Review of Loft Theatre Company production of Moonlight and Magnolias (2016)

Only one word can effectively sum up the central performance in this curiosity of a comedy. Breathtaking!

The accolade goes to Tim Willis for his portrayal of film producer David O. Selznick in a true-life scenario of how this legendary movie mogul locked himself and two others in an office for five days to rewrite Gone with the Wind.

It’s both a physical and emotional achievement for Willis, who also directs the show. The aim is to relive the madcap mentality that embodied the so-called Hollywood Golden Age and the physical aspect involves relentless leaping about the stage as he acts out the relationships of his central characters.

From an emotional point of view, Selznick passionately endeavours to fire up the imaginations of his scriptwriter Ben Hecht, who hasn’t even read the book, and his new director Victor Fleming, for whom he has already sacrificed the esteemed George Cukor.

Desperation and determination drive him to extraordinary measures to secure a filmable script. His two captives wilt under a barrage of bullying, begging and brain-food (bananas and peanuts) but rally to the cause, despite Hecht’s complaint that no civil war movie ever made a dime.

The comedic elements are uppermost throughout and both Oli Jones’s Hecht and Chris Gilbey-Smith’s Fleming respond in fine style to the barnstorming tactics of their fanatical captor which include having to act out the all-too-familiar roles of Scarlett, Rhett, Ashley and Melanie.

These form the high comedy of Ron Hutchinson’s play, but it does all boil down to one main joke drawn out over some two hours. Hutchinson, a clever but somewhat quirky writer, randomly tosses in other ingredients such as the original book’s hints of racism and the extent to which the whole Hollywood machine was a product of Jewish domination.

In that way, it becomes repetitive and rather tiresome. But hey, fiddle-dee-dee, you can’t frankly give a damn when you’re battered down by all that explosive energy.

As a theatrical endeavour, it’s quite remarkable.

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Peter McGarry is an experienced, independent professional theatre critic who has agreed to review Loft Theatre Company productions.

The agreement with the Loft is that Peter is free to express his opinions for good or ill. The Loft Theatre Company has no control whatsoever over the content of these reviews and will never comment publicly on what he writes.