{"id":3066,"date":"2017-04-26T19:45:37","date_gmt":"2017-04-26T19:45:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/?p=3066"},"modified":"2018-08-30T20:23:13","modified_gmt":"2018-08-30T20:23:13","slug":"theatre-in-film-opening-night-2016","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/theatre-in-film-opening-night-2016\/","title":{"rendered":"Theatre in Film: Opening Night (2016)"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"fusion-one-full fusion-layout-column fusion-column-last fusion-spacing-yes section-header-post\" style=\"margin-top:;margin-bottom:;\"><div class=\"fusion-column-wrapper\"><h3>Theatre in Film: <i>Opening Night<\/i> (2016)<\/h3>\n<font size=\"2\" color=\"grey\"><span style=\"border:1px solid ;-webkit-border-radius:50%;-moz-border-radius:50%;border-radius:50%;-moz-box-shadow: 0 0 3px rgba(0,0,0,.3);-webkit-box-shadow: 0 0 3px rgba(0,0,0,.3);box-shadow: 0 0 3px rgba(0,0,0,.3);margin-right:25px;float:left;\" class=\"fusion-imageframe imageframe-glow imageframe-1 hover-type-none author-image\"><a class=\"fusion-no-lightbox\" href=\"http:\/\/performerstuff.com\" target=\"_self\"> <img src=\"http:\/\/mgs.performerstuff.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/authorimage.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"img-responsive\" style=\"-webkit-border-radius:50%;-moz-border-radius:50%;border-radius:50%;\"\/><\/a><\/span><p>Written by Ashleigh Gardner<\/p>\n<p>April 26, 2017<\/p>\n<\/font><div class=\"fusion-clearfix\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fusion-clearfix\"><\/div><div class=\"fusion-one-full fusion-layout-column fusion-column-last fusion-spacing-yes section-body-post\" style=\"margin-top:;margin-bottom:;\"><div class=\"fusion-column-wrapper\"><p style=\"text-align: left;\">Welcome to Part IX (holy cow!) of Theatre in Film, our weekly feature on a film that depicts a life in the\u00a0theatre. In Part\u00a0IX, we celebrate the films that showcase the absurdity theatre: backstage accidents, drama queens, and ridiculously comedic catastrophes. This week, we feature the 2016\u00a0comedy,\u00a0<em>Opening Night\u00a0<\/em>(not to be confused with the <span style=\"color: #ba9bc9;\"><a style=\"color: #ba9bc9;\" href=\"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/theatre-in-film-series-opening-night-1977\/\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>John Cassavetes film from 1977<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/span>).<\/p>\n<h4><i>Opening Night<\/i> (2016)<\/h4>\n<br><div align=\"center\"><div class=\"fusion-video fusion-youtube\" style=\"max-width:600px;max-height:350px;\"><div class=\"video-shortcode\"><iframe title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/z_zCa9JLk4w?wmode=transparent&autoplay=0\" width=\"600\" height=\"350\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div><\/div><\/div><br><p style=\"text-align: left;\"><b>Director: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Jack Henry Robbins<br \/>\n<\/span><b>Starring: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Anthony Rapp, Cheyenne Jackson, Jessica Richards, Mitchell Jarvis, Kelsey Carthew<\/span><\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: left;\">What happens:<\/h4>\n<br><p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Taking place during the opening night of a high school drama department\u2019s production of Shakespeare\u2019s <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A Midsummer Night\u2019s Dream<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Opening Night <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">tells the story of high school drama teacher Logan Joyce (Anthony Rapp) and his unfocused, nervous, and distracted thespian troupe as they prepare to open their show to their school, talent scout Eli Faisel (Cheyenne Jackson), and the school\u2019s board of directors &#8212; who have ultimate say over the amount of funding the drama department will receive, if any at all. When a student isn\u2019t able to make the performance, Mr. Joyce selects Jay (Philip Labes), the student assistant director, to go on instead of eccentric, Shakespeare-obsessed understudy Simonia (Kelsey Carthew). To get back at Mr. Joyce, Simonia enlists the help of a Jack-Black-esque William Shakespeare (Mitchell Jarvis), who magically appears out of a trashcan in the library. What follows is a disastrous (and spontaneously adapted) <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Midsummer.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: left;\">Why it matters:<\/h4>\n<br><p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">High school theatre can be frustrating to say the least. Crushes, jealousy, and aspirations for college scholarships can get in the way of friendships and entrances. Plus, the threat of drama programs being under- and defunded due to cutbacks makes it a stressful experience for theatre teachers across the country. