"Down the street, Oklahoma! is premiering, a debut that for Hart (Ethan Hawke) stings. His longtime collaborator, the composer Richard Rodgers, has made it not with Hart but with his new songwriting partner, Oscar Hammerstein II. Six months from this night, Hart will die from pneumonia after spending a cold night passed out outside an 8th Avenue bar. He was 48."
"But his appreciation for language goes far beyond himself. As much as he does a warm sip of bourbon, Larry savors any good quip, turn of phrase or mot juste. His favorite quote from Casablanca, for example, is a telling one: "Nobody ever loved me that much." Larry adores the movie and, in particular, Bogart, whom, he notes, is both short and a leading man. "Which proves you can be both," Hart says."
"That makes this night at Sardi's a bittersweet salvation and a tender eulogy. Larry has an audience of only a few, but they're a fine crew (Cannavale is perfect) and their quiet, quip-filled toasts have an abiding warmth. On the outskirts of this group is Elizabeth Weiland (Margaret Qualley), a 20-year-old Yale student with whom Larry is infatuated. To others, Larry's obsession seems incongruous with his sexuality, but he retorts that he "drinks beauty wherever he finds it.""
Blue Moon unfolds at Sardi’s in New York on March 31, 1943, centered on lyricist Lorenz "Larry" Hart, who reels from seeing his longtime collaborator Richard Rodgers partner with Oscar Hammerstein II on Oklahoma!. The film balances wit and melancholy as Hart savors language, quips, and bourbon while flirting with a young Yale student, Elizabeth Weiland. Hart’s social circle offers warm, quip-filled toasts that serve as both consolation and eulogy as his health and fortunes decline; six months after the depicted night Hart dies of pneumonia after collapsing outside an 8th Avenue bar. Performances by Ethan Hawke (Hart) and Andrew Scott (Rodgers) highlight complex creative relationships.
Read at Kqed
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]