Stage Beauty
Encyclopedia
Stage Beauty is a 2004 British-American-German romantic
period drama
directed
by Richard Eyre
. The screenplay
by Jeffrey Hatcher
is based on his play Compleat Female Stage Beauty, which was inspired by references to 17th century actor Edward Kynaston
made in the detailed private diary kept by Samuel Pepys
.
(Billy Crudup
) is one of the leading actors of his day, famed for his portrayal of female characters, particularly Desdemona
in Othello
. His loyal dresser, Maria (Claire Danes
), longs to perform on stage but is forbidden to do so by a law enacted by the Puritan
s prior to the return of the House of Stuart
to the throne. She fulfills her desire by appearing in plays presented in a local tavern under the name Margaret Hughes
. Word of her performances spread and the novelty of a woman on stage draws the attention of Sir Charles Sedley
(Richard Griffiths
), who offers to be her patron, and eventually the attention of King Charles II
(Rupert Everett
) himself.
Kynaston's rant against allowing women on stage is overheard by Nell Gwynn (Zoe Tapper
), an aspiring actress and Charles II's mistress, and she literally seduces Charles into banning men from playing female roles. As a result, Kynaston loses his lover, George Villiers
(Ben Chaplin
), the Duke of Buckingham
, and the acceptance of London society. Unable to shake the feminine characteristics he has perfected over the years, he is reduced to performing bawdy songs in drag
in music halls, while Maria's career thrives, though her abilities leave much to be desired, as she bases everything she does on Kynaston's performances.
When Maria is called upon to portray Desdemona for the king, she panics and implores Kynaston to coach her. Not only does he agree, but he insists on replacing company head Thomas Betterton in the role of the titular protagonist
. In doing so, he discovers his ability to portray a male character, while Maria evolves from an actress of middling talent to an acclaimed theatrical star.
is anachronistic, as naturalism was not developed until the 19th century.
Interiors were filmed at the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich
and Shepperton Studios
in Surrey
. According to commentary by production designer
Jim Clay on the DVD release of the film, because so little English Restoration
architecture remains in London
, and documentation of the period is minimal, he was required to use his imagination in creating buildings and back alleys on sound stage
s.
In the DVD commentary
, several cast members recall the film was shot during the hottest UK summer on record (2003), and the temperature under the lights usually hovered at 46 degrees C (115 F), making performing in the heavy, layered costumes a grueling experience.
The Costumes were designed by Tim Hatley
. Twelve costume houses were involved in the production, including The Royal Shakespeare Company, The National Theater, and Angels & Bermans, as well as the Italian houses Sartoria Farani, Tirelli
, Costumi d'Arte
, E. Rancati, G.P. 11, and Pompei
.
The film premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival
in May 2004 prior to its general release in the UK. It was shown at the Deauville Film Festival, the Toronto Film Festival, and the Dinard Festival of British Cinema in France before opening in New York City
.
. . . Mr. Crudup's fine features, which flicker between masculine and feminine as the lighting changes and the mood shifts, are well suited for the role, though his sinewy, birdlike frame suggests Hollywood anorexia
more than Restoration curviness . . . Stage Beauty is both timorous and ungainly, words that might also describe Ms. Danes's performance. Trapped in an English accent and in a character who must appear conniving and warmhearted in turn, she veers from teariness to brisk indignation like an Emma Thompson
doll with a jammed switch. The British actors in smaller roles handle the material better . . . George Fenton's Sunday-brunch score, on the other hand, is an indigestible dose of good taste ladled heavily over even the film's witty and delicate moments."
David Rooney
of Variety
called the film "an intelligent and entertaining adaptation . . . skillfully acted, handsomely crafted" and added, "Eyre's spry direction of the refreshingly literate, witty drama shows a pleasingly light touch and a genuine feel for the bustle, backbiting and rivalry of the theater milieu . . . In a delicately measured performance that favors graceful subtlety over campy mannerism, Crudup conveys a nuanced sense of a man struggling to know himself . . . Put in the unenviable position of playing second fiddle to her male co-star in terms of feminine allure, Danes is lovely nonetheless . . . George Fenton's rich orchestral score enlivens the action with an occasional rousing Celtic
flavor."
In Rolling Stone
, Peter Travers
rated the film three out of a possible four stars and called it "bawdy fun . . . . the gender role-playing puts spine in this period piece that is vital to the here and now."
