadway, for which she received a Drama Desk Award and her second Tony Award nomination for Best Actress in a Musical.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norm Lewis</span> American actor, singer (born 1963)

Norm Lewis is an American actor and baritone singer. He has appeared on Broadway, in the West End, film, television, recordings and regional theatre. He’s also noted for his wide vocal range. Lewis was the second African-American actor after Robert Guillaume to perform in the title role in Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera and the first one to do so in the Broadway production. In 2023, he reprised the role in the show's sequel, Love Never Dies, in London's West End.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Kitt (musician)</span> American composer and musician

Thomas Robert Kitt is an American composer, conductor, orchestrator, and musician. For his score for the musical Next to Normal, he shared the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Drama with Brian Yorkey. He has also won two Tony Awards and an Outer Critics Circle Award for Next to Normal, as well as Tony and Outer Critics Circle nominations for If/Then and SpongeBob SquarePants. He has been nominated for eight Drama Desk Awards, winning one, and a Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album for Jagged Little Pill in 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Cromer</span> American actor and director

David Cromer is an American theatre director, and stage, film, and TV actor. He has received recognition for his work on Broadway, Off-Broadway, and in his native Chicago. Cromer has won or been nominated for numerous awards, including winning the Lucille Lortel Award and Obie Award for his direction of Our Town. He was nominated for the Drama Desk Award and the Outer Critics Circle Award for his direction of The Adding Machine. In 2018, Cromer won the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical for The Band's Visit.

<i>Act One</i> (book) Autobiography by Moss Hart

Act One is an autobiographical 1959 book by playwright Moss Hart. It was the source for a 1963 film and a 2014 Broadway play.

The Nance is a play written by Douglas Carter Beane. It involves the lives of burlesque performers during the 1930s. A "nance" was a camp stock character in vaudeville and burlesque. The play is a production of Lincoln Center Theater that premiered on Broadway in 2013. It received five Tony Award nominations, and won three awards. It starred Nathan Lane as Chauncey.

Disgraced (2012) is the first stage play by playwright, novelist, and screenwriter Ayad Akhtar. It premiered in Chicago and has had Off-Broadway and Off West End engagements. The play, which won the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, opened on Broadway at the Lyceum Theater October 23, 2014. Disgraced has also been recognized with a 2012 Joseph Jefferson Award for New Work – Play or Musical and a 2013 Obie Award for Playwriting. The 2014 Broadway transfer earned a nomination for Tony Award for Best Play in 2015.

<i>Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike</i> 2012 comedy play by Christopher Durang

Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike is a comedy play written by Christopher Durang. The story revolves around the relationships of three middle-aged single siblings, two of whom live together, and takes place during a visit by the third, Masha, who supports them. They discuss their lives and loves, argue, and Masha threatens to sell the house. Some of the show's elements were derived from works of Anton Chekhov, including several character names and sibling relationships, the play's setting in a country house with a vestigial cherry orchard, the performance of an "avant-garde" play by one of the main characters, and the themes of old vs. new generations, real vs. assumed identities, the challenges of a woman growing older after successes in a career that seems to be ending, the hope and carelessness of youth, intrafamilial rivalries, and the possible loss of an ancestral home.

<i>Rodgers + Hammersteins Cinderella</i> (Beane musical) Musical by Rodgers, Hammerstein and Beane (2013 adaptation)

Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella is a musical in two acts with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Douglas Carter Beane based partly on Hammerstein's 1957 book. The story is derived from the fairy tale Cinderella, particularly the French version Cendrillon ou la petite pantoufle de verre, by Charles Perrault. The story concerns a young woman forced into a life of servitude by her cruel stepmother. She dreams of a better life, and with the help of her Fairy Godmother, Cinderella is transformed into an elegant young lady and is able to attend the ball to meet her Prince. In this version, however, she opens the Prince's eyes to the injustice in his kingdom.

<i>If/Then</i> Musical by Brian Yorkey and Tom Kitt

If/Then is a musical with a libretto by Brian Yorkey and a theatrical score by Tom Kitt, directed by Michael Greif. It tells the story of a 38-year-old woman named Elizabeth who moves back to New York City for a fresh start.

Matthew Schechter is an American child actor working in theatre, television and film. Schechter has performed in six Broadway shows since his debut in 2009. In addition, Schechter has worked on several television programs, including Law & Order, 30 Rock, and What Would You Do?. Most recently, Schechter filmed Bad Dads, a drama-comedy short film with costar Danny Burstein and acted as Peter Best in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rachel Bay Jones</span> American actress and singer

Rachel Bay Jones is an American actress and singer. She has played the roles of Catherine in the 2013 Broadway revival of Pippin and Evan Hansen's mother, Heidi Hansen, in Dear Evan Hansen. The latter earned her an Emmy Award, a Grammy Award, and the 2017 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. She emerged as one of few artists to have received three of the four major American entertainment awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures</span>

Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures is the live show, stageplay and musical production arm of Warner Bros. Discovery. The company forms a part of Warner Bros., one of the major business segments of Warner Bros. Discovery. Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures is led by Mark Kaufman.

References

  1. ↑ Hetrick, Adam and Gioia, Michael. " 'Act One', Stage Adaptation of Moss Hart's Theatrical Memoir, Opens on Broadway April 17", Playbill, April 17, 2014
  2. 1 2 Brantley, Ben. "Several Moss Harts Are in 'Act One,' at Lincoln Center" The New York Times, April 17, 2014 (in print April 18, 2014, p. C1)
  3. ↑ Hetrick, Adam. "Curtain Comes Down on Broadway Stage Adaptation of Moss Hart's Theatrical Memoir 'Act One'" Playbill, June 15, 2014, accessed November 28, 2016
  4. 1 2 Hetrick, Adam; Gioia, Michael. " 'Act One', With Santino Fontana and Tony Shalhoub, Will Air on PBS in November", Playbill, October 8, 2015
  5. ↑ Hetrick, Adam. "Moss Hart's 'Act One', Adapted by James Lapine, Gets Starry Reading With Debra Monk and Tony Shalhoub", Playbill, July 21, 2012
  6. ↑ Act One Archived 2014-05-14 at the Wayback Machine Drama Book Store, accessed April 23, 2014
  7. ↑ Gardner, Elysa. "Lapine salutes Moss Hart's first act, affectionately", USA Today, April 18, 2014
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.