# Novels, movies, shows about theatre **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 16, 2016, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/novels-movies-shows-about-theatre/772116 "2016-11-16T01:00:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![DaphneBlack](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/daphneblack/32/5389_2.png) [@DaphneBlack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DaphneBlack)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2016, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/novels-movies-shows-about-theatre/772116/41 "2016-11-18T16:55:32Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > It is. Luckily, the ‘correct lines’ are more or less said twice in Acts I and II. And if you get a little confused in Act III, as long as you don’t fuck up anyone’s cue, it tends to add to the falling-apartedness. It is my amateur-theatrics life dream to direct this. Someday… ---
**Author:** ![chrisk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@chrisk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisk)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2016, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/novels-movies-shows-about-theatre/772116/42 "2016-11-18T17:05:55Z")
A tv series that pops to mind is “Smash”, from 2012, which is behind the scenes fictional drama about launching a Broadway musical based on the life of Marilyn Monroe. I never quite got around to finishing season 1, but I did enjoy what I saw of it. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2016, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/novels-movies-shows-about-theatre/772116/43 "2016-11-18T17:27:19Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > It is. Luckily, the ‘correct lines’ are more or less said twice in Acts I and II. And if you get a little confused in Act III, as long as you don’t fuck up anyone’s cue, it tends to add to the falling-apartedness. Wow, you’ve been IN it? What part did you play? _\_ ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2016, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/novels-movies-shows-about-theatre/772116/44 "2016-11-18T17:29:53Z")
A few years ago, I saw Patrick Stewart on Broadway starring in _ **A Life in the Theater** _, a comic play by David Mamet about two actors with a small, not very successful theater company. ---
**Author:** ![Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/channing_idaho_banks/32/250_2.png) [@Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Channing_Idaho_Banks)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2016, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/novels-movies-shows-about-theatre/772116/45 "2016-11-18T18:34:12Z")
Springtime for Hitler. ---
**Author:** ![DaphneBlack](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/daphneblack/32/5389_2.png) [@DaphneBlack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DaphneBlack)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2016, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/novels-movies-shows-about-theatre/772116/46 "2016-11-18T19:17:40Z")
> [@chrisk](#): > > A tv series that pops to mind is “Smash”, from 2012, which is behind the scenes fictional drama about launching a Broadway musical based on the life of Marilyn Monroe. I never quite got around to finishing season 1, but I did enjoy what I saw of it. Was it funny? I heard a lot of negative word-of-mouth about it at the time, though I admit it had slipped my mind until now. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2016, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/novels-movies-shows-about-theatre/772116/47 "2016-11-18T21:29:59Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Wow, you’ve been IN it? What part did you play? > > _\_ I was Selsdon in a college production. It was quite possibly the most fun I’d ever had in a show. Just the word sardines makes me crack up like no other. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2016, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/novels-movies-shows-about-theatre/772116/48 "2016-11-18T21:52:05Z")
> [@chrisk](#): > > A tv series that pops to mind is “Smash”, from 2012, which is behind the scenes fictional drama about launching a Broadway musical based on the life of Marilyn Monroe. I never quite got around to finishing season 1, but I did enjoy what I saw of it. There’s a novel by Garson Kanin also called Smash, from 1980. > **[Smash (novel)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smash_(novel))** > > Smash is an American novel by Garson Kanin. Published in 1980 by Viking Press, the book follows the creation of a Broadway musical about vaudeville performer Nora Bayes, from casting to opening night. > Smash was the partial basis for the 2012 NBC television series Smash. > The novel is in the form of a production diary for Shine On, Harvest Moon, the fictional musical being created about the life of vaudevillian Nora Bayes. The diary is kept by Production Secretary Midge Maghakian, a young woman w... It’s also about the making of a fictional Broadway musical, although not about Marilyn Monroe, It’s a lot of fun. The best Discworld novel about the theater is Maskerade, which is his take on Phantom of the Opera, and is better than Wyrd Sister (although also about the witches). Interested in children’s books about the theater? I recommend Ballet Shoes, Theater Shoes (its sequel) and Dancing Shoes, all by Noel Streatfeild. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2016, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/novels-movies-shows-about-theatre/772116/49 "2016-11-18T22:00:09Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > I was Selsdon in a college production. It was quite possibly the most fun I’d ever had in a show. Just the word sardines makes me crack up like no other. I can see that! What a great memory. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Cardigan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardigan/32/187_2.png) [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2016, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/novels-movies-shows-about-theatre/772116/50 "2016-11-18T22:09:55Z")
