On and Off Broadway

'Act One'

A Review by Elyse Trevers

Posted

Act One, written and directed by James Lapine, is a theater lover’s dream. It gives an insider view into the writing and mounting of a Broadway show. Based on the 1959 autobiography by Moss Hart, one of the most popular playwrights of the 20th century, the story chronicles Hart’s difficult childhood in the Bronx until his first commercial hit. The book ends with “intermission.”

Although his work showed promise, nothing was successful until his first collaboration with George S. Kaufman. But that collaboration wasn’t easy. It fact, it took several months, several false starts and a lot of hard work. The project was almost aborted several times. Once In A Lifetime became the first of many hits the two created together, including You Can't Take It With You (1936) and The Man Who Came to Dinner (1939).

Hart is first portrayed as a young boy (Matthew Schecter), then as the young struggling playwright (the talented Santino Fontana), and finally, the marvelous Tony Shaloub as the older, wiser playwright himself, looking back over his experience and making observations. “The theater is not so much a profession as a disease.” Shaloub plays several roles. He portrays Hart’s disagreeable father but is best as George S. Kaufman. He’s rigid, uncommunicative and arrogant.

Too bad Kaufman wasn’t available to rewrite this play. The first act sets up Hart’s background and specifically the hard life and poverty his family endured. More importantly, it shows his introduction to the theater by his eccentric Aunt Kate (Andrea Martin). Hart’s love for the theater begins early and marks his life and career. The first act, though perhaps necessary for exposition, lengthens the play and should have been trimmed.

Act Two shows the actual collaboration between the two men. One of the best scenes shows three actors rehearsing. Moments later, after Hart and Kaufman do a rewrite, the actors perform the new version.

There’s also a peek into the rarified world of Kaufman, when his wife hosts a party and Hart meets some of their friends: Dorothy Parker, Langston Hughes and Edna Ferber among others. For a few moments the play offers a glimpse at the literati of the 1930s.
Because of Hart’s work and the references, the play is well-suited to the Lincoln Center Theater and the older, somewhat affluent audience it draws. Act One is a fascinating look at the creation of a play and makes one appreciate theater more.