I will confess to being a huge fan of “Gone With the Wind” and I have read much about Mr. Selznick and the making of this film. I had even read “Moonlight and Magnolias” and frankly wasn’t all that taken with it until Saturday night.

Director Sue Pinkman did an outstanding job of staging the production. Finally! Someone in community theatre that understands creating memorable stage pictures.

Until very recently I never went to see community theater. Occasionally I see things that pleasantly surprise me, but never do I forget that I am watching amateurs. Only occasionally do I see something that is so good that it captures my imagination and allows me to be simply a participant in the collaboration between performer and audience. That was the case with “Moonlight” and I’ll cherish that memory along with a handful of productions I’ve seen over my lifetime of theatre going.

All of the performances were quite good–and here’s the thing that matters most—they brought humanity to their characters, which in turn makes the farcical elements that much more funny. These are real people in a ridiculous situation (and it’s important to note that the play is based on real events).

However, the evening belongs to Mr. Izquierdo. Just as Selznick was the driving force behind “GWTW,” Izquierdo provided the axis around which the others revolved. Yes, he was funny. Yes, his timing was flawless. Yes, his physicality was exceptional. But more importantly than any of that was the humanity he brought to the role of Selznick. He infused him with real, honest and raw emotion. He brought Selznick to vivid life: his insecurities, his flaws, his passion. He made him human and that more than anything gave the play meaning and heart. It gave us a reason to care. In lesser hands, it would have fallen flat.

It was this performance that made me see that there was a great deal more to the play than I had at first thought. By providing us insight into the man, it gave us a reason to care about an art form that is so frequently overshadowed by the insanity of “show business.

If I have one criticism with the production, it’s with the ending. The play SHOULD have ended when Selznick got up from the desk and climbed up into the silhouette with Scarlett. It was so moving and such a fitting homage to a man and film that has achieved beloved status. I didn’t care for the silliness that followed; it was completely superfluous—after all we’d just lived through all of it with Selznick, Hecht and Fleming. We didn’t need to see it. Those of us who love the film were so much more touched by the memories it evoked and gave us a greater appreciation of what went into making it happen. When Izquierdo as Selznick spoke to Mayer at the end and called him “papa” it put a lump in my throat. That wouldn’t have happened had it not been for the masterful way he breathed life into Selznick and made us care in the all the moments preceding that.