Carla Meyer of the San Francisco Chronicle
said, "The film rarely matches Crudup's performance, appearing confused itself about whether it's farce or drama. But its palette of burnished browns and reds pleases the eye, and at its best, Stage Beauty captures the tensions and electricity of backstage dramas."
In The New Yorker
, David Denby
observed, "Second-rate bawdiness — that is, bawdiness without the wit of Boccaccio
or Shakespeare
or even Tom Stoppard
— is more infantile than funny, and I'm not sure that the American playwright Jeffrey Hatcher, who concocted this piece for the stage and then adapted it into a movie, is even second-rate. Stage Beauty might be called the spawn of Shakespeare in Love
, and, unfortunately, this is a Shakespeare that lacks the graceful spirit and breathless narrative drive of its progenitor."
Owen Gleiberman
of Entertainment Weekly
rated the film C+ and described it as "an odd amalgam of high spirits, lively ambition, and botched execution."
Audience Award for Best Film, was cited by the National Board of Review
for Excellence in Filmmaking, and was named the Overlooked Film of the Year by the Phoenix Film Critics Society
.
Romance film
Romance films are love stories that focus on passion, emotion, and the affectionate involvement of the main characters and the journey that their love takes through courtship or marriage. Romance films make the love story or the search for love the main plot focus...
period drama
Costume drama
A costume drama or period drama is a period piece in which elaborate costumes, sets and properties are featured in order to capture the ambiance of a particular era.The term is usually used in the context of film and television...
directed
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
by Richard Eyre
Richard Eyre
Sir Richard Charles Hastings Eyre CBE is an English director of film, theatre, television, and opera.-Biography:Eyre was educated at Sherborne School, an independent school for boys in the market town of Sherborne in north-west Dorset in south-west England, followed by Peterhouse at the University...
. The screenplay
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
by Jeffrey Hatcher
Jeffrey Hatcher
Jeffrey Hatcher is a playwright and screenwriter. He wrote the stage play Compleat Female Stage Beauty, which he later adapted into a screenplay, shortened to just Stage Beauty...
is based on his play Compleat Female Stage Beauty, which was inspired by references to 17th century actor Edward Kynaston
Edward Kynaston
Edward Kynaston was an English actor, one of the last Restoration "boy players," young male actors who played women's roles.-Career:...
made in the detailed private diary kept by Samuel Pepys
Samuel Pepys
Samuel Pepys FRS, MP, JP, was an English naval administrator and Member of Parliament who is now most famous for the diary he kept for a decade while still a relatively young man...
.
Plot
Ned KynastonEdward Kynaston
Edward Kynaston was an English actor, one of the last Restoration "boy players," young male actors who played women's roles.-Career:...
(Billy Crudup
Billy Crudup
William Gaither "Billy" Crudup is an American actor of film and stage. He is well known for his roles as guitarist Russell Hammond in Almost Famous, Will Bloom in Big Fish, and Ashitaka in Princess Mononoke. He also starred in the 2007 romantic comedy film Dedication, alongside Mandy Moore...
) is one of the leading actors of his day, famed for his portrayal of female characters, particularly Desdemona
Desdemona
Desdemona is a character in William Shakespeare's play Othello.Desdemona may also refer to:People* Desdemona , a soprano role in the 1816 opera Otello by Gioachino Rossini...
in Othello
Othello
The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1603, and based on the Italian short story "Un Capitano Moro" by Cinthio, a disciple of Boccaccio, first published in 1565...
. His loyal dresser, Maria (Claire Danes
Claire Danes
Claire Catherine Danes is an American actress of television, stage and film. She has appeared in roles as diverse as Angela Chase in My So-Called Life, as Juliet in Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet, as Kate Brewster in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, as Yvaine in Stardust and as Temple Grandin in...
), longs to perform on stage but is forbidden to do so by a law enacted by the Puritan
Puritan
The Puritans were a significant grouping of English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries. Puritanism in this sense was founded by some Marian exiles from the clergy shortly after the accession of Elizabeth I of England in 1558, as an activist movement within the Church of England...
s prior to the return of the House of Stuart
House of Stuart
The House of Stuart is a European royal house. Founded by Robert II of Scotland, the Stewarts first became monarchs of the Kingdom of Scotland during the late 14th century, and subsequently held the position of the Kings of Great Britain and Ireland...
to the throne. She fulfills her desire by appearing in plays presented in a local tavern under the name Margaret Hughes
Margaret Hughes
Margaret Hughes , also Peg Hughes or Margaret Hewes, is often credited as the first professional actress on the English stage...
