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Lucky Guy (play)

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Lucky Guy
Written byNora Ephron
Date premieredApril 1, 2013 (2013-04-01)
Place premieredBroadhurst Theatre, 235 West 44th Street, New York, New York, USA
SubjectMike McAlary journalist career

Lucky Guy is a play by Nora Ephron that premiered in 2013, the year after her death. It was Ephron's final work and depicts the story of journalist Mike McAlary beginning in 1985 and ending with his death at the age of 41 in 1998. Lucky Guy covers the high points and tribulations of McAlary's career as he traverses the New York City tabloid industry in what some regard as its heyday. The play includes his near tragic automobile accident and devotes a large portion to his recovery.

Lucky Guy's 2013 Broadway theatre debut also marked Tom Hanks's Broadway debut, earning him a Theatre World Award. Originally conceived as a film in 1999, the play spent years under revision and seeking Hanks as the lead character. Regarded as an elegy, the play harkens back to the days of tabloid journalism prior to the 24-hour news reporting cycle. The play earned six nominations for the 67th Tony Awards, winning two, including Courtney B. Vance for Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play. The play's Broadway run was profitable.

Background and composition

The play is the final and posthumous work of Ephron, who died the year before its production.[1] Ephron had previously written about her own career in journalism in the novel I Remember Nothing.[2] Hanks had previously starred in Ephron's Sleepless in Seattle and You've Got Mail,[3] but had last performed on live stage theatre in 1979 for Riverside Shakespeare Company's production of The Mandrake.[4] McAlary was said to have previously inspired Randy Quaid's character in The Paper and had been portrayed Off-Broadway in Dan Klores' The Wood in 2011.[5]

Ephron focused the story on the career of New York City tabloid columnist Mike McAlary from his early beginnings to his rise to stardom, when he received the 1998 Pulitzer Prize for Commentary for exposing police brutality against a Haitian immigrant named Abner Louima in Brooklyn's 70th precinct, and his death, eight months later, of cancer.[1][6][7] Since Ephron and McAlary lost battles with cancer and Ephron had spent her six years battling cancer by directing a film and writing two as well as writing two plays, Chris Jones of the Chicago Tribune speculates that Ephron chose this subject because she shared a bond with a journalist who "also did some of his best writing while battling cancer".[8] Additionally, Ephron, who once wrote "I can’t remember which came first—wanting to be a journalist or wanting to date a journalist", had a thing for journalists like McAlary.[9]

Ephron, who used her background as a New York Post reporter and accounts of close associates of the work's principal subjects, originally approached this subject as a screenplay, but later adapted it for the stage. She and Director Wolfe were molding the project up to her very last days. Eventually, the production settled on a very basic shifting set design by David Rockwell.[10]

Gabriel Rotello blogged about McAlary in The Huffington Post after hearing about the play. He noted that McAlary represented a lot of things to a lot of people, but the first openly gay columnist Rotello viewed McAlary pejoratively. According to Rotello, McAlary's backstory is that he was an aggressive journalist who had a reputation for reporting on corrupt cops and miscreants in New York City's crack era. He relied heavily on police sources, hanging out with New York City Police Commissioner William Bratton and his mouthpiece, John Miller. His career was built on high-level access rather than street sources and fact-corroboration. He became prominent in the public eye in Spring 1994 when a black lesbian reported that she had been raped in broad daylight in Brooklyn's Prospect Park. McAlary's headline on the case read "Rape Hoax the Real Crime" with a story alleging that the woman had concocted the story political purposes such as speaking at lesbian rallies. At the time, New York had recently endured the Tawana Brawley rape allegations and gaybashing was at its apex. The police then revealed substantial evidence in support of the story and began investigating McAlary's source. Two weeks later McAlary affirmed his story and the police backed off the investigation. Rotello (he was then a New York Newsday) got Miller on tape confirming that McAlary was begging his police contacts to back him up. McAlary had lost credibility with the policy and the gay community. He later had major success, however, that Rotello concedes.[11]

Plot

Act I

Mike McAlary, from 1985 to 1993, bounds from one New York City newsroom to another as he achieves career success, covering such stories as the tainted Tylenol case and the Buddy Boys of the 7-7 scandal. His salary increases as he ascends from being a cub reporter to star crime reporter to star columnist.[12] In 1993, McAlary's suffers a near-fatal auto accident that leaves him physically impaired.[1][7]

