By Steve Simmons – Posted at 7:50 p.m., Friday, Sept. 24, 2021
UPDATE–As Good As Gold closed at Theatre 40 as of Oct. 3. A broken pipe on the second floor of the building caused the stage to sustain water damage, necessitating mandatory repairs. The next show, Good People, will open on Wednesday, Dec. 8.
In a return to live performances, Beverly Hills theatre company, Theatre 40 is presenting the world premiere of Marilyn Anderson’s “peek into show business” comedy As Good As Gold, which opened yesterday and runs through Sunday, Oct. 17 (see below for details).
Anderson has put Hollywood show business in her crosshairs as she takes aim from a distinctly female point of view. “This play is about three women screenwriters in Hollywood and the obstacles they face,” says Anderson. “But it’s done with humor and theatricality.”
In Anderson’s play, the screenwriters, frustrated with the sexism and glass ceilings they encounter in Hollywood, decide to collaborate on a commercially surefire macho action epic screenplay with a studly hero. To interest a studio in it, the women hire a young fellow to be their frontman and say he wrote the screenplay. Their impostor becomes the toast of Hollywood, commanding millions of dollars in asking price for future scripts. So, the satire asks, what do the original screenwriters do now?
“It’s about gender parity, ageism and friendship,” says Anderson. “It’s relatable no matter what business you’re in.”
An Insider’s View
Anderson is well acquainted with her subject matter. As a writer for such shows as Murphy Brown, Making Mr. Right, FAME, Sherman Oaks, Facts of Life, Friday the 13th – the Series and Carol & Company, she was often one of two women in a writers’ room with 10 men. “In the wake of the #MeToo movement, things have gotten better for women in the business,” says Anderson, “but there’s still a long way to go.”
Drawing on her own experiences, Anderson created one character— “who’s a lot like me”— two others who are composites of friends and four male characters. “It’s all done in fun and there’s even a fantasy element,” Anderson says.
Anderson, who has written TV and film comedies, rom coms and even thrillers, has faced her own obstacles. Her screenplay for How to Beat a Bully was optioned eight times. She eventually produced the award-winning 2015 film on a shoestring budget. “If you’re passionate about something, you can’t help yourself and you find a way,” says Anderson.
And she’s still pitching: There’s a thriller novel, Dishonor Thy Father, published last year that she hopes will be movie or TV series; a romantic comedy feature about a wedding, Cold Feet, set for production, and her anti-violence play, Not Tonight, Vito! — “done very comedically’’—about the wives of the four biggest mafia kingpins in 1931.
Anderson is also known for her popular and award-winning book of money-saving advice How To Live Like A Millionaire When You’re A Million Short. She turned the personal finance book into a one-women show where she shared advice on how to watch Broadway shows for free on YouTube, take classes at top-tier universities, and her favorite tip, how to spend six nights for free at a private resort in Spain.
“I get a lot of ideas and things come up at different times,” says Anderson of her process. Her first book, Never Kiss A Frog: A Girl’s Guide to Creatures from the Dating Swamp “spent a lot of time marinating in my head.” Screenplays, plays and books “all have a different trajectory,” adds Anderson. “Each project is part of my legacy and they’re my babies. And they grow and develop at different rates. If they go out into the world, I want them handled with care by people who treat them right. They go to different families and right now, Theatre 40 is taking care of As Good As Gold.”
From Reading To Stage
Anderson organized the first staged reading of As Good as Gold at the WGAW two years ago. “We had a full house that gave us a standing ovation,” recalls Anderson. “We got tons of laughs, not to mention, five applause breaks during the show.”
For the second reading at the Santa Monica Playhouse, Anderson invited her friend and fellow author and Writers Guild member, Marion Zola. (They’ve both written about their dogs with Anderson’s Muttweiler: An Autodogography and Zola’s Romancing The Dog. The Struggle To Make a Pound Dog Happy in Beverly Hills.
“Marion and I have known each other a long time,” says Anderson. “She’s written for TV and film (including All In The Family, All The Good Ones Are Married for Lifetime and the doc-series Shelter Me, about shelter dogs) and she related to the story. It’s important for writers to support and help each other.”
A longtime Theatre 40 board member and advocate, Zola “thought the play was fun and that our audience would get a kick out of it,” she says. She bought the play to Artistic and Managing Director David Hunt Stafford who presented it to the artistic committee, “and the rest is history,” says Zola.
“I’ve been on the board for many years and love the theater and I just think it’s gotten better and better,” says Zola, “just look at the dozens and dozens of Drama Critics Awards we’ve won over the company’s 52 years.”
As a member of the Guild’s Women Writers and Career Longevity Committees, Zola appreciates that fact that along with the laughs, the play touches on issues like ageism. “Older writers, whether they’re men or women, have a hard time getting an agent or manager. It’s an ongoing problem and why we have the committee.”
A Director’s Perspective
Director Ann Hearn Tobolowsky, scheduled to helm Incident at Our Lady of Perpetual Help at Theatre 40 later this season, stepped into a production that had already been cast, and the challenge of directing a play during a pandemic. Covid restrictions meant a skeletal crew and limited points of contact for cast and staff. “It was stressful at times,” says Hearn Tobolowsky. “But it’s so encouraging and happy-making to be in the theater and be with people. I’ll never take it for granted again.”
The cast includes Marie Broderick and Landon Beatty (both recently seen in Theatre 40’s production of Taming the Lion), Wendy Hammers, David Westbay, Nicola Victoria Buck, Chance Denman and Will Bradley
She was drawn to the work’s zany comedy “making it the right kind of play for these days,” says Hearn Tobolowsky. And on one with food for thought. “It will make a nice meal,” she says.
In this cautionary tale, the women can’t get taken seriously “so in desperation they come up with a crazy scheme and it works. But it’s potentially their downfall,” says Hearn Tabolowsky. “So, in the tradition of George Elliot they find a pseudonym and create a monster. Then they have to ask themselves, ‘how did we get here and how do we redeem ourselves.’ The play has a fable quality and the women come out as heroes. Once on the right path they feel rewarded and learn to follow their hearts and not the money and have genuine success.”
With numerous TV, film, and stage credits since 1982, Hearn Tobolowsky brings an actor’s perspective to the production and its themes of “women trying to find their place in the entertainment industry and the structures have historically made it difficult,” and facing constant rejection. “It’s hard when you’re told from college on, ‘you’re not what we want.’”
“I think everyone can relate to the idea of overcoming obstacles to achieve what you want,” says Hearn Tobolowsky. “You have to have perseverance, optimism and courage in the face of rejection. That is universal.”
Performances are at 8 p.m., Thursday-Saturday and 2 p.m., Sunday at Theatre 40’s Reuben Cordova Theatre on the Beverly Hills High School campus, 241 S. Moreno Dr., Beverly Hills. Free parking is available in the parking lot beneath the theatre. Tickets are $35. For information and reservations, call 310-364-0535 or visit www.theatre40.org. COVID safety protocols including proof of vaccination and mask wearing will be observed.
Steve Simmons is an accomplished writer and editor who writes about a wide array of topics including entertainment. His successful experience at the Beverly Hills Courier and other publications set the stage for his blog. Contact Steve at steve.simmons0211@gmail.com or 626-788-6734.