. Word of her performances spread and the novelty of a woman on stage draws the attention of Sir Charles Sedley
Charles Sedley
Sir Charles Sedley, 5th Baronet was an English wit, dramatist and politician, ending his career as Speaker of the House of Commons.-Life:...
(Richard Griffiths
Richard Griffiths
Richard Griffiths, OBE is an English actor of stage, film and television. He has received the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor, the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play, the Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Featured Actor and a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor...
), who offers to be her patron, and eventually the attention of King Charles II
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
(Rupert Everett
Rupert Everett
Rupert James Hector Everett is an English actor. He first came to public attention in 1981, when he was cast in Julian Mitchell's play and subsequent film Another Country as an openly gay student at an English public school, set in the 1930s...
) himself.
Kynaston's rant against allowing women on stage is overheard by Nell Gwynn (Zoe Tapper
Zoe Tapper
Zoe Tapper is an English actress who first came to prominence playing Nell Gwynne in Richard Eyre's award-winning film Stage Beauty in 2004. She is known for portraying Anya Raczynski in Survivors and Mina Harker in Demons.-Background:...
), an aspiring actress and Charles II's mistress, and she literally seduces Charles into banning men from playing female roles. As a result, Kynaston loses his lover, George Villiers
George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham
George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, 20th Baron de Ros of Helmsley, KG, PC, FRS was an English statesman and poet.- Upbringing and education :...
(Ben Chaplin
Ben Chaplin
Ben Chaplin , is an English actor.-Early life:Chaplin, the youngest of four children, was born in London, the son of Cynthia , a drama teacher, and Peter Greenwood, an engineer. He took his stage name after his mother's maiden name. He was raised in Windsor, Berkshire, England and attended Hurtwood...
), the Duke of Buckingham
Duke of Buckingham
The titles Marquess and Duke of Buckingham, referring to Buckingham, have been created several times in the peerages of England, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom. There have also been Earls of Buckingham.-1444 creation:...
, and the acceptance of London society. Unable to shake the feminine characteristics he has perfected over the years, he is reduced to performing bawdy songs in drag
Drag (clothing)
Drag is used for any clothing carrying symbolic significance but usually referring to the clothing associated with one gender role when worn by a person of another gender. The origin of the term "drag" is unknown, but it may have originated in Polari, a gay street argot in England in the early...
in music halls, while Maria's career thrives, though her abilities leave much to be desired, as she bases everything she does on Kynaston's performances.
When Maria is called upon to portray Desdemona for the king, she panics and implores Kynaston to coach her. Not only does he agree, but he insists on replacing company head Thomas Betterton in the role of the titular protagonist
Othello (character)
Othello is a character in Shakespeare's Othello . The character's origin is traced to the tale, "Un Capitano Moro" in Gli Hecatommithi by Giovanni Battista Giraldi Cinthio. There, he is simply referred to as the Moor....
. In doing so, he discovers his ability to portray a male character, while Maria evolves from an actress of middling talent to an acclaimed theatrical star.
Cast
- Billy CrudupBilly CrudupWilliam Gaither "Billy" Crudup is an American actor of film and stage. He is well known for his roles as guitarist Russell Hammond in Almost Famous, Will Bloom in Big Fish, and Ashitaka in Princess Mononoke. He also starred in the 2007 romantic comedy film Dedication, alongside Mandy Moore...
as Ned KynastonEdward KynastonEdward Kynaston was an English actor, one of the last Restoration "boy players," young male actors who played women's roles.-Career:... - Claire DanesClaire DanesClaire Catherine Danes is an American actress of television, stage and film. She has appeared in roles as diverse as Angela Chase in My So-Called Life, as Juliet in Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet, as Kate Brewster in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, as Yvaine in Stardust and as Temple Grandin in...
as Maria / Margaret HughesMargaret HughesMargaret Hughes , also Peg Hughes or Margaret Hewes, is often credited as the first professional actress on the English stage... - Tom Wilkinson as Thomas BettertonThomas BettertonThomas Patrick Betterton , English actor, son of an under-cook to King Charles I, was born in London.-Apprentice and actor:...
