Hollywood, premiers temps : L'Emprise du son

Tension in Hollywood! Warner took a gamble on talking pictures and scored an immense success on 6 October 1927 with the first public screening of The Jazz Singer. All other studios were forced to follow suit.

At the helm of MGM, studio head Louis Mayer and his right-hand man Irving Thalberg fear that the new sound productions will disrupt the financial balance of films. Fortunately, somewhere in the offices is a Canadian engineer, Douglas Shearer, who has the expertise to oversee MGM's transition to sound.

While talking pictures are welcomed by actresses trained in Music Hall like Marion Davies, they worry other silent screen stars, such as Douglas's sister, Norma Shearer, wife of Irving Thalberg.

How did he, through strategic skill, manage to regain the initiative for his studio to meet the challenge of talkies and uphold MGM's prestige? This is what the play reveals by recreating on stage the key moments experienced by these five emblematic figures of this pivotal era.

If you enjoyed "Le Bureau des merveilles", you will relish this new dive into early Hollywood, which this time recounts the true story behind the famous song "Singin' in the Rain".