[A Life in the Theater](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SyBO6ZySzA) I think they made a movie too with Jack Lemmon and Matthew Broderick ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2016, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/novels-movies-shows-about-theatre/772116/51 "2016-11-19T11:06:49Z")
_A Double Life_ (1947) stars Ronald Colman as a Shakespearean actor who has trouble distinguishing his real life from the character he plays. It’s not one of my all time favorites but I thought it was very good and sadly underappreciated today. Colman won his only Oscar for this film. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2016, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/novels-movies-shows-about-theatre/772116/52 "2016-11-19T11:21:23Z")
For a change of pace, there’s [Shadow of the Vampire](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0189998/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1), a movie about the filming of the classic vampire film _Nosferatu_. The lead actor Max Schreck, played by Willem Dafoe, takes the role of the vampire Count Orlock just a little too seriously…or does he? ---
**Author:** ![DaphneBlack](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/daphneblack/32/5389_2.png) [@DaphneBlack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DaphneBlack)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2016, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/novels-movies-shows-about-theatre/772116/53 "2016-11-19T15:35:57Z")
> [@Terminus\_Est](#): > > For a change of pace, there’s [Shadow of the Vampire](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0189998/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1), a movie about the filming of the classic vampire film _Nosferatu_. The lead actor Max Schreck, played by Willem Dafoe, takes the role of the vampire Count Orlock just a little too seriously…or does he? Sounds great! Love Dafoe. ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2016, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/novels-movies-shows-about-theatre/772116/54 "2016-11-19T17:47:25Z")
If opera counts as theater, there’s _Ariadne auf Naxos_ ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2016, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/novels-movies-shows-about-theatre/772116/55 "2016-11-19T17:59:51Z")
[All That Jazz](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078754/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_58), based loosely on the life of Ray Fosse. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2016, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/novels-movies-shows-about-theatre/772116/56 "2016-11-19T19:40:02Z")
> [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](#): > > _Noises Off_ Reuniting Michael Caine and Christopher Reeve from _Deathtrap_, which also counts. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2016, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/novels-movies-shows-about-theatre/772116/57 "2016-11-20T05:11:48Z")
> [@DaphneBlack](#): > > Sounds great! Love Dafoe. I should add: Watching the original silent film _Nosferatu_ isn’t necessary to enjoy _Shadow of the Vampire_. But if you do you can more greatly appreciate Willem Dafoe’s acting as well as his makeup job. And since _Nosferatu_ is old enough to be in the public domain, there are dozens of versions floating around for free on the Internet. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2016, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/novels-movies-shows-about-theatre/772116/58 "2016-11-20T05:26:02Z")
> [@Terminus\_Est](#): > > For a change of pace, there’s THEATRE OF BLOOD. Vincent Price is an over-the-top Shakespearean actor who (a) despises the critics who despise his acting, but (b) really loves being in character. On a totally unrelated note, Shakespeare sure loved writing unhinged killers. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2016, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/novels-movies-shows-about-theatre/772116/59 "2016-11-20T05:53:32Z")
_Cabaret_ is about the life of some sleazy cabaret performers in Germany just before WWII. ``` *******SPOILER ALERT******** ``` _Victor/Victoria_ is about a fake drag queen (“he’s” really a woman) and his theatrical career, with many scenes of rehearsal, performance, and backstage antics. _A Midsummer Night’s Dream_ is another Shakespeare play that contains a play. There are several Judy Garland/Mickey Rooney “let’s put on a show! we can have it in the barn!” movies. Many are sadly marred for future generations by some blackface segments. There’s also a film called _Everybody Sing_ about a stage family with Judy Garland and Fanny Brice, also sadly marred by a blackface scene by Garland. The there’s _Gypsy_. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2016, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/novels-movies-shows-about-theatre/772116/60 "2016-11-20T05:58:56Z")
_Shadow of the Vampire_, a great film in it’s own right, may have been inspired by the success of the movie about the life of _Ed Wood_ which included material about the filming of several of Wood’s films, with quite a lot of screen time devoted to _Plan 9 from Outer Space_. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/novels-movies-shows-about-theatre/772116.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/novels-movies-shows-about-theatre/772116.md?page=4)