Backstage (1988 film)
Encyclopedia
Backstage is a 1988 Australian film starring American singer Laura Branigan
. The film was written and directed by Academy Award nominee Jonathan Hardy
, who had also written Breaker Morant
.
The plot centred on American pop singer Kate Lawrence (Branigan) wanting to embark on a career as an actress. The only job she can find is playing the lead role in an Australian theatre production of The Green Year Passes. The hiring of an American causes conflict with her Australian cast and crew, and the chagrin of theatre critic Robert Landau with whom she has an affair.
The film was briefly released theatrically in Australia, before being released on home video internationally. Allmovie calls it an "insipid and cliché-ridden romantic comedy", although Variety
conceded the film was "well crafted in every department".
Branigan also performed several songs in the film.
Laura Branigan
Laura Ann Branigan was an American singer-songwriter and actress of Italian and Irish ancestry. She is best known in the United States for her 1982 Platinum-certified hit "Gloria" and in Europe for the number-one single "Self Control"...
. The film was written and directed by Academy Award nominee Jonathan Hardy
Jonathan Hardy
- Stage :He was part of the cast in the first public performance of Kenneth G. Ross's important Australian play Breaker Morant: A Play in Two Acts, presented by the Melbourne Theatre Company at the Athenaeum Theatre, in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, on Thursday, 2 February 1978.-Film:His film...
, who had also written Breaker Morant
Breaker Morant (film)
Breaker Morant is a 1980 Australian film about the court martial of Breaker Morant, directed by Bruce Beresford and starring British actor Edward Woodward as Harry "Breaker" Morant...
.
The plot centred on American pop singer Kate Lawrence (Branigan) wanting to embark on a career as an actress. The only job she can find is playing the lead role in an Australian theatre production of The Green Year Passes. The hiring of an American causes conflict with her Australian cast and crew, and the chagrin of theatre critic Robert Landau with whom she has an affair.
The film was briefly released theatrically in Australia, before being released on home video internationally. Allmovie calls it an "insipid and cliché-ridden romantic comedy", although Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
conceded the film was "well crafted in every department".
Branigan also performed several songs in the film.
Cast
- Laura BraniganLaura BraniganLaura Ann Branigan was an American singer-songwriter and actress of Italian and Irish ancestry. She is best known in the United States for her 1982 Platinum-certified hit "Gloria" and in Europe for the number-one single "Self Control"...
- Kate Lawrence - Michael AitkensMichael AitkensMichael Aitkens is a British writer of drama scripts for movies, television, and the traditional stage. He is well known in the UK for the BAFTA nominated BBC situation comedy Waiting for God, first shown in 1990. He has written for many of the UK's favourite drama and comedy series.Michael...
- Robert Landau - Noel Ferrier - Mortimer Wynde
- Rowena WallaceRowena WallaceRowena Wallace is a Gold -Logie winning Australian actress, best known for her role as Patricia in Sons and Daughters.-Early life and budding career:...
- Evelyn Hough - Kym GyngellKym GyngellKym Gyngell is an Australian AFI award winning comedian and film, television and stage actor...
- Paarvo