Act One 2014
Opened: April 17, 2014Closing: June 15, 2014
Act One - 2014 - Broadway History , Info & More
Vivian Beaumont Theatre (Broadway)
150 West 65th St. at Broadway New York, NY 10023
When the playwright and director, Moss Hart, published his autobiography, "Act One," in 1959 it was a sensation, filled with vivid recollections of colorful characters, especially Hart's first great collaborator, the brilliant George S. Kaufman.
The book gave a fascinating insider's view of how a show really gets to the stage. Many people feel it has never been bettered. "Act One" was more than just a Broadway tale, though. It was a bestseller for almost a year, topping the New York Times list for 41 weeks. Why would this story of the playwright and director's early years be so wildly and widely popular?
We think it's because "Act One" is not just the ultimate valentine to the theater. It is also a Dickensian story of a young immigrant and his family, struggling to escape poverty in the early 20th century. From tenements to glamorous townhouses, from Buffalo stages to Catskills summer camps, and finally to the Broadway of his dreams, Hart's masterful telling captures the hope, misery and comedy of the climb, but also the glee of making it - because he did! A classic New York story.
Now, almost 75 years after Moss Hart's first Broadway success, James Lapine (who knows a thing or two about collaboration from his many shows written with Stephen Sondheim) brings ACT ONE to the stage. He has written and directs this world premiere production at the Beaumont. Tony Shalhoub, playing both George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart as an adult, is familiar to LCT audiences as the father in Golden Boy for which he was nominated for a Tony Award last season. Santino Fontana (the Tony-nominated prince in Broadway's Cinderella) portrays Mr. Hart as a young man. Andrea Martin (Tony winner for her spectacular turn as Berthe in Pippin, and also for LCT's My Favorite Year) plays Aunt Kate, a pivotal figure in Hart's early life.
Act One - 2014 - Broadway Cast
FEATURED REVIEWS FOR Act One
'Act One' review: Hart, but not much drama
7 / 10
So much love and care and ambition have been poured into 'Act One,' playwright/director James Lapine's sprawling stage adaptation of playwright/director Moss Hart's celebrated 1959 memoir. But as the Lincoln Center Theater's in-house magazine reminds us, Hart himself wrote, 'Playwrighting is not a gentle or sentimental profession, nor, may I add, is any part or portion of the theater.' Putting gentleness aside, one therefore must report that this play about the theater has a dazzling theatrical set but a dispiriting lack of drama. Autobiographical peaks and valleys that read with such charm and intensity in Hart's words are translated here into almost three hours of busy, flatline narrative.
‘Act One’ Theater Review: Tony Shalhoub Does Triple Duty in Moss Hart Memoir
8 / 10
In the book 'Act One,' as well as its stage adaptation, the producer of 'Once in a Lifetime' tells the very young Hart that he's written a good but 'noisy' play...The Lincoln Center Theater production of 'Act One' boasts 22 actors, most of them playing multiple roles, and there's a constantly revolving set of three tiers that features more than a dozen locales ranging from rooftops to stoops to alleys to theaters to offices to restaurants to speakeasies. Designed by Beowulf Boritt, this cityscape makes the original set for 'Sweeney Todd' at the old Uris Theater look like a kids' jungle gym...The producer in Hart's book wasn't sure about the word 'noisy.' Regarding Lapine's 'Act One,' the word 'fast' is closer to the mark...Shalhoub also does triple duty, playing not only the mature Hart and Hart's father but Kaufman, as well. Watching Shalhoub's many physical transformations is one of the production's greatest pleasures and its major element of suspense...
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Act One FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What productions of Act One have there been?
Act One has had 1 productions including Broadway which opened in 2014.
What Tony Awards has Act One been nominated for?
Act One has been nominated for Best Play, Best Costume Design of a Play for Jane Greenwood, Best Scenic Design of a Play for Beowulf Boritt, and Best Sound Design of a Play for Dan Moses Schreier.
What Tony Awards has Act One won?
"Act One" has won the Tony Awards for Best Costume Design of a Play for Jane Greenwood, Best Scenic Design of a Play for Beowulf Boritt, and Best Sound Design of a Play for Dan Moses Schreier.
What awards has Act One been nominated for?
Act One has been nominated for several prestigious awards, including Outstanding Sound Design in a Play at the Drama Desk Awards for Dan Moses Schreier, a Distinguished Performance Award at the Drama League Awards for Tony Shalhoub, Outstanding New Broadway Play at the Outer Critics Circle Awards for Act One, and Outstanding Set Design for a Play or Musical at the Outer Critics Circle Awards for Beowulf Boritt.
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