- Rupert EverettRupert EverettRupert James Hector Everett is an English actor. He first came to public attention in 1981, when he was cast in Julian Mitchell's play and subsequent film Another Country as an openly gay student at an English public school, set in the 1930s...
as King Charles IICharles II of EnglandCharles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War... - Zoe TapperZoe TapperZoe Tapper is an English actress who first came to prominence playing Nell Gwynne in Richard Eyre's award-winning film Stage Beauty in 2004. She is known for portraying Anya Raczynski in Survivors and Mina Harker in Demons.-Background:...
as Nell Gwynn - Richard GriffithsRichard GriffithsRichard Griffiths, OBE is an English actor of stage, film and television. He has received the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor, the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play, the Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Featured Actor and a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor...
as Sir Charles Sedley - Hugh BonnevilleHugh BonnevilleHugh Richard Bonneville Williams, known professionally as Hugh Bonneville , is an English stage, film, television and radio actor.-Education:...
as Samuel PepysSamuel PepysSamuel Pepys FRS, MP, JP, was an English naval administrator and Member of Parliament who is now most famous for the diary he kept for a decade while still a relatively young man... - Ben ChaplinBen ChaplinBen Chaplin , is an English actor.-Early life:Chaplin, the youngest of four children, was born in London, the son of Cynthia , a drama teacher, and Peter Greenwood, an engineer. He took his stage name after his mother's maiden name. He was raised in Windsor, Berkshire, England and attended Hurtwood...
as George Villiers, 2nd Duke of BuckinghamGeorge Villiers, 2nd Duke of BuckinghamGeorge Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, 20th Baron de Ros of Helmsley, KG, PC, FRS was an English statesman and poet.- Upbringing and education :... - Edward FoxEdward Fox (actor)Edward Charles Morice Fox, OBE is an English stage, film and television actor.He is generally associated with portraying the role of the upper-class Englishman, such as the title character in the film The Day of the Jackal and King Edward VIII in the serial Edward & Mrs...
as Sir Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of ClarendonEdward Hyde, 1st Earl of ClarendonEdward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon was an English historian and statesman, and grandfather of two English monarchs, Mary II and Queen Anne.-Early life:... - Alice EveAlice EveAlice Sophia Eve is an English actress. She is known for her lead in She's Out of My League and also appeared in Sex and the City 2. She will also star in the up-coming The Decoy Bride and Men in Black III.- Early life :...
as Miss Frayne - Stephen MarcusStephen MarcusStephen Marcus is a British actor, best known for his role as Nick the Greek in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels....
as Thomas Cockerell - Tom HollanderTom HollanderThomas Anthony "Tom" Hollander is a British actor who has appeared in productions such as Enigma, Gosford Park, Cambridge Spies, Pride and Prejudice, Pirates of the Caribbean, In the Loop, Valkyrie and Hanna.-Early life:Tom Hollander was born in Bristol and raised in Oxford, Oxfordshire, the son...
as Sir Peter LelyPeter LelySir Peter Lely was a painter of Dutch origin, whose career was nearly all spent in England, where he became the dominant portrait painter to the court.-Life:...
Production
While the film is rooted in historical fact – the first English theatre actress, although her name is unknown, is believed to have performed the role of Desdemona – some liberties with the truth were taken. Nell Gwynne is represented as a mistress of the King who subsequently becomes an actress, but in reality she already was a noted theatre personality when Charles II met her. The sequence in which Maria and Kynaston discover naturalistic actingNaturalism (theatre)
Naturalism is a movement in European drama and theatre that developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It refers to theatre that attempts to create a perfect illusion of reality through a range of dramatic and theatrical strategies: detailed, three-dimensional settings Naturalism is a...
is anachronistic, as naturalism was not developed until the 19th century.
Interiors were filmed at the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich
Greenwich
Greenwich is a district of south London, England, located in the London Borough of Greenwich.Greenwich is best known for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich Meridian and Greenwich Mean Time...
and Shepperton Studios
Shepperton Studios
Shepperton Studios is a film studio in Shepperton, Surrey, England with a history dating back to 1931 since when many notable films have been made there...
in Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
. According to commentary by production designer
Production designer
In film and television, a production designer is the person responsible for the overall look of a filmed event such as films, TV programs, music videos or adverts. Production designers have one of the key creative roles in the creation of motion pictures and television. Working directly with the...
