You Gotta Have Hart
A week ago, I posted a very funny video here of Ethan Hawke as a guest on Seth Meyers' show. But there was something else which leaped out and caught my eye.
Among other things, he talked about a new movie he was in, that has opened in very limited release, called Blue Moon. Why this stood out for me is that it's the story of the end of the working relationship between Rodgers and Hart, one of the greatest partnerships in Broadway history. ("Blue Moon" was one of the many classic songs they wrote.)
He acknowledged that the film takes some liberties with the story, but the core details are truth. The movie takes place on the opening night of the musical Richard Rodgers wrote with his new partner, Oscar Hammerstein, when an ill/drunk Hart shows up unexpectedly. That new musical was...Oklahoma! And that part of the story is all true.
They showed a clip, and Ethan Hawke, who plays the diminutive, 5'0" Lorenz Hart is near-unrecognizable. From the clip and trailer, the film looks wonderful. It was directed by Richard Linklater, who's made such films as Boyhood, School of Rock, Dazed and Confused and much more. It's written by Robert Kaplow (who also wrote the excellent, Me and Orson Welles, that Linklater directed, as well).
By the way, the reason for the Rodgers and Hart break-up was not creative, but because Hart was had a terrible drinking problem and was completely unreliable. Rodgers often had to search the city to track him down. Finally, Hart's drinking got so out of hand, he ended up in the hospital. Around this time, Rodgers was approached by the Theater Guild with the play Green Grow the Lilacs by Lynn Riggs, to find out if he and Hart would like to adapt it into a musical. Rodgers brought it to Hart, who not only was in bad shape, but also knew it wasn't the kind of story -- about cowboys and farmers -- that he was adept at writing about. He told Rodgers he should find another partner to write it, if he really wanted to work on it. And so Rodgers contacted Oscar Hammerstein, who loved the project, and they wrote Oklahoma!
I'll tell a little more about the true story (which is fascinating) that Hawke also left out of his interview after this below, but first, here is the trailer.
As I said, the foundation of this film is true. Some things are changed, but there's an additional part of the story, which Hawke didn't discuss, that's sort of remarkable. He may not have brought it up because it's what came after the events of the movie. Perhaps they include it in a scroll at the end.
The story is memorable to me because it was the first time (and I think the only time) that I ever won a bet with my father. He not only was a very smart guy, and rarely bet, but when he did, only bet on a sure thing.
I was about 15 at the time, and I forget how the subject came up, but I mentioned that Lorenz Hart was still alive when Rodgers and Hammerstein wrote Oklahoma! "That's not true, my dad said, but I insisted it was. And as someone who even at that age studied the arcana of Broadway history, I went even farther. And so I said, "It is true. And not only was Hart still alive -- but he Richard Rodgers actually reteamed after Rodgers and Hammerstein wrote Oklahoma! and wrote another musical together!"
No, that isn't possible, my dad said. Insisting that Hart had died. I held my ground, and that's when we made our bet. And I was able to show my dad the research material that after Oklahoma!, Rodgers and Hart reteamed to add some new material and new songs to a revival of their show, A Connecticut Yankee, based on Mark Twain's novel, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court.
And I won my bet! I think it was for a quarter.
By the way, one of the additionally great things about this occurrence is that not only did Rodgers and Hart write new songs for the revival, after Rodgers and Hammerstein had written Oklahoma! -- but one of those new songs is one of my favorite Rodgers and Hart songs, a number that I think has the best, funniest convoluted rhymes of any song in Broadway history. It's called "To Keep My Love Alive". It's overloaded with triple rhymes that not only is a remarkable task, but the rhymes are often hilarious.
It's sung by the character Morgan Le Fey. In romantic Arthurian legend, Morgan Le Fey was a sorceress queen of Avalon and foe of King Arthur, his half-sister.
This is Elaine Stritch singing that song on a TV special, put together by Sylvia Fine (Danny Kaye's wife, and an accomplished songwriter) who you see very briefly at the beginning and a few words at the end.
Written by Rodgers and Hart. After Rodgers and Hammerstein wrote Oklahoma!
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