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When Arden (Nicole Tompkins) stares lovingly at Terry (Chris Aguila), she becomes obsessed with the mission of getting Terry to hook up with her. Meanwhile Terry has a crush on Marcus (Marquis Wood), the football-player-turned-actor. Rose (Jessica Richards) and Windsor (Chasen Bauer) have had an ongoing relationship for what seems like years, and they then encounter a harsh breakup when they apply for the same scholarships and the same schools. Windsor even misses a key entrance because he catches Rose kissing another actor backstage.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Meanwhile, Mr. Joyce is at risk of being let go when the school board director and the principal view his show as a flop. His only saving grace is his friend, Eli Faisel, who offers him a chance to go back to New York and save his career. Theatre teachers like Mr. Joyce experience intense pressure from multiple forces &#8212; school boards, principals, parents, students, and even their own career dreams &#8212; while trying to maintain a thriving drama department. Mr. Joyce is constantly trying to prove himself to people in charge while also proving <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">to <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">himself that what he\u2019s doing is worth it. In the end, he proves to himself that his job as a theatre teacher is much more valuable than reclaiming his professional directing job in New York.<\/span><\/p>\n<br><p style=\"text-align: left;\">This film is the first in\u00a0Part IX. See below for the other films\u00a0in our Theatre in Film series!<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Want to start with\u00a0<strong>Part I<\/strong>? Begin with\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><em><a href=\"http:\/\/mgs.performerstuff.com\/?p=133\">42nd Street\u00a0<\/a><\/em>(1933)<\/strong><\/span>.<br \/>\nMiss\u00a0<strong>Part II<\/strong>?\u00a0Check out\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/theatre-in-film-series-the-band-wagon-1953\/\"><strong><em>The Band Wagon<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0<strong>(1953)<\/strong><\/a><\/span>.<br \/>\nNeed a refresh for\u00a0<strong>Part III<\/strong>? Start with\u00a0our feature on\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><em><a href=\"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/theatre-in-film-series-all-that-jazz-1979\/\">All That Jazz\u00a0<\/a><\/em><\/strong><strong>(1979)<\/strong><\/span>.<br \/>\nHow about a recap from\u00a0<strong>Part IV<\/strong>? Jump into\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/theatre-in-film-a-chorus-of-disapproval-1989\/\"><strong><em>A Chorus of Disapproval\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/a><strong>(1989)<\/strong><\/span>.<br \/>\nCheck out\u00a0<strong>Part V<\/strong><em>,\u00a0<\/em>and start with\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/theatre-in-film-an-awfully-big-adventure-1995\/\"><em><strong>An Awfully Big Adventure\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><strong>(1995)<\/strong><\/a><\/span>.<br \/>\nStart reading\u00a0<strong>Part VI<\/strong>\u00a0with\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/theatre-in-film-camp-2003\/\">Camp\u00a0<\/a><\/strong><\/em><strong>(2003)<\/strong><\/span>.<br \/>\nWant to dive into <strong>Part VII<\/strong>? Read\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/theatre-in-film-synecdoche-new-york-2008\/\"><i>Synecdoche, New York<\/i> (2008)<\/a><\/strong><\/span>.<br \/>\nStart <strong>Part VIII<\/strong> with\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014)\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><i>Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)<\/i><\/strong><\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong> (2014)<\/strong><\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"fusion-clearfix\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fusion-clearfix\"><\/div><hr \/>\n<h5 style=\"text-align: left;\"><em><strong>Ashleigh Gardner<\/strong>\u00a0received her AA in Theatre\/Drama\/Dramatic Arts\u00a0from Valencia College and\u00a0her Bachelors Degree in English Literature and\u00a0Masters Degree in Literary, Cultural, and Textual Studies from\u00a0the University of Central Florida. She is a playwright, an actor, and PerformerStuff.com\u2019s Editor.\u00a0<\/em><\/h5>\n<h5 style=\"text-align: left;\">Thumbnail image from\u00a0<em>Opening Night.\u00a0<\/em>Copyright Candy Factory Films, 2016.<\/h5>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" [...]","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3067,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[259,265],"tags":[25,139,21,105,114],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3066"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3066"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3066\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3067"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3066"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3066"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3066"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}