THE STORY: 1930s. The Golden Age of Hollywood. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s masterpiece about the movie industry. The tragedy of a man obsessed. Monroe Stahr (loosely based on legendary producer Irving Thalberg) is in a fight with Pat Brady (loosely based on movie mogul Louis B. Mayer) over artistic control of his movies. The “Boy Wonder” is only 36 and the most celebrated producer in Hollywood, but already the corporate men are ready to throw him over if he doesn’t turn a profit. In a world where money is God, art is seldom discussed. When Stahr decides to make his masterpiece, the “Shakespeare Project,” as a tribute to his dead wife, knowing full well it will lose money, Brady and the Money Men try to bring him down. They stand a good chance. Stahr has a bad heart from a childhood illness. His doctor tells him if he doesn’t slow down, he’ll be “dead in six months.” But Stahr is a man obsessed—with movies, with illusion, with memories of his dead wife, with a mysterious, enigmatic woman (Kathleen Moore) whom he met on the back lot after an earthquake nearly destroyed his studio. It’s been years since he’s cared about another woman. He pursues her, like his precious “Project,” without regard to consequences. All around him are people who love and want to protect him—especially Cecelia Brady (Pat Brady’s daughter), who takes us on a journey of love into the literal and metaphorical heart of a great man. Permission for adaptation courtesy of the Fitzgerald Estate.
“An evening of theatre not to be missed. Wonderful! Exquisite! Stunning! Simon Levy has successfully adapted Fitzgerald’s compelling story about the fall of Hollywood producer Monroe Stahr for the stage…he has kept the spirit alive in a way that makes this adaptation not only a companion piece to the novel but almost a greater story than Fitzgerald had a chance to imagine, and, in a way, a tribute to this literary legend’s own life…For anyone who is a fan of the movies, and especially for fans of Fitzgerald’s work, this is an evening of theatre not to be missed.” —Backstage West/Drama-Logue.
“THE LAST TYCOON plays well to Hollywood’s glamour. Levy has sharpened the focus of Tycoon in his well-acted, visually luxurious production…Gorgeous glamour…It all makes for a stylish production.” —Los Angeles Times.
