by James Lapine
First published 2015
Moss Hart stares at the bright lights of Broadway from his cramped Bronx tenement, where his mother Lillie and aunt Kate worry about putting food on the table. He takes whatever work he can find while scribbling plays in his spare time, collecting rejection letters from producers like Augustus Pitou. Each "no" stings, but Hart keeps writing and submitting scripts. When a producer finally says yes, Hart enters Broadway's brutal inner circle, where he must prove himself to theater legends like director Jed Harris and playwright George Kaufman. Success arrives faster than he expected, but Hart learns that fame creates new pressures and complications. The unknown kid from the Bronx becomes a celebrated playwright, yet he struggles to balance his artistic dreams with commercial demands. This theatrical adaptation of Hart's own memoir traces his rise from desperate poverty to theatrical prominence, exploring how raw ambition and stubborn persistence can transform a dreamer into a star.
Genres: drama, american-fiction, 20th-century, autobiography, biographical-fiction
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: rags-to-riches, underdog
Setting: Bronx, Broadway
Period: 20th-century
89 pages · Paperback · Dramatists Play Service