Working Barn Productions presents the West Coast premiere of A Public Reading of an Unproduced Screenplay About the Death of Walt Disney.
Walt Disney, as a creator and business man, was a controversial figure. His legacy, however, continues up to this day. What playwright Lucas Hnath tries to do here is give Walt Disney a human dimension that gets him closer to simple mortals like all of us. The play is written as a screenplay-within-a play, which works effectively to present Walt Disney as a storyteller worth turning his own life into a movie, directing his own narrative.
The audience is presented with a megalomaniac Walt Disney (Kevin Ashworth), in constant conflict with his brother Roy (Thomas Piper), who tries to bring Walt to his senses, with little success. There is so much contention between the two brothers that things get physical at some point. Of course, the conflict is not only with his brother, Walt also starts to butt heads with Disney’s board, his daughter Diane (Brittney Bertier), and Diane’s husband Ron (Cory Washington). Yes, the screenplay is all about Walt, whether he’s right or not. All of the scenes in this screenplay touch on the controversies during his lifetime: Employees and their demand for better pay, his expectations about continuing his legacy through Diane’s kids, his obsession with building a city instead of just a park, his conflict with his wife, his distrust toward his brother Roy, and ultimately, his extropian ideas about cryonics and the future.
The play is blocked with a minimalist set design and lighting, with most of the action coming from the script itself. Lucas Hnath’s writing and Peter Richard’s direction keeps the dynamics of story moving forward at an exciting pace. The humor, the conflict, and the sadness of Walt’s demise is so engaging that the 75 minutes duration of the play feels so much shorter. The egocentric personality of Walt Disney, but also his extensive legacy, draws the audience into a fascinating journey to the epicenter of the magic kingdom, the happiest place on earth, if only we wouldn’t have to die so soon.
A Public Reading of an Unproduced Screenplay About the Death of Walt Disney
Written by Lucas Hnath
Directed by Peter Richards
Produced by Racquel Lehrman, Theatre Planners
Odyssey Theatre
2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90025
Performances: March 26 – May 1:
• Fridays at 8 p.m.: April 1, April 8, April 15, April 22, April 29
• Saturdays at 8 p.m.: March 26 (Opening Night), April 2, April 9, April 16, April 23, April 30
• Sundays at 2 p.m.: March 27, April 3, April 10, April 17, April 24, May 1
For tickets: https://www.onstage411.com/newsite/show/play_info.asp?show_id=6109
