Three Golden Age moviemakers, one Civil War epic and director Lennon Smith create theatre magic at the Spindrift

By Jean Bartlett

Arts Correspondent

Posted: 04/29/2009 09:00:00 PM PDT

Cast and Director of "Moonlight and Magnolias:" George Mauro, Debi Durst, Daniel Trecroci, Lennon Smith, Bill Tarran (Photo by Jean Bartlett)

Ten number one reasons to see the Lennon Smith directed "Moonlight & Magnolias" currently on stage at the Spindrift: 1) Lennon Smith directed; 2) George Mauro; 3) Bill Tarran; 4) Debi Durst; 5) Daniel Trecroci; 6) George Mauro as David O. Selznick doing an imitation of Scarlett O'Hara; 7) tight script and lines delivered spot-on; 8) a celebration of the Golden Age of Hollywood; 9) a reminder of why the film "Gone With The Wind" is still considered the most beloved and enduring films of all time; and 10) riveting fun.

In the good old Hollywood days, scripts flew out of manual Underwood typewriters faster than passion-filled producers could shout "Action!" Independent producer David O. Selznick (Mauro) was one such man of passion who gambled his every last dime, $50,000 on the film rights alone, and probably a good deal of his sanity to bring Margaret Mitchell's best-selling Civil War epic "Gone With The Wind" to the big screen.

He had problems getting there. A two-year talent search for the actress to play the pivotal role of Scarlett O'Hara, eventually snagged by the largely unknown British actress Vivien Leigh, was one such problem and then there was the script. Worked on by more than a dozen writers, and loaded down with untranslatable revisions, the Selznick script was referred to by industry insiders as "Selznick's Folly." Selznick called in the big guns: screenplay writing wizard Ben Hecht (Tarran) and Golden Era director extraordinaire Victor Fleming (Trecroci).

Under a five-day (and night) Selznick-imposed deadline, Selznick locked Hecht, Fleming and himself in his office, had his secretary Miss Poppenghul (Debi Durst) supply them with mounds of bananas and peanuts, aka brain food, and with time for bathroom breaks and short naps only, created the script that would wow as never before on the Silver Screen. While "Moonlight & Magnolias" is based on Ben Hecht's account of the infamous 5-day screenplay writing incident (from his autobiography, "A Child of the Century,") playwright Hutchinson mixes in fact, fiction and plenty of humor to tell just what had to be done to bring Rhett Butler to his final legendary line: "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn."

As the locked in and desperately tired men try to create masterpiece writing, and as the obviously long-time suffering Miss Poppenghul delivers the appropriate smack-them-in-the-head and yes-boss looks, the audience is treated to Selznick, Hecht, and Fleming assuming the roles of GWTW main characters: Scarlett O'Hara, her parents Gerald and Ellen, Rhett Butler, Ashley Wilkes, Melanie Hamilton and Prissy as they act out the journey of their script. Those familiar with "Gone With The Wind" will see hilarious snapshots of beloved scenes such as: Scarlett declaring her unrequited love to the effeminate and other-person affianced Ashley as witnessed by that rogue Rhett Butler hiding behind the couch, the birth of Melanie Hamilton's baby, and the Civil War worn Scarlett holding up a fistful of Tara and claiming to God as her witness, she'll never go hungry again.

While the play is sharp-witted, wordsmith comedy with the importance of stick-to-itiveness running a strong second, there is also an undercurrent, expressed by the Hecht character, of being aware of prejudice, of being cognizant of what might offend and using power and clout as gifts, to do the right thing. Mostly, however, that falls on deaf ears as frankly, there is a movie to be made!

With a knock-out sense of the great days of Tinseltown, director Lennon Smith pulls out all the stops to deliver first-rate, hilarious theatre. From a set that pulls us directly into Selznick's inner sanctum, to the costuming that defines each character's sense of place, to quadruple smart casting - Smith's "Moonlight & Magnolias" is fabulous.

George Mauro as Selznick is genius. Firing out comedy, passion, pushiness, charm, quick thinking and more comedy - after seeing him do Selznick performing Scarlett in a tie and a liturgy-like lace headscarf, there will never be another Scarlett for me but George. The beauty of Bill Tarran as Hecht is he appears to be the play's morality compass and kind-of normal guy, except for the fact that he's as delightfully driven and loony as the rest of them and man-oh-man can he deliver the breakneck dialogue.

Debi Durst, an absolute-born-for-the-stage riot as Miss Poppenghul, may have the fewest lines and the least amount of time on stage but by golly, you know her Miss Poppenghul is on the other side of her boss's door, Mr. Selznick, just waiting, just daring to be called upon. On stage or not, her Miss Poppenghul is always present!

Daniel Trecroci is a terrific Victor Fleming: quasi-debonair, sharp, impatient, purposefully funny, accidentally funny and quite capable of being the long-lost Stooge brother as he flings himself into the role of the pregnant Melanie Hamilton.

A genuine crowd pleaser destined to make even the curmudgeons guffaw. Four stars.