Moon Over Buffalo
Encyclopedia
Moon Over Buffalo is a 1995 comic
play
by Ken Ludwig
set in Buffalo, New York
in 1953. This play marked the return of Carol Burnett
to the Broadway
stage, after 30 years.
for its humor, as well as some sexual innuendo and a little slapstick
.
The actor who plays George, in particular, must be able to deliver a highly physical performance; George engages in a mock fencing
match with Charlotte, a wrestling
match with Howard, and a stunt fall into the orchestra pit
.
The action and dialogue are fast-paced, as the characters are constantly bickering or frantically trying to resolve some confusion.
George and Charlotte Hay, traveling actors, are performing Cyrano de Bergerac
and Private Lives
in a repertory
theatre in Buffalo. Charlotte has grandiose dreams of becoming a Hollywood film star; George, on the other hand, is quite satisfied as a stage actor, and sees live theater
as being superior to film.
George receives a phone call from Frank Capra
, a very famous film director
, who says that he needs replacements for Ronald Colman
and Greer Garson
, the two stars of his current film, The Twilight of The Scarlet Pimpernel
, and that he plans to see one of George's shows and consider George and Charlotte for the parts.
Charlotte, however, doesn't believe George when he gives the news; she has just learned that George has had an affair with one of their actors, Eileen, and that Eileen is pregnant with George's child. Charlotte tells George she plans to leave with Richard, a successful and charismatic lawyer. George, despondent, gives up hope and turns to alcohol to drown his misery.
When Charlotte reads the news about Capra losing his actors, she returns to the theater, only to find that George has left. Charlotte and Rosalind (their daughter who has recently come to visit) contact all the bars in the city, looking for him. They can't find him, but Charlotte does meet Howard, Roz's new fiancé, whom Charlotte's hard-of-hearing mother mistakenly introduces as Frank Capra. Thinking that Howard is the famous director, Charlotte gives him the "red carpet" treatment, for which Howard is grateful, but confused. And when George returns, he believes that Howard is actually Eileen's brother, seeking revenge for George's affair with Eileen. In what he thinks is self-defense
, George ties up the innocent Howard and locks him in a closet.
When Charlotte and Roz finally meet George again, they try to get him prepared for the afternoon's showing of Private Lives, which Capra intends to see. George, in his drunken stupor, decides he would rather do Cyrano, and dresses appropriately. The resulting show is a disaster, as George is several minutes late to arrive onstage and in the wrong costume
and character. In the end, Howard, still bound in ropes, hops onstage and calls out for help; then George falls into the orchestra pit, presumably breaking a few instruments and sending him to the hospital.
After the show, a sober George offers his apology to Howard. Brushing that aside, Howard announces that he has met an old love and in walks Eileen. Howard and Eileen have decided to get engaged and eagerly plan to start a family right away. Everyone is relieved... and happy. Now that Roz is single, Paul takes the opportunity to propose to her, and they get engaged again on the spot. Charlotte forgives — or at least forgets — George's infidelity and decides to stay with him instead of Richard. Finally, in a deus ex machina
-like plot twist, Capra himself calls to say that he missed the afternoon performance and will instead see the show in the evening, thus allowing George and Charlotte another chance at Hollywood stardom.
, Moon Over Buffalo opened on Broadway at the Martin Beck Theatre on October 1, 1995, where it ran for 309 performances, after 22 previews and an out-of-town tryout in Boston. Philip Bosco
was nominated for the Tony Award
, Best Actor in Play and Carol Burnett was nominated for the Tony Award, Best Actress in a Play.
The play opened in London at the Old Vic
under the title Over The Moon in October 2001. Directed by Ray Cooney, the cast starred Frank Langella
and Joan Collins
.
The D.A. Pennebaker documentary video entitled Moon Over Broadway follows the show from rehearsal period through Broadway opening. The film documents the time during tryouts when the play had to be stopped due to a technical problem and Burnett "for half an hour just did the Carol Burnett Show. She's born to be out there."