Jim Clay on the DVD release of the film, because so little English Restoration
English Restoration
The Restoration of the English monarchy began in 1660 when the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were all restored under Charles II after the Interregnum that followed the Wars of the Three Kingdoms...
architecture remains in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, and documentation of the period is minimal, he was required to use his imagination in creating buildings and back alleys on sound stage
Sound stage
In common usage, a sound stage is a soundproof, hangar-like structure, building, or room, used for the production of theatrical filmmaking and television production, usually located on a secure movie studio property.-Overview:...
s.
In the DVD commentary
Audio commentary
On disc-based video formats, an audio commentary is an additional audio track consisting of a lecture or comments by one or more speakers, that plays in real time with video...
, several cast members recall the film was shot during the hottest UK summer on record (2003), and the temperature under the lights usually hovered at 46 degrees C (115 F), making performing in the heavy, layered costumes a grueling experience.
The Costumes were designed by Tim Hatley
Tim Hatley
Tim Hatley is a British set and costume designer for theater and film. He is the winner of the Tony Award, the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Set Design, the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Costume Design, and the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Set Design.Hatley was educated at Bearwood...
. Twelve costume houses were involved in the production, including The Royal Shakespeare Company, The National Theater, and Angels & Bermans, as well as the Italian houses Sartoria Farani, Tirelli
Tirelli Costumi
Tirelli Costumi Roma is a Rome-based costume house, which supplies period costumes to motion picture productions. It has been active since the 1960s.-Selected filmography:* Goya's Ghosts * Marie Antoinette * Casanova ...
, Costumi d'Arte
Costumi d'Arte
Costumi d'Arte Perruzi is an Italian motion picture costume atelier. The company also supplies ready-made period costumes from its stock rooms to film companies.-History:...
, E. Rancati, G.P. 11, and Pompei
L.C.P. di Pompei
L.C.P. di Pompei, often known as Ditta Pompei simply as Pompei, is an Italian manufacturer of shoes, and other costume items, for film productions. Founded in 1932 it has primarily served Cinecittà film productions. In the 1960s it manufactured classical foot gear for the numerous sword and...
.
The film premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival
Tribeca Film Festival
The Tribeca Film Festival is a film festival founded in 2002 by Jane Rosenthal, Robert De Niro and Craig Hatkoff in a response to the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the consequent loss of vitality in the TriBeCa neighborhood in Lower Manhattan.The mission of the festival...
in May 2004 prior to its general release in the UK. It was shown at the Deauville Film Festival, the Toronto Film Festival, and the Dinard Festival of British Cinema in France before opening in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
Critical reception
In his review in the New York Times, A.O. Scott said, "At times, the movie feels like a fancy-dress version of A Star Is BornA Star Is Born (1937 film)
A Star Is Born is a 1937 Technicolor romantic drama film produced by David O. Selznick and directed by William A. Wellman, with a script by Wellman, Robert Carson, Dorothy Parker and Alan Campbell. It stars Janet Gaynor as an aspiring Hollywood actress, and Fredric March as an aging movie star who...
. . . Mr. Crudup's fine features, which flicker between masculine and feminine as the lighting changes and the mood shifts, are well suited for the role, though his sinewy, birdlike frame suggests Hollywood anorexia
Anorexia nervosa
Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by refusal to maintain a healthy body weight and an obsessive fear of gaining weight. Although commonly called "anorexia", that term on its own denotes any symptomatic loss of appetite and is not strictly accurate...
more than Restoration curviness . . . Stage Beauty is both timorous and ungainly, words that might also describe Ms. Danes's performance. Trapped in an English accent and in a character who must appear conniving and warmhearted in turn, she veers from teariness to brisk indignation like an Emma Thompson
Emma Thompson
Emma Thompson is a British actress, comedian and screenwriter. Her first major film role was in the 1989 romantic comedy The Tall Guy. In 1992, Thompson won multiple acting awards, including an Academy Award and a BAFTA Award for Best Actress, for her performance in the British drama Howards End...
doll with a jammed switch. The British actors in smaller roles handle the material better . . . George Fenton's Sunday-brunch score, on the other hand, is an indigestible dose of good taste ladled heavily over even the film's witty and delicate moments."
