Whats it like to have a play at the Shaw Festival?
It’s been a good experience, and it’s been fun to know and to work with these people. The festival is extremely well-run, and everyone seems to know what they’re doing. Working on a play is very much a collaborative process. It’s the director’s baby, yet the actors themselves make a lot of changes as they get more into the lines. The experience of working with a live audience is exasperating, but it’s fascinating as well. Where did you get the idea to even consider writing a musical comedy? In the 1980s, I saw a play in London that was basically a 1920s comedy that someone made into a musical by adding new songs. It bombed quickly, but it got me thinking. I realized that the Gershwins had written a set of songs when they went to Hollywood with this Wodehouse play in mind. My idea was to take the play that they had written the songs for and put the songs into it. Did putting the material together come easily? I’d written a musical that was produced when I was in college. And of course,
