Michael's Musings
CLOWNS ON THE GROUND
by Michael B. Druxman on 05/21/19
May 21, 2019
The newest play in THE HOLLYWOOD LEGENDS collection is CLOWNS ON THE GROUND.
Chicago, 1962:
A massive storm has hit the Windy City, grounding all aircraft.
In
the V.I.P. Lounge of the Chicago airport, legendary comedians MILTON
BERLE, JOE E. BROWN and BERT LAHR are forced to linger together until
the weather clears.
Berle and Brown are on their way to California;
slated to film their scenes in Stanley Kramer's comedy, IT'S A MAD, MAD,
MAD, MAD WORLD, while Lahr has just finished a disastrous tryout of a
new play in the Yukon.
Now, as the trio
waits, old resentments, personal frustrations and insecurities rise to
the surface, making the job of the young airline attendant assigned to
the lounge, who just happens to be an aspiring comedian, anything but
peaceful.
CLOWNS ON THE GROUND is a
probing, often funny, look at three men who could always make us laugh,
despite their own personal pain.
4 Men; 1 Woman. Single Set.
Paperback and Kindle editions are available via Amazon and other booksellers.
CLIFTON WEBB
by Michael B. Druxman on 03/13/19
March 13, 2019
CLIFTON WEBB, my new one-person play, is now available in both paperback and Kindle editions via Amazon.
If the above link doesn't take you to it, then please copy the web address into your browser and that will solve the issue.
Clifton Webb did not become a film star until he was well into his fifties, and played "Waldo Lydecker" in the classic film noir, LAURA. Subsequent films included: THE RAZOR'S EDGE, SITTING PRETTY, CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN, THREE COINS IN THE FOUNTAIN, STARS AND STRIPES FOREVER, and BOY ON A DOLPHIN.
Until next time,
Michael
DICK POWELL
by Michael B. Druxman on 02/01/19
February 1, 2019
I am pleased to announce the publication of DICK POWELL, the latest and 20th addition to THE HOLLYWOOD LEGENDS Collection of stage plays.
Dick Powell made a career of reinventing himself.
Born
in Arkansas, the young tenor played horn, banjo and sang with various
dance bands and orchestras in Pittsburgh and elsewhere before he was
brought to Hollywood where he sang opposite Ruby Keeler and others in
such classic Busby Berkeley musicals as 42ND STREET, FOOTLIGHT PARADE,
GOLD DIGGERS OF 1935 and the Al Jolson film, WONDER BAR.
In
the mid-1940s, Powell played Philip Marlowe in MURDER, MY SWEET, which
began his period of doing "tough guy" roles in films like CORNERED,
JOHNNY O'CLOCK and CRY DANGER.
His
astute mind for business led him to invest in real estate and, in the
early 1950s, he moved his show business interests into producing and
directing. Along with David Niven and Charles Boyer, he formed Four Star
Productions, one of the most prolific production companies in
television.
Powell was married three
times. His second wife was actress Joan Blondell and his third, actress
June Allyson, twelve years his junior.
DICK POWELL is a one-person play that looks in on the
actor at two different periods in his life: during the mid-1940s when he
is struggling to reinvent his career from singer to dramatic actor, and
the mid-1950s, as he deals with billionaire Howard Hughes, producer of
director Powell's ill-fated (and deadly) John Wayne-epic film, THE
CONQUEROR.
DICK POWELL, a one person play, is available in paperback and Kindle editions via Amazon or your local bookseller.
If the link below doesn't work (as usual), please copy the address to your browser and you'll be taken to the site.
