Opening Night. 1977. USA. Written and directed by John Cassavetes. With Gena Rowlands, Ben Gazzara, Joan Blondell
35mm. 144 min.
Myrtle Gordon, an aging actress who drinks too much, is starring in a new drama about an aging actress—and the out-of-town rehearsals aren’t going so well. The booze helps Myrtle cope with the wrinkles she sees in the mirror every morning, as well as the possibility that a fan may have been killed by her limo. On opening night, Myrtle is so drunk that she has to be dressed, made up, and pushed onto the stage. Perhaps her life is so dramatic that the margins between reality and theater are longer apparent.