Act II

McAlary recovers from the accident and writes two defining stories of his career: the Jane Doe rape case, during which he is sued for libel after his column questions the truthfulness of the victim, and the Abner Louima story, for which he wins the Pulitzer.[7] Eight months after he publishes the Louima story, on Christmas Day 1998, he succumbs to cancer at age 41.[7]

Themes

According to David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter, the play is an "elegy for an already remote era in journalism" that predates the current 24-hour news cycle and the "decimation of the newspaper business".[10] Joe Dziemianowicz of the New York Daily News The play is a "love letter to scruffy and scrappy New York City tabloids"[7] Nikhil Kumar of The Independent says that the play depicts "the heyday of the New York tabloids in the 80s, when the Daily News, the Post and the upstart Newsday lined up against each other".[12]

According to Richard Zoglin of Time "Lucky Guy captures the hard-drinking, boys-club camaraderie, gets into the weeds of how reporters actually get people to talk and shows us the rivalries and egos and dubious ethics that are all part of the package" In the end it is "a celebration of old-fashioned tabloid journalism in the heart of the city’s other great indigenous and endangered industry, Broadway theater."[13] When the curtain came down on this show its run was described by Mike Lupica as a "New York Story" in addition to being a sentimental depiction of newspaper journalism.[14]

Production history

Lucky Guy debuted at the Broadhurst Theatre on April 1, 2013

Ephron first conceived of this story in 1999 as an HBO movie.[15] She began background interviews with McAlary's colleagues such as Jim Dwyer, in the months after his Christmas 1998 death.[16] In 2005, the film idea had resurfaced, but Ephron claimed she could not get her preferred leading actor.[16] Ephron had approached her long-time friend Hanks to play McAlary in a film several years earlier, but when the two reacquainted while Hanks was promoting Larry Crowne in 2011, he reconsidered the role that he had previously disliked. Ephron informed Hanks that she had converted it into a play and that Hugh Jackman had even done a table read. Hanks asked for the latest version of the script and Hanks liked McAlary's swagger in the new version.[17] In May 2012, Hanks was in negotiations for the role of McAlary and Wolfe was confirmed to be in line to direct.[18] Ephron met with Wolfe weekly and was producing new drafts for each meeting to sharpen McAlary's character.[17] When Ephron died in late June, producer Colin Callender confirmed that the play was greenlit as a tribute to Ephron although it was no longer clear if Hanks or Wolfe would remain involved.[19] Wolfe was announced as the director and Hanks was announced to play McAlary in October 2012.[5] Postmortem changes to the script were reviewed by journalist and Ephron's widower Nicholas Pileggi.[15] Maura Tierney and Courtney B. Vance were added to the cast, which included Hanks' former Bosom Buddies co-star Peter Scolari , on Monday January 7, 2013.[20] The complete cast was announced by the end of the week.[21]

Previews for Lucky Guy began at the Broadhurst Theatre on March 1, 2013,[22] without an out-of-town tryout.[23] During previews, the play grossed an unusually high (for a non-musical) $1 million per week and by the time the play debuted it had stockpiled $10 million in advance ticket sales.[10] The play debuted on Broadway at the Broadhurst Theatre on April 1, 2013 after 33 previews. It was directed by George C. Wolfe,[24] with Tom Hanks starring as McAlary,[25][26] receiving $150,000 per week for his 12.5% share of the gross.[23] On May 2, 2013, it was announced that Lucky Guy had recouped it's $3.6 million capitalization costs.[27] Although regular ticket prices for Lucky Guy started at $87 and went up to $152, the production is able to take advantage of the Broadway pricing strategy in which "premium" ticket prices fluctuate to balance supply and demand, and premium tickets have ranged from $225 to $350, with standing-room only tickets also becoming popular.[23] Originally scheduled to run until June 16, 2013, the play was extended to July 3.[28][29] The run ended with a total of 33 previews and 104 regular performances. The show grossed $22,992,145 for an audience of 163,710 patrons in these 104 performances.[30]

At the conclusion of its Broadway run, there were ongoing discussions regarding a 2014 West End run with Hanks.[29]

Cast and characters

Many of the play's characters are based on real people.[31] The following were the opening night credits.[26]

Critical review

Lucky Guy was Nora Ephron's final play.