During the original run, Carol Burnett and Philip Bosco were temporarily replaced by Lynn Redgrave
and Robert Goulet
while on extended vacations.
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
play
Play (theatre)
A play is a form of literature written by a playwright, usually consisting of scripted dialogue between characters, intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. There are rare dramatists, notably George Bernard Shaw, who have had little preference whether their plays were performed...
by Ken Ludwig
Ken Ludwig
Ken Ludwig is an American playwright and theatre director.Born in York, Pennsylvania, Ludwig was educated at the York Suburban Senior High School, York PA Haverford College , Harvard Law School, and Trinity College at Cambridge University...
set in Buffalo, New York
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
in 1953. This play marked the return of Carol Burnett
Carol Burnett
Carol Creighton Burnett is an American actress, comedian, singer, dancer and writer. Burnett started her career in New York. After becoming a hit on Broadway, she made her television debut...
to the Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
stage, after 30 years.
Characters
- George Hay, a traveling actorActorAn actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
. - Charlotte, George's wife and actress in his company.
- Rosalind, Roz, George & Charlotte's daughter, who left the stage to lead a "normal" life.
- Howard, a TV weathermanMeteorologyMeteorology is the interdisciplinary scientific study of the atmosphere. Studies in the field stretch back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did not occur until the 18th century. The 19th century saw breakthroughs occur after observing networks developed across several countries...
and Rosalind's fiancé. - Paul, stage manager for George's company, and Rosalind's ex-fiancé.
- Ethel, Charlotte's nearly-deaf mother.
- Richard, a love sick lawyerLawyerA lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
who is courting Charlotte. - Eileen, an actress in George's company who was George's "one-night-stand."
Overview
Moon Over Buffalo relies heavily on situation comedySituation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
for its humor, as well as some sexual innuendo and a little slapstick
Slapstick
Slapstick is a type of comedy involving exaggerated violence and activities which may exceed the boundaries of common sense.- Origins :The phrase comes from the batacchio or bataccio — called the 'slap stick' in English — a club-like object composed of two wooden slats used in Commedia dell'arte...
.
The actor who plays George, in particular, must be able to deliver a highly physical performance; George engages in a mock fencing
Fencing
Fencing, which is also known as modern fencing to distinguish it from historical fencing, is a family of combat sports using bladed weapons.Fencing is one of four sports which have been featured at every one of the modern Olympic Games...
match with Charlotte, a wrestling
Wrestling
Wrestling is a form of grappling type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. A wrestling bout is a physical competition, between two competitors or sparring partners, who attempt to gain and maintain a superior position...
match with Howard, and a stunt fall into the orchestra pit
Orchestra pit
An orchestra pit is the area in a theater in which musicians perform. Orchestral pits are utilized in forms of theatre that require music or in cases when incidental music is required...
.
The action and dialogue are fast-paced, as the characters are constantly bickering or frantically trying to resolve some confusion.
George and Charlotte Hay, traveling actors, are performing Cyrano de Bergerac
Cyrano de Bergerac (play)
Cyrano de Bergerac is a play written in 1897 by Edmond Rostand. Although there was a real Cyrano de Bergerac, the play bears very scant resemblance to his life....
and Private Lives
Private Lives
Private Lives is a 1930 comedy of manners in three acts by Noël Coward. It focuses on a divorced couple who discover that they are honeymooning with their new spouses in neighbouring rooms at the same hotel. Despite a perpetually stormy relationship, they realise that they still have feelings for...
in a repertory
Repertory
Repertory or rep, also called stock in the United States, is a term used in Western theatre and opera.A repertory theatre can be a theatre in which a resident company presents works from a specified repertoire, usually in alternation or rotation...
theatre in Buffalo. Charlotte has grandiose dreams of becoming a Hollywood film star; George, on the other hand, is quite satisfied as a stage actor, and sees live theater
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
as being superior to film.
George receives a phone call from Frank Capra
Frank Capra
Frank Russell Capra was a Sicilian-born American film director. He emigrated to the U.S. when he was six, and eventually became a creative force behind major award-winning films during the 1930s and 1940s...
