Janney, Hellman, and Dolly Parton
Whenever I have serious computer problems, as I have had the past couple of days, I think of a scene in the movie “Julia.” Jane Fonda, as the playwright Lillian Hellman, has a moment of frustration while trying to work. She picks up the typewriter and tosses it out the window. I’ve been feeling that way today about my laptop. I’m hoping to be back in action fully by tomorrow, Saturday. Meanwhile, speaking of Hellman, comes word that a production of her play, “The Autumn Garden,” which had a well-received run this summer at the Williamstown Theatre Festival, will come to Broadway next autumn. The only thing left to nail down is whether one of its stars, Allison Janney, will come to Broadway with it. Janney is going to do the Dolly Parton musical, “9 to 5,” next summer, and the future of that show will determine whether she does the Hellman right after.
