The Life of Reilly
| The Life of Reilly | |
|---|---|
The Life of Reilly Movie Poster
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| Directed by |
Barry Poltermann Frank L. Anderson |
| Produced by | Bob Fagan and Wrye Martin |
| Written by |
Charles Nelson Reilly Paul Linke |
| Starring | Charles Nelson Reilly |
| Music by | Frank L. Anderson (add'l music by Donita Sparks) |
| Cinematography | Anthony Balderrama |
| Edited by | Barry Poltermann |
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Release date
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2007, Theatrical |
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Running time
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84 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
The Life of Reilly is a 2006 American film adaptation of actor Charles Nelson Reilly's one-man play Save It For the Stage: The Life of Reilly. Written by Reilly and Paul Linke, and directed by Frank L. Anderson and Barry Poltermann, the film is an edited version of Reilly's much longer stage show, filmed live before audiences at the El Portal Theater in North Hollywood, California in October 2004. The final film is compiled from Reilly's final two performances, interspersed with clips, images and music.
The Life of Reilly premiered at the South by Southwest Film Festival in March 2006 to positive reviews and proceeded to play for over a year on the festival circuit, including the Seattle International Film Festival and Newfest. A limited theatrical release began in November 2007.
The Life of Reilly was originally a theatre piece called Save It For the Stage: The Life of Reilly, which was first performed in Los Angeles, California in July 2000. The play was based upon lectures that Reilly, a Tony Award-winning Broadway actor, had been giving to college theater students. The stage play was written by Reilly and Paul Linke, and directed by Linke.
Reilly took the play around the country, including the New Conservatory Theatre Center, San Francisco, California and the Irish Repertory Theatre, New York City, both in 2001.
The New York Times hailed the play as "a homey, entertaining evening, what one imagines it might be like to meet Mr. Reilly through mutual friends, have a couple of drinks and listen to a series of his anecdotes..." San Francisco's SF Weekly called Reilly's performance "nebbishy, cranky, excitable, grouchy, Bronx-accented, eccentric, and fey: He's like a loudmouthed, American Quentin Crisp." The running time of the performance often ranged over three hours, a point cited in some critics' reviews. For example, Variety said, "If there's something exasperating about the show's expansiveness, there's something endearing, too, about Reilly's insistence on his two full acts of stage time. His celebrity has been peculiar and peripheral -- he's far better known to most for his high-camp guffaw on Match Game than for directing Julie Harris in The Belle of Amherst or appearing on Broadway in Bye, Bye Birdie and How to Succeed in Business. So why not let him run a little amok? At 70, he's earned it. And with his sharp wit and scruffily friendly, eccentric stage presence, he's wonderful company."
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