Reviewers considered the play notable as Hanks' debut and Ephron's posthumous finale and lauded it in a variety of ways.[32] Critic Ben Brantley of The New York Times said, "Lucky Guy is both an elegy and a valentine to a vanishing world held dear in the collective imagination of New Yorkers, that of the rough-and-tumble of big-city newsrooms and scoop-hungry reporters."[33] Brantley also notes that the play was scripted "with a true fan’s glee and avidity" by the popular Ephron.[33] New York Observer critic Rex Reed said, "It’s a play that grabs you by the throat, makes you laugh and cry, holds you transfixed for two hours, paralyzes you from start to finish, and leaves you cheering."[1] New York Magazine critic Jesse Green said, "With an insider's devastating combination of repulsion and affection, Nora Ephron has written a most unlikely thing: a play about journalism, or really about telling stories, that is as rich and rough and elegiac and fun as the lost world it re-creates."

The Guardian reviewer Alexis Soloski stated that "Nora Ephron's Lucky Guy is a profane love letter to the lost, rollicking world of New York tabloid journalism. It is also a tribute to its real-life fallen son, the brash reporter Mike McAlary."[6] Soloski also states that the casting of the 56-year-old Hanks as a character whose life is depicted from age 28 to age 41 as somewhat unusual,[6] but critics such as Dziemianowicz state that Hanks "looks the part".[7] Soloski also notes that McAlary's relationship with his wife lacked vibrance and the play does not demonstrate his skill at leveraging his sources.[6]

Broadway World critic Michael Dale feels the play misses the mark due to a lack of focus. He feels that the play would be better served by focusing on either of the rape cases that brought McAlary notoriety or deepening McAlary’s character.[34] Dale describes "The boys club atmosphere of New York Newsday, The New York Post and The New York Daily News, the city's three tabloid papers" as a kind of "Greek chorus"[34] He notes that the supporting cast roles only serve "to move the narrative along or to dole out information about the lucky one"[34] Dale says the casting of Hanks was sentimental rather than ideal and that even his best use of his everyman persona pales in comparison to the person he portrayed.[34]

Hollywood Reporter critic David Rooney says Ephron presents an " entertaining salute to the tabloid newspaper business of the 1980s and ‘90s, Lucky Guy. She smartly enlists a garrulous crew of reporters and editors to serve as the oral-history vessel for her nostalgic look back at old-school, foot-in-the-door journalism."[10] Rooney notes the play is "Directed with warmth and vitality by George C. Wolfe, it’s performed with relish by a dynamic cast of pros, piloted by an uncharacteristically rough-edged Tom Hanks."[10] The show had unusually strong preview sales and advance ticket sales.[10] Rooney describes it as unexceptional, cursory and simple despite its intelligent writing, engrossing and often funny dialogue.[10] Rooney also notes that "Brimming with testosterone and grit, it’s an unabashed celebration of male camaraderie, swaggering ambition and competitiveness."[10]

Nikhil Kumar of The Independent was disappointed in the play’s depth and the challenge it presented: "A work of great depth, a showcase of first-rate acting: Lucky Guy, Nora Ephron’s final play and Tom Hanks’s Broadway debut, is neither."[12] Courtney B. Vance’s portrayal of Hap Hairston, who was one of McAlary’s editors was a highlight.[12]

Entertainment Weekly critic Lisa Schwarzbaum gives the play a C+ grade noting that it is "a show rolling in good will and affection for the playwright" with its "posthumous script by the beloved late writer and director Nora Ephron; the Broadway debut of super-duper movie star Tom Hanks; and the real-life story of Mike McAlary, a swaggering New York tabloid columnist". She notes that the play is nonetheless two hours of "a dull, stalled play about a not-particularly-noteworthy mug with a flair for self-promotion".[35]

Awards and nominations

Courtney B. Vance (left) and Tom Hanks (right) were critically acclaimed for their Lucky Guy performances

The play received six Tony Awards nominations for the 67th Tony Awards to be held on June 9.[36][37] Courtney B. Vance won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play[38] The Best Lighting Design of a Play award went to Jules Fisher and Peggy Eisenhauer.[39] Tom Hanks received a Theatre World Award for Outstanding Broadway or Off-Broadway Debut Performance.[40]

The production received Drama League Award nominations for Outstanding Production of a Broadway or Off-Broadway Play and distinguished Performance Award nominations for both Tom Hanks and Courtney B. Vance.[41][42] The production received two Outer Critics Circle Award nominations, but did not win: Outstanding New Broadway Play and Outstanding Actor in a Play (Tom Hanks).[43] Hanks received the play's only Drama Desk nomination.[44]

