The Man Who Came to Dinner (2000) (TV)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Director:

Jay Sandrich

Writers:

Moss Hart (play)
George S. Kaufman (play)

Release Date:

7 October 2000 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Plot:

Broadcast of a live performance of the Roundabout Theater Company's 2000 New York revival of the classic Kaufman-Hart comedy...

Plot Keywords:

Live Performance | Live | Broadway New York City | 1930s | Based On Play

Cast

Nathan Lane	...	Sheridan Whiteside
Jean Smart	...	Lorraine Sheldon
Harriet Sansom Harris	...	Maggie Cutler (as Harriet Harris)
Jack Arendt	...	Choir boy
Jozef Fahey	...	Choir boy
William Duell	...	Dr. Bradley
Stephen DeRosa	...	Professor Metz
Ryan Torino	...	Choir boy
Linda Stephens	...	Mrs. Stanley
Julie Halston	...	Mrs. McCutcheon
Mary Catherine Garrison	...	June Stanley
Kit Flanagan	...	Mrs. Dexter
Julie Boyd	...	Sarah
Mary Catherine Wright	...	Miss Preen
André Thompson	...	Prisoner / Radio techician / Expressman (Act III) (as André Steve Thompson)

Runtime:

176 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Public Broadcasting Service (PBS)

Trivia:

The part of Banjo was based on Alexander Woollcott's best friend, Harpo Marx. Harpo thought so much of Woollcott that he named two of his children after him.

Movie Connections:

Version of The Man Who Came to Dinner (1942)

Live from Broadway

PBS is to be commended for its "Stage on Screen" series premiere with this live broadcast from the newly restored 42nd Street theater district in New York City. While Nathan Lane has less of the imperious acidic bite that Monty Woolley brought to the 1942 film, Lane and the play still have punch and sparkle.

Of necessity, the live stage performance lacks the brisk pace of the movie simply because of the stops for scene changes or intermissions between acts. In addition, the classic film was pared down for length. In this broadcast, the interruptions were at least filled with chatty information about the play, the people represented in the play, and the resurrection of 42nd Street.

Despite or because of its dated allusions and overt references, the play is a delightful slice of real life in America just prior to World War II. The work stands up well and is likely to be a classic of 20th Century American theater.