Farnsworth and “The Focus Group”
Well, it’s a little later than planned, but Aaron Sorkin’s new play, The Farnsworth Invention, is finally getting its opening night tonight, December 3, according to Playbill. (That’s Sorkin above with, from left, stars Hank Azaria and Jimmi Simpson, and director Des McAnuff.)
Farnsworth was originally slated to have its formal debut (after weeks of previews) on November 14, but the Broadway stagehands’ strike scuttled that. The strike settled, the show went back on November 29, and an extra performance was added tonight for the rescheduled opening. I guess people who had opening-night tickets have to have opening-night tickets whenever opening night ends up being.
Monday night’s an appropriate night for a Sorkin show, though, since most of us had it reserved for Studio 60 last year. And this year, too, if you’re following along with my rewatch the DVDs on Monday plan. Up tonight is “The Focus Group,” the series’ third episode, originally broadcast on October 2, 2006.
It’s the one in which the network insists on allowing a focus group to weigh in on the new Studio 60, and Danny tries to keep the results from Matt. And it’s the one in which Shelly’s prediction that the Rapture radicals are going to find some mud to sling at Jordan comes true, with an old DUI making new news. It’s also the one where there was a great deal of discussion of a sketch referencing Commedia dell’Arte. And Rob Reiner was the guest host, though I have absolutely no memory of that.
Watch it tonight, and let’s jog our memories together. Unless, what, you have tickets to a Broadway opening or something?
Then tune in tomorrow for a quick review, followed through the week by a full recap, memorable lines, and five questions.
Studio 60, NBC, The Farnsworth Invention, The Focus Group, Aaron Sorkin
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