Greetings again from the darkness. For live theater lovers, the film version of a favorite play or musical comes with pros and cons. The film’s director, Maria Friedman (a renowned stage actor) strives to deliver the intimacy of a stage performance with cinematic qualities. What we see was the filming of a stage presentation in June 2024 at The Hudson Theater in New York City. The story was written by George Furth with music by Stephen Sondheim, only the production has quite an interesting history, with an original production in 1934 written by George S Kaufman and Moss Hart.
The story structure is fascinating in that it’s presented in reverse order. The opening sequence shows the resulting breakdown of friendship between three: composer Franklin Sheperd (Jonathan Groff), playwright and lyricist Charley Kringas (Daniel Radcliffe), and theater critic and author Mary Flynn (Lindsay Mendez). All three actors are Tony Award winners and are in prime form here. We then proceed to go back in time across three decades as the years are noted. Instead of watching this friendship triumvirate breakdown, we watch the bonds grow stronger … only of course this is actually putting the causes of the breakdown on center stage – one phase at a time.
It’s not just the three leads who are standouts. Katie Rose Clarke as Beth Sheperd, Krystal Joy Brown as Gussie, and Reg Rogers as Joe Josephon are all excellent. It’s rare to find so many superb soloists in one program, and each has their moment (or moments) to shine. Beth is Franklin’s first wife and the mother of his child. Gussie is a Broadway star and Franklin’s second wife, while Joe is a producer who experiences the highs and lows of show business.
While the play-it-in-reverse structure provides a uniqueness to the presentation, the story itself has quite a bit to offer in terms of complexity. The fragility of friendship and the importance of constantly working at relationships is front and center, yet it’s only one element. Also on display here is how cruel show business can be. Sometimes you are loved and showered with adulation, while other times they say you are too old for a role. Ego and emotions are constantly in play here, including envy and arrogance. Although it’s the sneakiest element, perhaps my personal favorite is the unrequited love Mary carries towards an unaware Franklin. It leads to her bitterness and alcoholism, and her story is the most interesting when you read about the origins of Kaufman’s story. When the opening number is a robust, “How did you get to be here?”, the rest of the play is spent showing us.
Opening in theaters on December 5, 2025
Movie Reviews from the Dark 