Plays"Ward Morehouse 3rd is the critic's favorite playwright."--Jack O'Brien (Former columnist, King Features Syndicate) "If It Was Easy..." Guild Hall presented "If It Was Easy..." by Stewart F. Lane & Ward Morehouse III in association with The Playwrights' Theatre of East Hampton, Saturday, July 26, 2008. Photo Coverage: Guild Hall and Playwrights Theatre Present 'If It Was Easy'  If It Was Easy… was presented by Guild Hall ( Josh Gladstone, Artistic Director) in Association with The Playwrights Theatre of East Hampton as a staged reading on Saturday July 26th at 8:00PM . The production was directed by David Brandenburg, co-founder and Artistic Director of The Hamptons Shakespeare Festival. The Playwrights Theatre of East Hampton was founded by Mitzi Pazer in 1981.
If It Was Easy… was nominated for the Best New Play Award by The American Theatre Critics Association. It had a successful run off-broadway at the Douglas Fairbanks Theater as well as regional productions around the country. Never was the theatre ruled more by collaboration than during Broadway’s Golden Age, when dynamic duos such as Kaufman and Hart, Rogers and Hammerstein, and Lindsay and Crouse fuelled the footlights. Now Guild Hall in association with The Playwrights Theatre of East Hampton will present another deadly duo, four time Tony winner Stewart F. Lane, co-owner of Broadway’s legendary Place Theater and famed columnist Ward Morehouse III. Lane and Morehouse III have teamed up to write a comedy in the spirit of The Front Page and On the Twentieth Century. The premise of their play If It Was Easy… is legendary producer Steve Gallop, suddenly down on his luck, is seduced by the charms of beautiful showbiz columnist Randi Lester, show’s betting she can improve Gallop’s Broadway track record with a musical based on Frank Sinatra. The idea attracts front page attention around the world; hundreds of Sinatra wannabes swamp Gallop’s offices. Investors plead for a piece of the action. Not among the pleading masses is the mobster Joey Fingers whose “family” knew Frank, and who naturally expects to bankroll the entire show. On opening night it looks like curtains for the whole cast until Joey gets and offer he can’t refuse. Stewart F. Lane is a four time Tony Award winner as producer for La Cage Aux Folles, The Will Rogers Follies, Thoroughly Modern Mille and Jay Johnson: The Two and Only. He is currently represented on Broadway by Legally Blonde: The Musical and Hitchcock’s The 39 Steps. This fall he will produce Godspell and American Buffalo on Broadway and Stormy Weather with The Passenda Playhouse. For more on Mr. Lane see www.mrbroadway.com Ward Morehouse III is columnist, Playwright, TV host and sometimes theatre critic. He was the columnist for “Broadway After Dark” for The New York Sun, The New York Post, The Christian Science Monitor, The Epoch Times and Timesquare.com. For more on Mr Morehouse III see www.wardmorehouse.com The cast included: Howard Ross, LeeAnne Hutchinson, Lucy Boyle, Anthony Giaimo, Khris Lewin, Jeffrey Sutton, Josh Gladstone. For more information on Guild Hall: www.guildhall.org For more information on The Playwrights Theatre of East Hampton: www.pazer.org/theatre CLICK HERE for more photos of the event 
photo by Rob Rich © 2008 516-676-3939 robwayne1@aol.com Guild Hall in association with The Playwrights Theatre of East Hampton presents If It Was Easy… by Stewart F. Lane & Ward Morehouse III If It Was Easy ... will be presented by Guild Hall in Association with The Playwrights Theatre of East Hampton as a staged reading on Saturday, July 26th at 8:00PM at The Bridgehampton Community Center. The production will be directed by David Brandenburg, co-founder and Artistic Director of The Hamptons Shakespeare Festival. Never was the theater ruled more by collaboration than during Broadway’s Golden Age, when dynamic duos such as Kaufman and Hart, Rogers and Hammerstein, and Lindsay and Crouse fueled the footlights. Now Guild Hall in association with The Playwrights Theatre of East Hampton will present another deadly duo, four-time Tony winner Stewart F. Lane, co-owner of Broadway’s legendary Palace Theatre and famed columnist Ward Morehouse III. Lane and Morehouse III have teamed up to write a comedy in the spirit of The Front Page and On the Twentieth Century. The premise of their play If It Was Easy… is legendary producer Steve Gallop, suddenly down on his luck, is seduced by the charms of beautiful showbiz columnist Randi Lester, betting she can improve Gallop’s Broadway track record with a musical based on Frank Sinatra. The idea attracts front page attention around the world; hundreds of Sinatra wannabes swamp Gallop’s offices. Investors plead for a piece of the action. Not among the pleading masses is the mobster Joey Fingers whose “family” knew Frank, and who naturally expects to bankroll the entire show. Opening night, it looks like curtains for the whole cast until Joey gets an offer he can’t refuse. If It Was Easy… was nominated for the Best New Play Award by The American Theatre Critics Association. It had a successful run off-broadway at the Douglas Fairbanks Theater as well as regional productions around the country. Stewart F. Lane is a four-time Tony Award winner as producer for La Cage Aux Folles, The Will Rogers Follies, Thoroughly Modern Mille and Jay Johnson: The Two and Only. He currently is represented on Broadway by Legally Blonde: The Musical and Hitchcock’s The 39 Steps. This fall he will produce Godspell on Broadway and Stormy Weather at The Passenda Playhouse. For more on Mr. Lane see mrbroadway.com. Ward Morehouse III is columnist (Broadwayafterdark.com), author, playwright, TV host and sometimes theater critic. He was the Broadway columnist for the New York Post, “Broadway After Dark” columnist for The New York Sun, The Epoch Times and Timesquare.com. For more on Mr Morehouse III see wardmorehouseiii.com. Call for tickets boxoffice@guildhall.org or call 631-324-4050 More "If It Was Easy..." below ------------------------------------------------------ "The Actors" Produced in 1982 and again in 1986, ran nine months Off-Broadway in the 1986-87 season, becoming the longest-running new Off-Broadway play that season.
"My Four Mothers" Produced at the Jan Hus Playhouse Off-Broadway with a $10,000 grant from the Lambs Foundation in 1987. It was later done at the Amateur Comedy Club.
"Trunk Full of Memories" Produced at a college in Savannah and later at the Seven Stages Theatre in Atlanta. "Mr. Doom" Adapted by Ward Morehouse III from a play written by his father called "Mr. Doom Gets a Letter." Produced at Off-Broadway's Kaufman Theatre in 1992. "If It Was Easy" Produced at Seven Stages Theatre in Atlanta in 2000 and then at Off-Broadway's Douglas Fairbanks Theatre in 2001. (In 1999, a staged reading was done at Berkshire Theatre Festival's Unicorn Theatre. After its Off-Broadway run the play was produced by the Nantucket Actors Theatre.) "Skye Is Falling" Music and lyrics by Erin Jividen and book by Jividen and Ward Morehouse III. Produced at the Tri-Arts at the Sharon Playhouse in Sharon, CT as a staged reading in May, 2006, and a reading was subsequently held at Off-Broadway's Lark Theatre later that same month. A production is planned for Off-Broadway's St. Luke's Theatre on West 46th Street in 2007.
"A Night at the Plaza" A musical with music and lyrics by David Romeo and book by Ward Morehouse III. Will be produced as a staged reading later this year or early in 2007. |
