The theatre based on Drury Lane has confirmed which play will be its first, following on from its production of Stephen Sondheim’s Marry Me a Little.
It has been announced that the newly opened Stage Door Theatre will present Claudio Macor’s The Tailor-Made Man as its first play, running from the 17th April to 18 May before returning from the 4 – 12 June.
William “Billy” Haines was a popular MGM movie star in the 1920’s who was fired by studio boss Louis B. Mayer because he was gay and refused to give up his lifelong partner, Jimmie Shields, and marry the silent screen vamp Pola Negri in a sham lavender marriage.
As punishment, his films were pulled from release and sealed in the MGM vaults never to be seen again, and his official studio photographs were destroyed. It was an attempt to erase him completely from movie history. But Billy and Jimmy’s turbulent, passionate love affair was to survive and lasted over 50 years. This is their story.
While casting has yet to be announced, the production will be directed by Robert McWhir, designed by David Shields and is being produced by LAMBCO Productions.
Claudio Macor said: “Thirty years ago a friend gave me a copy of Kenneth Anger’s book Hollywood Babylon. As I was reading the various Hollywood scandals Kenneth Anger so vividly described I came across “The White Legion and the Purple Poodle” and first discovered the story of William “Billy” Haines and Jimmie Shields.”
Macor’s The Tailor-Made Man play premiered in London at the Hen and Chickens in 1992, it quickly got a transfer to the Battersea Arts Centre (BAC) to be followed by a TV showcase by Thames Television, who were planning to bring back Masterpiece Theatre. The Tailor-Made Man was chosen to be one of the six initial episodes but then Thames lost their ITV franchise. The play was performed on Freedom Radio with Broadway star Robert Bogue as Billy and Oscar-nominated Judd Hirsch as Louis B Mayer, and then had successful runs in San Diego and West Hollywood. It received another London run at the Cockpit Theatre before its Off-Broadway run at Centre Stage. It was turned into a musical in 2013 at London’s Arts Theatre.
To book tickets visit: https://www.stagedoortheatre.co.uk/the-tailor-made-man-17-april-12-june/