Two giants of American humor, Ring Lardner and George S. Kaufman, collaborated for this stage comedy (a major success on Broadway when it was first staged in 1929) about a young tunesmith's struggle to succeed in the dog-eat-dog world of Tin Pan Alley. An up-and-coming songwriter (Tom Fitzsimmons) arrives in the big city hoping to make good, and is soon befriended by a veteran composer (Jack Cassidy) whose career isn't what it used to be. The kid looks like he may have a solid career ahead of him, but he soon attracts the attentions of a brass-hearted dame (Susan Sarandon) who wants to take him for his future fame and wealth. This production of June Moon (created for PBS, where it first aired in 1974) features a top-notch supporting cast, including Kevin McCarthy, Estelle Parsons, Austin Pendleton, Marshall Efron, Lee Meredith, and one of Broadway's greatest composers, Stephen Sondheim, in a rare acting role as a fellow Tin Pan Alley melody maker.
T
wo giants of American humor, Ring Lardner and George S. Kaufman, collaborated for this stage comedy (a major success on Broadway when it was first staged in 1929) about a young tunesmith's struggle to succeed in the dog-eat-dog world of Tin Pan Alley. An up-and-coming songwriter (Tom Fitzsimmons) arrives in the big city hoping to make good, and is soon befriended by a veteran composer (Jack Cassidy) whose career isn't what it used to be. The kid looks like he may have a solid
career ahead of him, but he soon attracts the attentions of a brass-hearted dame (Susan Sarandon) who wants to take him for his future fame and wealth. This production of June Moon (created for PBS, where it first aired in 1974) features a top-notch supporting cast, including Kevin McCarthy, Estelle Parsons, Austin Pendleton, Marshall Efron, Lee Meredith, and one of Broadway's greatest composers, Stephen Sondheim, in a rare acting role as a fellow Tin Pan Alley melody maker.
