Photo by Aubrey Reuben
Hollywood Arms, scripted by Carol Burnett and her daughter Carrie Hamilton, is based on Burnett's memoirs. It tells the story of a determined young girl (nine-year-old Sarah Niemietz and later Donna Lynne Champlin) who strives for stardom despite her dreaming, but failing mother (Michele Pawk), her alcoholic father (Frank Wood) and the authoritarian grandmother (Linda Lavin) who loves her. Hollywood Arms premiered at Chicago's Goodman Theatre before transferring to the Cort Theatre Oct. 7.