Original Broadway production

Year Award Category Nominee Result
2013 Drama League Award Outstanding Production of a Broadway or Off-Broadway Play Nominated[42]
Distinguished Performance Award Tom Hanks Nominated[42]
Courtney B. Vance Nominated[42]
Outer Critics Circle Award Outstanding New Broadway Play Nominated[43]
Outstanding Actor in a Play Tom Hanks Nominated[43]
Drama Desk Award Outstanding Actor in a Play Tom Hanks Nominated[44]
Tony Award
(67th) 		Best Play Nominated[39]
Best Actor in a Play Tom Hanks Nominated[39]
Best Featured Actor in a Play Courtney B. Vance Won[39]
Best Direction of a Play George C. Wolfe Nominated[39]
Best Scenic Design of a Play David Rockwell Nominated[39]
Best Lighting Design of a Play Jules Fisher & Peggy Eisenhauer Won[39]
Theatre World Award Tom Hanks Won[40]

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d Reed, Rex (2013-04-02). "Last Words: Ephron's encore transcends both stage and story". New York Observer. Retrieved 2013-04-27.
  2. ^ Hetrick, Adam (2013-05-22). "Nora Ephron's Lucky Guy Will Be Licensed by Dramatists Play Service". Playbill. Retrieved 2013-09-17.
  3. ^ Bahadur, Nina (2013-04-05). "Tom Hanks Gives Heartfelt Nora Ephron Tribute At Women In The World Summit". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2013-09-17.
  4. ^ "Tom Hanks' Broadway Debut In 'Lucky Guy'". The Huffington Post. 2012-05-09. Retrieved 2013-09-17.
  5. ^ a b Kennedy, Mark (2012-10-11). "Tom Hanks to make his Broadway debut next year". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2013-09-17.
  6. ^ a b c d Soloski, Alexis (2013-04-02). "Lucky Guy – review". The Guardian. Retrieved 2013-04-27.
  7. ^ a b c d e f Dziemianowicz, Joe (2013-04-01). "Theater review: 'Lucky Guy': Tom Hanks makes a colorful, driven journalist as Daily News Pulitzer Prize winner Mike McAlary". Daily News. Retrieved 2013-04-27.
  8. ^ Jones, Chris (2013-04-04). "Nora Ephron, Roger Ebert: Because they could not stop for death". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2013-09-17.
  9. ^ Als, Hilton (2013-04-15). "Newsies: Nora Ephron on a tabloid hero". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2013-09-17.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h Rooney, David (2013-04-01). "Lucky Guy: Theater Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2013-09-15.
  11. ^ Rotello, Gabriel (2013-04-03). "What I Never Told Nora Ephron About Mike McAlary". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2013-09-17.
  12. ^ a b c d Kumar, Nikhil (2013-04-09). "Theatre review: Tom Hanks' acting is never fully tested in Nora Ephron's Lucky Guy". The Independent. Retrieved 2013-04-27.
  13. ^ Zoglin, Richard (2013-04-04). "Lucky Guy: A Broadway Debut for Tom Hanks: Playing a rumpled newspaperman, Hollywood's everyman has found a perfect vehicle — if not the perfect play". Time. Retrieved 2013-09-17.
  14. ^ Lupica, Mike (2013-07-04). "New Yorkers were the lucky ones with Nora Ephron's final work, 'Lucky Guy'". Daily News. Retrieved 2013-09=17. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  15. ^ a b Green, Jesse (2013-04-01). "Theater Review: Lucky Guy and Nora Ephron's Love for Newsrooms". Vulture. Retrieved 2013-09-17.
  16. ^ a b Dwyer, Jim (2013-03-28). "From Tabloid Myth to Opening Night". The New York Times. Retrieved 2013-09-17.
  17. ^ a b Healy, Patrick (2013-02-20). "Tom Hanks, Broadway's New Kid". The New York Times. Retrieved 2013-09-17.
  18. ^ Healy, Patrick (2012-05-09). "A Broadway Debut in Works for Tom Hanks". The New York Times. Retrieved 2013-09-17.
