Manhattan Story

An affectionate and comic portrait of Broadway theatre in the 80's, when a single critic's bad review could close a multi-million dollar show the day after opening night, and when the musical extravaganzas of Andrew Lloyd Webber ruled the Great White Way. A modern retelling of "The Misanthrope," about an all-powerful, cynical and acerbic theatre critic, Maxwell Jones, who -- much to his own dismay -- falls in love with the lead actress in the Broadway musical his brutal review just closed. A theatre critic for The New York Times, Maxwell finds himself beside himself upon realizing he's falling in love with a famous actress, Abby Donahue, a fiery-tempered Irish woman, who is returning to the theatre after a successful career in Hollywood. A woman Maxwell also grew up with in high school. But Maxwell's pathologically high standards for theatre -- and everyone in general -- dictates he write a scathing review of Abby's triumphal return to Broadway: An outrageously bad, mega-musical about a submarine, book and lyrics by British wunderkind, Alex Barker, a clueless egomaniac. Maxwell seeks advice and solace from his childhood best friend, Rudy Wyler, a multi-millionaire, sweet-natured playboy, who has invested in Abby's musical, as Alex finds himself truly falling in love, for the first time, with Abby's visiting sister, Monica, a down-to-earth, clear-eyed beauty. Maxwell must also wrestle with his upcoming divorce to The Daily News gossip columnist, Alicia Collins, who has begun to have second thoughts about the divorce, just as Maxwell tries to romantically interest a very disinterested Abby. A sub-plot involves Rudy's attempt at a run for a state senate seat, taking on the endorsement and funding of a corrupt businessman, an illegal business deal that Alicia discovers, and which she could use to end Rudy's young political career, but which she instead uses as a test, once and for all, of Maxwell's real, or imagined, extreme standards for personal integrity. A test of how much of that integrity is Maxwell willing to sacrifice for love and friendship...