"Moonlight & Magnolias" character profile: Ben Hecht

The Character
Ben Hecht
Screenwriter
1894-1964
Oscars for Best Screenplay for "Underworld" (1927) and "The Scoundrel" (1935)

Ben Hecht was born in New York City to Russian Jewish immigrant parents. His family moved to Racine, Wisconsin; when he graduated high school at 16, he moved to Chicago and began a career in journalism. After World War I, the Chicago Daily News sent him to cover Berlin, where he wrote his first and most successful novel, Erik Dorn, in 1921.

Hecht also had a successful career as a playwright, penning productions like "The Egotist" and "The Front Page," which ran for 281 performances on Broadway. He moved on to Hollywood and won an Oscar for his first screenplay, which was for Josef von Sternberg's "Underworld" (1927). Soon after, he became the highest paid screenwriter in Hollywood, earning enough to spend most of the year in New York doing what he considered "serious writing." Hecht never thought of the movies as serious art, partly because of the limitations imposed by finances and censorship.

He worked on screenplays for some of Hollywood's most successful films: "Scarface" (1932), "Gunga Din" (1939), "Wuthering Heights" (1939), "Spellbound" (1945), "Notorious" (1946), and "Monkey Business" (1952). Hecht also was uncredited on many other projects, notably "The Shop Around the Corner" (1940), "His Girl Friday" (1940), "The Sun Also Rises" (1957), "Mutiny on the Bounty" (1962), and of course, "Gone With the Wind" (1939). Sidney Howard, the original screenwriter for "Gone With the Wind," received final screen credit and the Oscar; it was to have been credited to a team, but Howard died in an accident in 1939 and the studio honored him with the credit.

Hecht was known for being a civil rights activist, fighting against discrimination against African-Americans and Jews. He was a proponent of the United States entering World War II and worked to rescue Jews from Eastern Europe. He also tried to publicize the truth about the Holocaust during a time when news on the issue was scarce.

In "Moonlight & Magnolias," Hecht has just been called in by producer David O. Selznick to rewrite the original screenplay for "Gone With the Wind." Despite not having read the book, he agrees to bang out a new script in five days with the help of Selznick and director Victor Fleming. The atmosphere gets more and more tense as the three battle hunger, fatigue and differing worldviews, but in the end, the finished product is worth the wait.


The Actor
Adam Lishawa
Adam Lishawa last graced the stage of the GCP as Vic Johnson in "Funny Money" and Grown-up Ralphie in "A Christmas Story." He has also been seen at UF and the Acrosstown Repertory Theatre in "Bug," "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and "Hunter Gatherers."

"Moonlight & Magnolias" character profile: Victor Fleming

The Character
Victor Fleming
Motion Picture Director
1889-1949
Oscar for Best Director, "Gone With the Wind" (1939)

Victor Fleming, a California native, met a film director while working as a mechanic, and worked his way from camera assistant to cinematographer. Fleming directed his first film, "When the Clouds Roll By," in 1919. He directed stars like Douglas Fairbanks in silent action films, and eventually received a reputation as a "man's director."

Fleming joined MGM in 1932 and directed some of the studio's most famous films: "Bombshell" (1933), "Treasure Island" (1934), "Captains Courageous" (1937), "The Wizard of Oz" (1939), "Gone With the Wind" (1939), "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" (1941) and "Joan of Arc" (1948).

Despite his reputation for directing men, Fleming had great success directing women: both Vivien Leigh and Hattie McDaniel won Academy Awards for 'Gone With the Wind," and Ingrid Bergman was nominated for "Joan of Arc."

Fleming is the only director to have two films ("Gone With the Wind" and "The Wizard of Oz") in the top 10 of the AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies list. His star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame can be seen on Vine Street.

In "Moonlight & Magnolias," Fleming has just been pulled from the set of "The Wizard of Oz" to replace George Cukor as the director of "Gone With the Wind." Since Fleming is dissatisfied with the script, producer David O. Selznick calls in screenwriter Ben Hecht. There is one problem - Hecht has not read the book. Over the next five days, Selznick and Fleming read and act out the parts while Hecht works furiously to produce a script worthy of the most famous movie in Hollywood history.

The Actor 
Doug Diekow
Doug Diekow will be recognized by GCP audiences for lending his comic timing to roles like Reverend David Marshall Lee in "The Foreigner," George Hay in "Moon Over Buffalo," Charles Condomine in "Blithe Spirit," Jack Warner in "Shakespeare in Hollywood," Harmony in "Daddy's Dyin', Who's Got the Will?," and Edgar Hollister in "The Murder Room."