  19. ^ Kennedy, Mark (2012-06-28). "'Lucky Guy,' Nora Ephron Play, Will Proceed As Planned". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2013-09-17.
  20. ^ Piepenburg, Erik (2013-01-07). "Maura Tierney and Courtney B. Vance Join the Cast of 'Lucky Guy'". The New York Times. Retrieved 2013-09-17.
  21. ^ Hetrick, Patrick (2013-01-11). "Cast Complete for Nora Ephron's Lucky Guy With Tom Hanks, Peter Scolari, Maura Tierney and More". Playbill. Retrieved 2013-09-17.
  22. ^ Snetiker, Marc (2013-03-01). "Tom Hanks Makes His Broadway Debut as Nora Ephron's Lucky Guy Begins Previews". Broadway.com. Retrieved 2013-09-15.
  23. ^ a b c Lunden, Jeff (2013-06-07). "How Tom Hanks Is Taking Home $150,000 a Week for 'Lucky Guy'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2013-09-15.
  24. ^ Gans, Andrew (2011-05-26). "George C. Wolfe Will Be Honored with 2011 Mr. Abbot Award". Playbill. Retrieved 2013-04-25.
  25. ^ "Spotlight on Lucky Guy". Tony Awards. Retrieved 2013-04-25.
  26. ^ a b "Lucky Guy". Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved 2013-04-27.
  27. ^ Cox, Gordon (2013-05-02). "'Lucky Guy' recoups, while 'The Nance' extends for eight weeks". Variety. Retrieved 2013-05-24.
  28. ^ "Tom Hanks' Broadway run extended". World Entertainment News Network. 2013-04-18. Retrieved 2013-09-15.
  29. ^ a b Hetrick, Adam (2013-07-03). "Nora Ephron's Lucky Guy, Starring Tom Hanks, Ends Broadway Run July 3". Playbill. Retrieved 2013-09-15.
  30. ^ {{cite web|url=http://www.playbillvault.com/Show/Detail/13987/Lucky-Guy%7Ctitle=Lucky Guy|accessdate=2013-09-17|publisher=Playbill}
  31. ^ Lunden, Jeff (2013-04-01). "Nora Ephron's 'Lucky Guy' And Tom Hanks Make Their Broadway Debuts". NPR. Retrieved 2013-09-17.
  32. ^ Ng, David (2013-04-18). "Tom Hanks extends his stay in Broadway run of 'Lucky Guy'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2013-04-25.
  33. ^ a b Brantley, Ben (2013-04-01). "Old-School Newsman, After Deadline Tom Hanks in 'Lucky Guy,' at the Broadhurst Theater". The New York Times. Retrieved 2013-09-15.
  34. ^ a b c d Dale, Michael (2013-04-06). "Review - Lucky Guy". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 2013-04-27.
  35. ^ Schwarzbaum, Lisa (2013-04-01). "Lucky Guy (2013)". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2013-04-27.
  36. ^ "Tony Awards 2013 nominees: Complete list". Los Angeles Times. 2013-04-30. Retrieved 2013-04-30.
  37. ^ Gardner, Elysa (2013-04-30). "'Kinky Boots' nabs 13 Tony nominations: British import 'Matilda' scored 12 nominations". USA Today. Retrieved 2013-04-30.
  38. ^ Semuels, Alana (June 9, 2013). "Tony Awards 2013: Courtney B. Vance glad he took a chance on 'Lucky Guy'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 9, 2013.
  39. ^ a b c d e f g Purcell, Carey (2013-06-09). "Kinky Boots, Vanya and Sonia, Pippin and Virginia Woolf? Are Big Winners at 67th Annual Tony Awards". Playbill. Retrieved 2013-06-10.
  40. ^ a b Gans, Andrew (2013-06-03). "69th Annual Theatre World Awards Presented June 3". Playbill. Retrieved 2013-09-15.
  41. ^ Gans, Andrew (2013-04-25). "Nominees Announced for 79th Annual Drama League Awards". Playbill. Retrieved 2013-04-27.
  42. ^ a b c d Gans, Andrew (May 17, 2013). "'Kinky Boots', 'Pippin', 'Vanya and Sonia', 'Virginia 'Woolf? and More Win Drama League Awards". Playbill. Retrieved May 17, 2013.
  43. ^ a b c Gans, Andrew (May 13, 2013). "'Pippin' Is Big Winner of 2012-2013 Outer Critics Circle Awards". Playbill. Retrieved May 12, 2013.
  44. ^ a b Hetrick, Adam (2013-05-19). "Billy Porter, Andrea Martin, Pippin, Matilda, Vanya and Sonia Win Drama Desk Awards". Playbill. Retrieved 2013-05-20.
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