Leighton Meester - Of Mice and Men on Broadway S&S #1: Leighton's making her Broadway debut! - Page 18

tranquility · 02-20-2014, 05:19 AM

I loved that James called Steinbeck "my man"

Quote:

OF MICE AND MEN: AN AMERICAN CLASSIC RETURNS TO BROADWAY

James Franco’s long-awaited Broadway debut in Of Mice and Men is a major draw of the new revival of John Steinbeck’s classic play, which begins performances at the Longacre Theatre on March 19.

But, as director Anna D. Shapiro explains, Steinbeck’s enduring story of friendship and the American dream gone awry is a compelling experience in its own right. “Great plays can be about so many different things — it depends on what time in your life you are encountering them,” says the Chicago-based director, a Tony Award winner for her intensely dramatic production of August: Osage County in 2008.

Steinbeck, who won a Pulitzer Prize for his 1939 novel The Grapes of Wrath and was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962, wrote Of Mice and Men first as a novella and subsequently adapted it for the stage. The play, which originally premiered on Broadway in 1937, tells the story of two farm workers, George and Lennie, who drift from job to job in a central California agricultural valley during the Great Depression. George, played by Franco, is tenderly protective of his friend Lennie (Bridesmaids star Chris O’Dowd), a giant of a man who is dependent upon George for protection and guidance. The two friends have plans to one day own a piece of land that they can farm for themselves.

Director Shapiro, whose last production on Broadway was the combustive comedy The Mother******er With the Hat, says she is deeply influenced by Steppenwolf, the theater company she has been associated with since 1995. “Everything that I saw in my early life was at that theatre, and I remember vividly their production of Of Mice and Men [a landmark 1980 revival starring Gary Sinise and John Malkovitch]. I am sure that had a huge impact on me.”

Shapiro says she was originally slated to direct the play four years ago, but the plans fell through. “I mostly do new plays, so I was unbelievably excited that someone would think of me for this play, because I have loved it my whole life. It wasn’t until it fell apart — and that really stung — that I realized how much the play meant to me.” Happily, she was approached once again, by different producers, and this time, by a stroke of luck, she reports, the actor Franco was already attached to the production. “That was such a weird, wonderful coincidence because I had spoken to James about the original project but he wasn’t available that time around.”

Franco, an ardent fan of Steinbeck’s writing since his youth, shares Shapiro’s enthusiasm for Of Mice and Men: “it gives us everything about life in a compact little parable: work, friendship, love, jealousy, violence, death, loneliness, everything is there. It’s the ultimate dramatic bromance,” he says.

“To me, it is a play about the American promise, about making your own way — literally, in this story, getting your own piece of land,” says Shapiro. “It’s about the promise that this country has made to a group of people — I should specify white, straight men — and how that promise can systematically take from them the essence of who they are. I think women process disappointment differently, because we never had really been promised anything. But even today, I’m watching even the really successful men who I know managing their own expectations about themselves, trying to figure out what makes them whole.”

In Of Mice and Men, George and Lennie’s best-laid plans are upset by human weakness as well as by the changing economic conditions of the era. Steinbeck wrote his stark fable, of course, at a time when memories of the Depression were fresh in people’s minds; his original title for the story was “Something That Happened.” However, Shapiro notes, the broader themes of the play remain just as timely today.

“When you are raised in a society that is very much about functionality, and you become highly functional in something, that’s who you are,” she says. “What happens when that thing doesn’t exist anymore? In my adulthood alone, I have watched entire industries be wiped out. People’s identities get very confused and lost. What happens between what people expect themselves to be and who they really are — what the world wants from you and what you are really capable of? I’m always interested in that kind of collision.”

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varietyofwords · 02-20-2014, 06:44 PM

Leighton is so well-spoken. I should have had her give my presentation of OM&M in high school.

