Watch a silent film star melt down after trying to order cheese fries at an Athens bar
Influential gossip columnist Hedda Hopper, sex symbol Mae West and silent film star Gloria Swanson were all still living when the Town & Gown Players theater opened in Athens in 1953. For the theater's latest production, all three women and more have been revived for the stage as well as in a series of videos.
Directed by Virginia Simmons, "A Day In The Life of Adolph Zuckor" will run July 8-11 on the Town & Gown second stage. The play concerns real-life Paramount Pictures producer Zuckor's efforts to secure West for a role in a new movie, and will feature actors portraying a host of figures from the golden age of Hollywood.
Christine Carpenter, who plays Hopper in the show, is also the treasurer at Town & Gown. In one of the videos shot and edited by longtime Athens theater and film mainstay Allen Rowell, Carpenter is shown in character as Hopper attempting to get some dirt from a trio of bar patrons downtown.
In case you missed it: Interactive play aims for a 'conversation' between UGA and the Athens Black community
The 10 best movies of 2022 so far: Chosen by Athens Banner-Herald staff writer Andrew Shearer
Read more: 2022 Athens Music Walk of Fame inductees announced at AthFest
Carpenter told the Banner-Herald that the "interesting flavor" of the videos is the result of a group effort spearheaded by the theater's social media specialists Beta Vitale and Lora Hogan.
"Town & Gown has a history of advertising its plays through the use of great posters and still images, but the high level of art doesn't always reach a high level of engagement with the Athens community," said Carpenter. "The videos have received a much greater response on social media."
The most popular of the clips shows Hogan in character as silent film icon Gloria Swanson, who is shown attempting to order cheese fries at a recognizable outdoor Athens restaurant. When the server informs Swanson that they're out of fries, Hogan breaks down in a noiseless fit of emotion that echoes the real Swanson's signature talent for expression.
Though the videos are fun, they wouldn't work as well without the serious skills of the cast and crew involved, and Carpenter said that the process of creating the shorts has only added to the toolkit of the Town & Gown Players.
Social media isn't the only way that Town & Gown has stepped up its visibility in the Athens community. For second-stage productions like "Adolf Zuckor," the theater has an online application process through which anyone can pitch a production plan for a play they've written or wish to revive from the past.
The Second Stage Series plays are done on the same stage as the main theater productions, but are reserved for works that fall under the "experimental" category or that are deemed potentially controversial in nature.
Last October's "Athens Vignettes," which was made up of three scenes based on interviews with Black students, leaders and families from Athens about their relationships with UGA, was one of them.
"We want Town & Gown to be seen as an Athens theater, not just a group of friends putting on plays for their other friends," said Carpenter. "There's a lot in Athens, and we want to bring everybody in."
Visit townandgownplayers.org for tickets and additional information.
This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Athens' Town & Gown Players brings classic movie stars to life
