Screwball

“Screwball!” is Beau Jest’s loving tribute to the screwball comedy genre; a live stage adaptation of Preston Sturges’ classic 1941 film Sullivan’s Travels, in which a well-known comic film director decides to make a serious movie. What would be the theatrical equivalent? How could the absurd plot points and rapid-fire dialogue be translated to the stage? We found an enormous reservoir of untapped, positive theatrical energy embedded in the farcical depression-era films that defined the screwball genre. Translating that vocal and physical energy to the stage was the challenge we set ourselves. In doing so, we found that comedy is a weapon that can respond to injustice by instilling hope and joy during dark times. And it’s a love story with enough original Beau Jest plot twists to satisfy and surprise fans of the original movie.