Kevin Kline (A Fish Known as Wanda, Fierce Creatures, Bob’s Burgers) and Jon Tenney (The Nearer, Scandal) have to make room on the stage for Laura Linney (Ozark, The Mothman Prophecies, You Can Rely on Me) as she joins the solid of MGM+’s upcoming eight-episode collection American Traditional. Michael Hoffman (Soapdish, Restoration, The Final Station) and Bob Martin (The Promenade, Slings and Arrows) co-created American Traditional, with Hoffman directing the collection specializing in a narcissistic Broadway star seeking to carry his previous stomping grounds again to type.
Right here’s an official description of American Traditional courtesy of MGM+:
“American Classic centers on Broadway star and notorious narcissist Richard Bean, played by Kline, who suffers a spectacular public meltdown and returns to his hometown and the family-run theater where he first became aware of his own brilliance. When he arrives, he is shocked to discover that his father, the former artistic director, has lost a step and that the once-respected theater, now run by his brother Jon (Tenney), played by Tenney, and his wife Kristen (Linney), has become, by necessity, a low-rent dinner theater serving roast beef and murder mysteries. He decides to save the town, the theater, and the world by presenting a great American classic on the dinner theater stage, directed by and starring, of course, Richard Bean.”
Laura Linney performs Kristen Forrest Bean in American Traditional, “who grew up acting in the Millersburg Festival Theater founded and run by the Bean family,” per the character description. “Kristen fell in love with Richard Bean at age 19 and ran off with him to try to make it in NY. Once there, Richard’s egotism served him better than Kristen’s quiet intensity and it was his career that took off. Kristen became increasingly frustrated and finally packed up and went home to Millersburg – Where she eventually married Richard’s younger brother, Jon, and had their daughter Miranda. As the recently appointed Mayor of Millersburg, Kristen directs her passion as well as her strong practical side toward helping to keep the family theater alive.”
Beware the perils of placing an excessive amount of “theater kid energy” underneath one roof! I can already really feel the electrical energy within the air as Richard, Jon, and Kristen method the theater’s circumstances with their dueling concepts. Shakespeare, ship us from egos, altercations, and bridge-mending because the trio discovers one of the simplest ways to carry the theater again to its roots.
