"In the wistful, elegiac Blue Moon, opening October 24 in the Bay Area, the celebrated lyricist,Lorenz Hart (Ethan Hawke), is sitting in Sardi's-an iconic restaurant in the heart of New York's theater district-delivering a series of absorbing and occasionally amusing monologues. As he slowly gets drunk (despite claiming he is on the wagon), he quotes from Casablanca, babbles about enchantment, and even discusses the merits of a half-erect penis."
"Hart is bitter that Rodgers is working with a new lyricist, Oscar Hammerstein II (Samuel Delaney), because Rodgers has never worked with anyone other than Hart-until now. And while Hart walked out of the "cornpone" Oklahoma! early, he knows the show, which is having its premiere that evening, is going to be a smash hit. However, Hart claims the "inoffensive" nature of Rodgers and Hammerstein's musical is most offensive to him."
Blue Moon centers on lyricist Lorenz Hart as he spends an evening at Sardi's delivering absorbing, often amusing monologues while drinking. Hart quotes Casablanca, muses about enchantment, and speaks candidly about sexual matters with wit and wryness. He reacts vitriolically to Oklahoma!, bitter that Richard Rodgers has begun collaborating with Oscar Hammerstein II after years of working only with Hart. Hart recognizes Oklahoma!'s likely success yet condemns its perceived inoffensiveness. The narrative situates Hart seven months before his death, portraying professional decline, secret homosexuality, unreciprocated infatuation, and fleeting flirtations.
Read at San Francisco Bay Times
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