David Rooney
David Rooney
David Rooney was an English cricketer. He was a right-handed batsman and a right-arm medium-fast bowler who played for Cumberland...
of Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
called the film "an intelligent and entertaining adaptation . . . skillfully acted, handsomely crafted" and added, "Eyre's spry direction of the refreshingly literate, witty drama shows a pleasingly light touch and a genuine feel for the bustle, backbiting and rivalry of the theater milieu . . . In a delicately measured performance that favors graceful subtlety over campy mannerism, Crudup conveys a nuanced sense of a man struggling to know himself . . . Put in the unenviable position of playing second fiddle to her male co-star in terms of feminine allure, Danes is lovely nonetheless . . . George Fenton's rich orchestral score enlivens the action with an occasional rousing Celtic
Celtic music
Celtic music is a term utilised by artists, record companies, music stores and music magazines to describe a broad grouping of musical genres that evolved out of the folk musical traditions of the Celtic people of Western Europe...
flavor."
In Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
, Peter Travers
Peter Travers
Peter Travers is an American film critic, who has written for, in turn, People and Rolling Stone. Travers also hosts a celebrity interview show called Popcorn on ABC News Now and ABCNews.com.-Career:...
rated the film three out of a possible four stars and called it "bawdy fun . . . . the gender role-playing puts spine in this period piece that is vital to the here and now."
Carla Meyer of the San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
said, "The film rarely matches Crudup's performance, appearing confused itself about whether it's farce or drama. But its palette of burnished browns and reds pleases the eye, and at its best, Stage Beauty captures the tensions and electricity of backstage dramas."
In The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
, David Denby
David Denby (film critic)
David Denby is an American journalist, best known as a film critic for The New Yorker magazine.-Background and education:Denby grew up in New York City. He received a B.A...
observed, "Second-rate bawdiness — that is, bawdiness without the wit of Boccaccio
Giovanni Boccaccio
Giovanni Boccaccio was an Italian author and poet, a friend, student, and correspondent of Petrarch, an important Renaissance humanist and the author of a number of notable works including the Decameron, On Famous Women, and his poetry in the Italian vernacular...
or Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
or even Tom Stoppard
Tom Stoppard
Sir Tom Stoppard OM, CBE, FRSL is a British playwright, knighted in 1997. He has written prolifically for TV, radio, film and stage, finding prominence with plays such as Arcadia, The Coast of Utopia, Every Good Boy Deserves Favour, Professional Foul, The Real Thing, and Rosencrantz and...
— is more infantile than funny, and I'm not sure that the American playwright Jeffrey Hatcher, who concocted this piece for the stage and then adapted it into a movie, is even second-rate. Stage Beauty might be called the spawn of Shakespeare in Love
Shakespeare in Love
Shakespeare in Love is a 1998 British-American comedy film directed by John Madden and written by Marc Norman and playwright Tom Stoppard....
, and, unfortunately, this is a Shakespeare that lacks the graceful spirit and breathless narrative drive of its progenitor."
Owen Gleiberman
Owen Gleiberman
Owen Gleiberman is an American film critic for Entertainment Weekly, a position he has held since the magazine's launch in 1990. From 1981–89, he worked at the Boston Phoenix....
of Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
rated the film C+ and described it as "an odd amalgam of high spirits, lively ambition, and botched execution."
Awards and nominations
The film won the Cambridge Film FestivalCambridge Film Festival
The Cambridge Film Festival is one of the biggest film festivals in the UK. The festival historically took place during early July, but now takes place annually during September in Cambridge....
Audience Award for Best Film, was cited by the National Board of Review
National Board of Review of Motion Pictures
The National Board of Review of Motion Pictures was founded in 1909 in New York City, just 13 years after the birth of cinema, to protest New York City Mayor George B. McClellan, Jr.'s revocation of moving-picture exhibition licenses on Christmas Eve 1908. The mayor believed that the new medium...
for Excellence in Filmmaking, and was named the Overlooked Film of the Year by the Phoenix Film Critics Society
Phoenix Film Critics Society
The Phoenix Film Critics Society is an organization of film reviewers from Phoenix-based publications.In December of each year, the PFCS meets to vote on their Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards for films released in the same calendar year.Categories of awards include:* Best Actor The Phoenix...
.