Act One, the 1959 jam-packed memoir of Moss Hart, is the bible of many theater lovers. A beloved book, however, does not necessarily translate into riveting theater. Through his passion for the stage, Hart moves from his impoverished Bronx childhood up to playwright heaven with hits on Broadway like The Man Who Came to Dinner,co-written with George S. Kaufman. A stage-struck kid of any age can relate to this rags-to-riches tale.
As intriguing as the conceit of the Lincoln Center presentation is, however, the pace is unfocused on many levels. Adapted and directed by James Lapine, the turntable two-level set by Beowulf Boritt is active, moving from one picturesquely compressed scene like the crowded Bronx tenement to Kaufman's glamorous, white, Hollywoodesque townhouse to an office, and onward and upward. As the sets whirl, the years from 1914 to 1930 fly by, but events aren’t fleshed out. Hart climbs the stairway to success without too much huffing and puffing since we don't really learn much about his talent and the specific events that impacted him. What was he like?
Although the performances are impressive, there is confusion here, as well. Matthew Schechter portrays Hart as a growing boy with an intense love for the theater. Move on a few years, and Santino Fontana (Cinderella) plays Hart in his twenties, a charmer who is hyperactively eager to get his theatrical start. When he is middle-aged, Hart is portrayed by Tony Shalhoub and looks back on his life. In addition, Shalhoub plays Hart's father and the eccentric, picky Kaufman, Hart's co-writer who was already successful when he joined with Hart. The popular Andrea Martin has three parts, his Aunt Kate who nurtured young Moss' interest in the stage, agent Frieda Fishbein and Beatrice Kaufman, married to George. In the second act, the pace lags as Hart and Kaufman focus on getting their 1930 satire, Once in a Lifetime on its feet.
While Act One is almost three hours long and could use trimming, we still do not get a full appreciation of what made Moss Hart special. As Hart himself wrote in his book, "Too many plays emerge better on the printed page than they do behind the footlights." Act One is Example One.