, a very famous film director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
, who says that he needs replacements for Ronald Colman
Ronald Colman
Ronald Charles Colman was an English actor.-Early years:He was born in Richmond, Surrey, England, the second son and fourth child of Charles Colman and his wife Marjory Read Fraser. His siblings included Eric, Edith, and Marjorie. He was educated at boarding school in Littlehampton, where he...
and Greer Garson
Greer Garson
Greer Garson, CBE was a British-born actress who was very popular during World War II, being listed by the Motion Picture Herald as one of America's top ten box office draws in 1942, 1943, 1944, 1945, and 1946. As one of MGM's major stars of the 1940s, Garson received seven Academy Award...
, the two stars of his current film, The Twilight of The Scarlet Pimpernel
The Scarlet Pimpernel
The Scarlet Pimpernel is a play and adventure novel by Baroness Emmuska Orczy, set during the Reign of Terror following the start of the French Revolution. The story is a precursor to the "disguised superhero" tales such as Zorro and Batman....
, and that he plans to see one of George's shows and consider George and Charlotte for the parts.
Charlotte, however, doesn't believe George when he gives the news; she has just learned that George has had an affair with one of their actors, Eileen, and that Eileen is pregnant with George's child. Charlotte tells George she plans to leave with Richard, a successful and charismatic lawyer. George, despondent, gives up hope and turns to alcohol to drown his misery.
When Charlotte reads the news about Capra losing his actors, she returns to the theater, only to find that George has left. Charlotte and Rosalind (their daughter who has recently come to visit) contact all the bars in the city, looking for him. They can't find him, but Charlotte does meet Howard, Roz's new fiancé, whom Charlotte's hard-of-hearing mother mistakenly introduces as Frank Capra. Thinking that Howard is the famous director, Charlotte gives him the "red carpet" treatment, for which Howard is grateful, but confused. And when George returns, he believes that Howard is actually Eileen's brother, seeking revenge for George's affair with Eileen. In what he thinks is self-defense
Self-defense
Self-defense, self-defence or private defense is a countermeasure that involves defending oneself, one's property or the well-being of another from physical harm. The use of the right of self-defense as a legal justification for the use of force in times of danger is available in many...
, George ties up the innocent Howard and locks him in a closet.
When Charlotte and Roz finally meet George again, they try to get him prepared for the afternoon's showing of Private Lives, which Capra intends to see. George, in his drunken stupor, decides he would rather do Cyrano, and dresses appropriately. The resulting show is a disaster, as George is several minutes late to arrive onstage and in the wrong costume
Costume
The term costume can refer to wardrobe and dress in general, or to the distinctive style of dress of a particular people, class, or period. Costume may also refer to the artistic arrangement of accessories in a picture, statue, poem, or play, appropriate to the time, place, or other circumstances...
and character. In the end, Howard, still bound in ropes, hops onstage and calls out for help; then George falls into the orchestra pit, presumably breaking a few instruments and sending him to the hospital.
After the show, a sober George offers his apology to Howard. Brushing that aside, Howard announces that he has met an old love and in walks Eileen. Howard and Eileen have decided to get engaged and eagerly plan to start a family right away. Everyone is relieved... and happy. Now that Roz is single, Paul takes the opportunity to propose to her, and they get engaged again on the spot. Charlotte forgives — or at least forgets — George's infidelity and decides to stay with him instead of Richard. Finally, in a deus ex machina
Deus ex machina
A deus ex machina is a plot device whereby a seemingly inextricable problem is suddenly and abruptly solved with the contrived and unexpected intervention of some new event, character, ability, or object.-Linguistic considerations:...
-like plot twist, Capra himself calls to say that he missed the afternoon performance and will instead see the show in the evening, thus allowing George and Charlotte another chance at Hollywood stardom.