"Moonlight & Magnolias" character profile: David O. Selznick

The Character

David O. Selznick
Motion Picture Producer
1902-1965
Oscars for Best Picture for "Gone With the Wind" (1939) and "Rebecca" (1940)
Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award, 1939

David O. Selznick, son of a Pittsburgh movie producer, worked at MGM and Paramount in the late 1920s before joining RKO as head of production, working on movies like "King Kong." He moved back to MGM in 1933 and began its second production unit, which yielded classics like Dinner at Eight (1933), David Copperfield (1935), Anna Karenina (1935) and A Tale of Two Cities (1935). He began his own studio in 1935 and produced The Prisoner of Zenda (1937), A Star Is Born (1937), The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1938), Intermezzo (1939) and Gone with the Wind (1939), which remains the highest grossing film of all time (adjusted for inflation). It also won seven additional Oscars and two special awards. Selznick also launched the American film career of Alfred Hitchcock, who won his only Best Picture Oscar for "Rebecca" in 1940.

Selznick closed his studio in the early 1940s, but returned to producing later in the decade. His first marriage, to Louis B. Mayer's daughter Irene, ended in 1948; he married actress Jennifer Jones in 1949 and spent much of the 1950s nurturing her career. He died in 1965 after several heart attacks. Selznick's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is located outside the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel.

"Moonlight & Magnolias" takes place in Selznick's office in 1939, after he fired director George Cukor from "Gone With the Wind" and halted production to rewrite the script. He and the replacement director, Victor Fleming, have one week to bring screenwriter Ben Hecht up to speed and produce the script for the most anticipated film in Hollywood history.

The Actor
Henry Wihnyk
Henry Wihnyk is a fixture on the GCP stage. Over the past 20 years, he has delighted audiences as Billis in "South Pacific," Alfred P. Doolittle in "My Fair Lady," Mayor Shinn in "The Music Man," the Angel in "The Sugar Bean Sisters," Henry Perkins in "Funny Money," and most recently, Wilbur Turnblad in "Hairspray."

"Tom Sawyer" cast list announced!

Congrats to the new cast of "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer"!

Tom Sawyer - Alex Christophy
Huck Finn - Chris Shaw
Sidney Sawyer - Liam McKay
Ben Rogers - Patrick Mann
Joe Harper - Zach Bennett
George Bellamy - Spenser Dalrymple
Lyke Peters - Brandon McKenzie
Alfred Temple - Camden Foote
Becky Thatcher - Marissa Vairo
Amy Lawrence - Brittany Bennett
Lucy Harper/Swing - Madison Wyatt
Sabina Temple - Emily Garcia
Susie Rogers - Amanda Gramig
Judge Thatcher - Steven Griffin
Gideon Wain - Josh Edwards
Lanyard Bellamy - Yancey Cook
Lemuel Dobbins - Thomas Sanders
Reverend Sprague - George Zinger
Injun Joe - Ed McKay
Muff Potter/Swing - Mike Tremaine
Doc Robinson - Nathaniel VonDoHeren
Pap/Sheriff - Andy Hunn
Aunt Polly - Susan Christophy
Widow Douglas - Lauren Robinson
Sereny Harper - Alex Sherman
Jessica Rogers - Patricia Kee
Naomi Hollis - Mia Frattino
Sally Bellamy - Bridget Siegel
Ensemble:
Fiona McKay
Brianna Gardener
Daniela Ifju

"Tom Sawyer" auditions are this weekend!

Dan Christophy, director of the upcoming musical "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer," talks about the auditions taking place Sunday, May 19 and Monday, May 20 at 7 p.m. at the GCP!
 
GCP Girl: Why did you want to direct "Tom Sawyer"?
DC: I really enjoy the story of Tom Sawyer and enjoy the opportunity to direct a fun family musical.

GCP Girl: What is your vision for the production?
DC: I want people to come and see a show that is as close to a professional production as you can get at a community theater. I want to create a different world on stage that brings the audience in and takes them on a journey.

GCP Girl: What are you looking for in those who audition? If someone wants to really impress you, what should he or she do?
DC: I am looking for people who are not afraid to take a chance with their characterizations and people willing to learn and adapt.

GCP Girl: Any special instructions for auditions?
DC: Come prepared with your sheet music and some shoes to dance in.

GCP Girl: Anything else you'd like to add for the good of the order?
DC: Come out and have a good time. Relax and just be yourself, or your character if asked!

Thanks, Dan! See more details about auditions on our Facebook event page. Break a leg, everyone!

xo xo GCP Girl