This week marks the release of Blue Moon, a film featuring Ethan Hawke as lyricist Lorenz Hart, co-creator of beloved American standards. Directed by Richard Linklater, the movie explores a single poignant night in the life of Hart, set against the backdrop of his former writing partner’s success, highlighting the emotional and personal turmoil Hart faced.
Blue Moon opens in limited theaters this Friday before expanding nationwide on October 24. The story takes place during the opening night of the landmark musical Oklahoma!—a defining moment for the new creative partnership of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. Hart, portrayed by Hawke, is shown drowning his sorrows at Sardi’s bar, grappling with addiction and feelings of abandonment as he watches his collaborator’s achievements from the sidelines.
Illuminating the Life and Legacy of Lorenz Hart
Lorenz Hart is recognized among musical theater enthusiasts as the lyricist half of the Rodgers and Hart duo, yet his name is less familiar outside of this circle. Unlike Rodgers and Hammerstein’s enduringly popular shows, many of Rodgers and Hart’s musicals such as On Your Toes, Too Many Girls, Babes in Arms, and Pal Joey are seldom revived on stages today. Nevertheless, the pair’s contribution to the American songbook remains significant through individual songs that have become timeless classics.
Among Hart’s most influential works are songs like Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered, Blue Moon, My Funny Valentine, I Could Write a Book, The Lady is a Tramp, and Where or When. These pieces continue to resonate and represent Hart’s enduring impact on American music.
What Drew Richard Linklater to Lorenz Hart’s Story
Linklater’s fascination with Hart’s work began in his twenties, sparked by an album featuring the Rodgers and Hart songbook. He recalls to Entertainment Weekly,
“I was in my 20s when I got the Rodgers and Hart Songbook double album, which is really fantastic,”
and adds,
“It took me a while to realize that the Rodgers of Rodgers and Hart was the same Rodgers I’d grown up with in Rodgers and Hammerstein. The music’s so different.”
Over ten years ago, Linklater reconnected with writer Robert Kaplow, whose book served as the inspiration for Linklater’s 2008 film Me and Orson Welles. Kaplow introduced Linklater to the concept of Blue Moon, set during the opening night of Oklahoma! A film focusing on Hart’s perspective during this moment of triumph for his former partner appealed to Linklater for its darker, more complex view of success and loss in the theater world.
Linklater describes this approach:
“He said, ‘It’s set on the opening night of Oklahoma!’ That’s such a crazy, perverse notion—on this triumphant night, to see it from the point of view of the guy being left behind in all this. I read it and it was just a really long monologue, but everything good about it was there—Hart’s vulnerability, his acid bitterness.”
Exploring Hart’s Personal Struggles and Complicated Identity
Kaplow uncovered archival letters exchanged between Hart and a young college student, Elizabeth Weiland, portrayed in the film by Margaret Qualley. These letters, along with the narrative of Blue Moon, suggest that Hart harbored an infatuation for Elizabeth despite his sexual orientation.
Linklater emphasizes the complexity of Hart’s identity in a society that criminalized homosexuality: “Everyone knows Hart is gay,” he explains.
“But he was the kind of guy who was still proposing to women and wanted maybe some hint of normalcy. When your sexuality is against the law, there are these kinds of relationships.”
Throughout his adult life, Hart lived with his widowed mother and was a man deeply conflicted by his personal demons. His alcoholism and turbulent lifestyle increasingly interfered with his career and health, contributing to his death at the age of 48, less than a year after the film’s setting.
The Decade-Long Collaboration of Linklater, Hawke, and Kaplow
After connecting with Kaplow, Linklater enlisted Ethan Hawke to embody Hart. Initially, Hawke was too young to accurately portray a man at the end of his life, but they developed the film over the ensuing decade as Hawke matured into the role. The actor’s intellectual capacity and emotional range were critical to rendering the complex figure of Hart, known affectionately as Larry among friends.
Hart’s tragic struggles with addiction and mental health provide a rich, emotional core for the film. Despite these hardships, Hart influenced many future musicians and lyricists, including a fictionalized moment in the film where he encounters a young neighbor who will become Stephen Sondheim.
Stephen Sondheim’s Fictionalized Encounter with Hart
The film includes a fictionalized scene in which a 12-year-old Stephen Sondheim, living next door to Oscar Hammerstein II, critiques Hart’s writing. Linklater notes that Sondheim was honest but fond of Hart:
“He did say that Hart was a little sloppy,”
Linklater recalls.
“He liked him, but he was good at pointing out [flaws].”
Having established a rapport with Sondheim before the composer’s death in 2021, Linklater regretfully missed sharing the cameo with him in person:
“I looked forward to telling him someday, and to the expression on his face,”
Linklater says.
“But I never mentioned it because the film wasn’t happening. So I missed him by a couple of years. He would’ve chuckled.”
Challenges of Portraying Lorenz Hart’s Physicality and Persona
Physically, Hawke presented some challenges in representing Hart, who was notably shorter—Hart stood just 5 feet tall, while Hawke is 5-foot-10. Linklater recalls his initial hesitation:
“I was staring at him, going, ‘Well, you’re not this guy.’ It was different to have to transform an actor to that degree, but that wasn’t ultimately an encumbrance.”
The director emphasized the necessity of an actor with quick intellect and wit:
“It’s a portrait of a lyrical genius,”
he explains.
“So, you couldn’t have some slow-thinking actor, and there’s a lot of good actors who aren’t that quick. They just don’t have the neural firing that Ethan has, so you would believe potentially, ‘Oh, that is a genius lyricist. Do you see the way his mind works? The way he puts together words?’”
To address the height difference without digital effects or body doubles, the production employed traditional stagecraft techniques.
“There was no digital, no body doubles, no bald caps. Ethan shaved his head, and we used stagecraft where you lower him and keep the rest of the world the same,”
Linklater details.
“It’s a pain in the butt for sure, but every film has some cross to bear. To be looking up at the world, it’s different.”
A Deep Dive into Hart’s Inner Life and Emotional Vulnerability
Linklater describes the character transformation as focusing entirely on Hart’s intellect and emotions.
“For Ethan, it’s a true transformation of character,”
he says.
“Larry Hart is ultimately his brain, his wit, and his words. We had to dial down everything else. Usually, you’re building something. I was taking away everything, except the brain and the mouth—the emotions, everything that’s interior. But I had to break down the confidence and physicality of Ethan and leave him vulnerable.”
Blue Moon: A Demanding Project for Both Actor and Director
Both Linklater and Hawke acknowledge the film was one of the most challenging collaborations of their careers.
“It was the hardest thing we’ve ever done,”
Linklater admits.
“At least we didn’t get back together out of, ‘Oh, let’s just do something fun.’ It’s like, ‘Oh, let’s get together and push ourselves to the limit of our talents.’”
The film’s intense focus on Hart’s complex personality and tragic life story offers audiences a rare and intimate portrayal of a lyrical genius wrestling with his demons. It also reintroduces Hart’s legacy through the lens of Ethan Hawke’s transformative performance, ensuring that the name Lorenz Hart remains a vital part of American musical history.
