On Stage with Bette Davis

<p> A reflection on one of Broadway's most iconic flops this memoir follows a musical that featured one of the silver screen's most powerful personalities. Bette Davis was nominated for twelve Academy Awards and twice won the Best Actress award starring in classics like <I>Jezebel</I> <I>The Letter</I> <I>The Little Foxes</I> <I>All About Eve</I> and <I>Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?</I> among many more. In 1974 the living legend agreed to star in <I>Miss Moffat</I> a musical adaptation of Emlyn Williams' <I>The Corn in Green</I>. Expectations were high but <I>Miss Moffat</I> opened and then abruptly closed leading theatre gossips to speculate on what went wrong.</p><p> Early in his career Kevin Lane Dearinger a young actor who had recently relocated to New York landed a minor role in <I>Miss Moffat</I>. Inexperienced and unsure of himself he kept a journal of his observations and experiences throughout production. He observed the older and more seasoned Miss Davis who seemed determined to remain clear-headed despite the unfolding calamity. In this book Dearinger revisits his journal to reflect on his own life a fated stage production his experience with an entertainment legend and a bygone era of Broadway.</p>