Experience after Representation

Abstract

Myrtle Gordon is a star. And she has been for some time now. Manny Victor is glad to have cast her. This is not the first time they have worked together, nor is it her first encounter on stage with the lead actor Maurice Adams (John Cassavetes), a past lover. John Cassavetes’ film, Opening Night (1978), observes the play in the week leading up to the Broadway premiere. They are using a short run in New Haven to fine-tune the production. But it would help if the director, playwrite, cast and crew first shared a common vision of exactly what they will be producing. Myrtle (Gena Rowlands) seems to be disturbing the cooperation required to get there. Manny (Ben Gazzara) and Myrtle both know that the power of Myrtle’s work stems from her capacity — not just to represent a role — but to be in the play, to move with the part in a way that pushes, strains and opens new possibilities in the script. This is what makes her the star she is. But now Myrtle’s capacity is being tested: she fears that it may not be possible to enter into this particular role without playing it as the straight-jacket the playwrite, Sarah Goode (Joan Blondell), has written her into.