I Ought to be in Pictures

November 2013

Neil Simon’s plays are always popular and I Ought To Be In Pictures is no exception. It is a lovely, clever, funny three-hander bursting with the sort of one-liners you expect from Neil Simon. The play centres on Herbert Tucker, a struggling screenwriter who abandoned his New York family 16 years earlier. His daughter, Libby, arrives at the West Hollywood home of her father, whom she barely remembers. She is convinced that he can give her the Hollywood acting career she desires. Filled with teenage angst and demanding love, Libby not only forces Herb to deal with the responsibilities of parenthood, but to come to terms with his on/off-relationship with girlfriend Steffy. The play was also made into a film starring Walter Matthau, Ann-Margaret and Dinah Manoff.