LittleღMermaid · 02-21-2014, 12:53 AM

She certainly could have done my homework for me

tranquility · 02-21-2014, 01:36 PM

Same here

James and Chris are doing a Times Talkson March 7 about the play:

Quote:

A TIMESTALKS CONVERSATION
TheTimesCenter, 242 West 41st Street, NYC
Golden Globe® winner and Academy Award® nominee James Franco (“127 Hours,” “Milk”) and BAFTA Scotland® winner Chris O’Dowd (“Bridesmaids,” “Girls,” “Calvary”) make their Broadway debuts in John Steinbeck’s landmark American play, “Of Mice and Men,” directed by Anna O. Shapiro, with performances starting March 19. Don’t miss hearing these exciting talents talk about co–starring in the classic play and about their work and careers.

Tickets: $40

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varietyofwords · 02-21-2014, 03:59 PM

I'll have to keep my eyes out for an article from Times Talk to allay the fears from my dream that this is secretly a variety show.

It's great that the show is getting so much attention and press!

tranquility · 02-21-2014, 04:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by varietyofwords (View Post)

I'll have to keep my eyes out for an article from Times Talk to allay the fears from my dream that this is secretly a variety show.

It's great that the show is getting so much attention and press!

Your dream?

I love that it's getting a lot of press!

I get their ad on here all the time

varietyofwords · 02-21-2014, 05:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tranquility (View Post)

Your dream?

I get their ad on here all the time

Yes, the one I had where I saw it with you and my bff wouldn't let us sit side by side because she was afraid we'd talk the whole time. The other part of the dream was that OM&M was actually a variety show were Franco did tricks like a magician (I think because I've only seen him in Oz) and Leighton sang.

Your cookies must be clogged with OM&M.

adambrodyrocks · 02-21-2014, 10:29 PM

so exited about this cast coming together, fan of all of the, specially leighton and james

LittleღMermaid · 02-22-2014, 04:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by varietyofwords (View Post)

Yes, the one I had where I saw it with you and my bff wouldn't let us sit side by side because she was afraid we'd talk the whole time. The other part of the dream was that OM&M was actually a variety show were Franco did tricks like a magician (I think because I've only seen him in Oz) and Leighton sang.

Your cookies must be clogged with OM&M.

I didn't know I wanted this until now

varietyofwords · 02-22-2014, 11:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LittleღMermaid (View Post)

I didn't know I wanted this until now

Right? I was angry about it in the dream, but now I want it to happen in addition to real OM&M. Maybe for 2015.

tranquility · 02-22-2014, 12:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by varietyofwords (View Post)

Yes, the one I had where I saw it with you and my bff wouldn't let us sit side by side because she was afraid we'd talk the whole time. The other part of the dream was that OM&M was actually a variety show were Franco did tricks like a magician (I think because I've only seen him in Oz) and Leighton sang.

Your cookies must be clogged with OM&M.

It was an awesome dream

I regret nothing

Does anyone know how these Time Talks usually are? I'm really curious about it.

LittleღMermaid · 02-23-2014, 12:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by varietyofwords (View Post)

Right? I was angry about it in the dream, but now I want it to happen in addition to real OM&M. Maybe for 2015.

Anything is possible when James is involved.

Quote:

Originally Posted by tranquility (View Post)

It was an awesome dream

I regret nothing

Does anyone know how these Time Talks usually are? I'm really curious about it.

They have some videos up on the website you can watch. http://timestalks.com/videos.php I've never seen one before

tranquility · 02-23-2014, 02:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LittleღMermaid (View Post)

They have some videos up on the website you can watch. TimesTalks - Videos I've never seen one before

I'll definitely check them out. Thanks Tabby!

I love seeing screencaps of people's confirmation e-mails for their tickets on Instagram.

adambrodyrocks · 02-23-2014, 10:36 PM

maybe james will tweet more once the play starts

tranquility · 02-24-2014, 07:15 AM

Hopefully. He posted a selfie from rehearsals yesterday.


Fan Forum > Female Celebrities > Leighton Meester > Of Mice and Men on Broadway S&S #1: Leighton's making her Broadway debut!