Скачать или смотреть Paul Rudnick on Comedy, Faith, and “The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told”

Playwright and screenwriter Paul Rudnick sits down to discuss his provocative stage comedy “The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told,” which imagines a biblical world with Adam and Steve instead of Adam and Eve (plus Jane and Mabel, the first lesbians). He talks about turning a homophobic catchphrase into a subversive premise, why questions of faith feel more taboo than sex in contemporary culture, and how theatre—and especially live comedy—becomes a kind of religion for him. Rudnick revisits his film work on Addams Family Values, In & Out, and the upcoming Jacqueline Susann biopic Isn’t She Great, explains his obsessive rewriting process in front of an audience, and reflects on writing gay characters without treating them as “niche” subjects. The conversation ranges from Jerry Falwell and the Antichrist to romance as “a positive form of religion,” the absence of protesters compared to Corpus Christi, and why using characters who’ve been excluded from traditional narratives can give everyone a fresh perspective on love, death, and the existence of God.

00:00 – Introduction to Paul Rudnick and his work for stage and screen
00:45 – Turning “Adam and Steve” into the premise for a play
01:06 – Adam and Steve, Jane and Mabel, and using the Bible as comic material
01:28 – Why faith is more taboo to ask about than sex
01:48 – Rudnick on whether he believes in God and theatre as his “church”
02:28 – Saint Peter, Jerry Falwell, and the Antichrist joke
03:28 – Structure of the play: Old Testament highlights and a modern Manhattan second act
04:16 – Satirizing everyone while taking faith seriously
04:39 – Introducing Jane and Mabel, the first lesbians in the Garden of Eden
04:57 – Making comedy out of religion: vulnerability, fervor, and real emotion
05:25 – In the end, the play as a story about love and romance as a “religion”
06:10 – Comparing controversy: Corpus Christi protests vs this play
06:28 – Why The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told drew fewer protests
06:50 – Our Lady of Fatima calls and the possibilities of future material
07:14 – Why Rudnick always returns to live theatre
07:37 – Balancing success in movies with the “family” feeling of the stage
07:54 – Writing Addams Family Values, credit issues on the first film, and In & Out
08:13 – New film project: Isn’t She Great and Jacqueline Susann as a modern publishing pioneer
08:48 – Susann’s private struggles, book tours, and the birth of the author as brand
09:11 – Rudnick on never wanting to act and awe of great performers
09:28 – Longtime collaboration with director Christopher Ashley and building a rehearsal atmosphere
09:55 – Using theatre’s own language: red velvet curtains, pageantry, and transformation onstage
10:28 – Moving the play from New York Theatre Workshop to the Minetta Lane Theatre
10:51 – Dinner with Adam, Steve, Jane, and Mabel: a scene clip and ensemble dynamics
12:13 – Rudnick’s process: endless drafts, rewriting in front of an audience
12:36 – Using audience response to sharpen jokes and structure
13:23 – Readings, workshops, Williamstown, and gradual development of a play
13:41 – Writing “reality,” family humor, and comedy as a weapon against self-pity
14:23 – Jeffrey, his father’s illness, and the importance of sharing a script before death
14:53 – Agent Helen Merrill, hearing the play on her deathbed, and working to the end
15:35 – Homosexuality and spirituality as intertwined themes
16:03 – Writing gay characters without thinking in terms of “gay plays”
16:24 – Rejecting the idea of a niche audience and treating gay lives as fully universal
16:46 – Mixed audiences and why new perspectives (gay, Black, Asian characters) refresh big themes
17:12 – Using previously excluded characters to explore love, death, and God in new ways
17:55 – Final reflections on shared human experience beyond labels

Playwright Discussion is a curated archive of interviews with the great voices of theater, literature, and stagecraft. From Broadway icons to emerging playwrights, we explore the artistry and ideas shaping dramatic storytelling.

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