Productions
Directed by Tom MooreTom Moore (director)
Tom Moore is an American theatre, television, and film director.Born in Meridian, Mississippi, Moore graduated with a BA from Purdue University where he received the alumni distinction as an Old Master. Moore began his career in the late 1960s, directing Loot at Brandeis University and Oh, What a...
, Moon Over Buffalo opened on Broadway at the Martin Beck Theatre on October 1, 1995, where it ran for 309 performances, after 22 previews and an out-of-town tryout in Boston. Philip Bosco
Philip Bosco
-Personal life:Bosco was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, the son of Margaret Raymond , a policewoman, and Philip Lupo Bosco, a carnival worker. Bosco went to high school at St. Peter's Preparatory School in Jersey City. He attended the Catholic University of Washington, D.C. Bosco married Nancy...
was nominated for the Tony Award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
, Best Actor in Play and Carol Burnett was nominated for the Tony Award, Best Actress in a Play.
The play opened in London at the Old Vic
Old Vic
The Old Vic is a theatre located just south-east of Waterloo Station in London on the corner of The Cut and Waterloo Road. Established in 1818 as the Royal Coburg Theatre, it was taken over by Emma Cons in 1880 when it was known formally as the Royal Victoria Hall. In 1898, a niece of Cons, Lilian...
under the title Over The Moon in October 2001. Directed by Ray Cooney, the cast starred Frank Langella
Frank Langella
-Early life:Langella, an Italian American, was born in Bayonne, New Jersey, the son of Angelina and Frank A. Langella Sr., a business executive who was the president of the Bayonne Barrel and Drum Company. Langella attended Washington Elementary School and Bayonne High School in Bayonne...
and Joan Collins
Joan Collins
Joan Henrietta Collins, OBE , is an English actress, author, and columnist. Born in Paddington and raised in Maida Vale, Collins grew up during the Second World War. At the age of nine, she made her stage debut in A Doll's House and after attending school, she was classically trained as an actress...
.
The D.A. Pennebaker documentary video entitled Moon Over Broadway follows the show from rehearsal period through Broadway opening. The film documents the time during tryouts when the play had to be stopped due to a technical problem and Burnett "for half an hour just did the Carol Burnett Show. She's born to be out there."
Original Broadway cast
Source: New York Times- George Hay -- Philip BoscoPhilip Bosco-Personal life:Bosco was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, the son of Margaret Raymond , a policewoman, and Philip Lupo Bosco, a carnival worker. Bosco went to high school at St. Peter's Preparatory School in Jersey City. He attended the Catholic University of Washington, D.C. Bosco married Nancy...
- Charlotte Hay -- Carol BurnettCarol BurnettCarol Creighton Burnett is an American actress, comedian, singer, dancer and writer. Burnett started her career in New York. After becoming a hit on Broadway, she made her television debut...
- Rosalind -- Randy GraffRandy GraffRandy Graff is an American actress. Graff has been in feature films such as Keys to Tulsa and Rent as well as being in television shows such as NBC's Law & Order a number of times. In addition to film and television, Graff has been in several Broadway shows...
- Ethel -- Jane Connell
- Paul -- Dennis Ryan
- Eileen -- Kate MillerKate MillerKate Miller is a stage, film, television and voice-over actress. She is the voice of "Debbie DuPree" in the cartoon parody, Sealab 2021. She is also the voice of Grace Ryan in the Adult Swim show, Frisky Dingo...
- Howard -- Andy Taylor
- Richard Maynard -- James ValentineJames ValentineJames Valentine is the name of:*James Valentine , Australian; also musician*James Valentine , American*James Valentine , Scottish...
During the original run, Carol Burnett and Philip Bosco were temporarily replaced by Lynn Redgrave
Lynn Redgrave
Lynn Rachel Redgrave, OBE was an English actress.A member of the well-known British family of actors, Redgrave trained in London before making her theatrical debut in 1962...
and Robert Goulet
Robert Goulet
Robert Gerard Goulet was a Canadian American entertainer as a singer and actor. He played the role of Lancelot in the Broadway musical Camelot of 1960.-Early life:...
while on extended vacations.