Moonlight and Magnolias

Moonlight and Magnolias is another triumph from the Pymble Players.

The Art Deco set is sleek and stylish with the attention to detail that regular theatre audiences have come to expect from Joy Sweeney.  The black walls extend seamlessly into the hall, giving the audience the illusion that they too are sitting in David O. Selznick's office.  

Murray Fane as Selznick delivers the lion’s share of the dialogue.  One would expect a film producer to be verbose and melodramatic and Fane provides this in spades (so much so that he can be forgiven for stumbling over a few words).  Selznick's frantic desperation to get a screenplay rewritten is met and nicely balanced by the humour and social conscience of screenwriter Ben Hecht. Hecht, played by Des Harris, is put under enormous pressure but delivers the goods.  Harris maintains a convincing New York Jewish accent throughout and brings a lovely humanity and warmth to the stage.

Miss Poppenghul, Mr Selznick's long-suffering secretary, is brought to life by Sarah Dolan. Dolan doesn't have a lot of stage time but makes the most of every appearance and helps to break the growing tension within Selznick's office.

The final piece in the puzzle is Clive Hobson as the overbearing yet charismatic director Victor Fleming. Hobson's stage presence is as big as he is: massive. His articulation is perfect and his volume is up.  He is highly believable as the revered Hollywood director that actors described as a "tough man" to work for.

The costumes are en pointe, the lighting is subtle but effective and the audience was engaged from start to finish.  It's a big ask for only four actors to maintain pace, energy and interest for nearly two hours of stage time but Sweeney and her cast have done it easily.  Moonlight and Magnolias is playing at Pymble until Sunday 3^rd July.

Fiona Kelly