Episode
Adopted by: Rindi
Additional info provided by: Brian
Greene
Synopsis:
As
a young man romancing a much, much older woman, Sam must convince her
not to move back to Cleveland with her straight-as-an-arrow son and his
wife. And somehow he also has to get through a nude version of "Hamlet."
TV Guide
Synopsis: Sam
falls into a May-December romance as a struggling actor dating a woman
twice his age, and he tries to save his career and find her a break as
a singer. Jane: Penny Fuller. Ted: Robert Pine. Neil: Daniel Roebuck.
Liz: Anna Gunn. Sam: Scott Bakula. Al: Dean Stockwell
In “The
Play’s the Thing,” he becomes Joe Thurlow, the extremely fit and pretty
lover of Jane Linhurst. He leaps into her comfortable bed in the fall
of 1969, and has just enough time to be grateful that, for once, he’s
not in handcuffs or a gunfight before Jane pounces on him for what is
obviously Round Two. Sam’s playing bashful when Jane’s thirty-something
son from Cleveland bursts in on them with his pregnant wife in tow. The
son, Neil, is appalled: the age difference between Joe and his Mommy is
fifty years.
Sam, naturally, has no problems with the age gap, taking the first
opportunity to point out that older men marry much younger women all
the time, with nobody batting an eye. Once he’s convinced that Joe and
Jane are in love he’s all for it, but Neil sees him as a jobless,
opportunistic mooch who’s going to break his mother’s heart. He
disinters a well-off family friend to woo Jane back to Cleveland, and
gets busy trying to undermine her faith in the dream that brought her
to New York: the possibility of a singing career.
Every time Sam tries to make peace, he instead makes things worse. He
bets Neil that Jane can wow a crowd with her singing, and she gets too
nervous to perform. He insists he’s not unemployed—he’s playing Hamlet
off-Broadway—and invites them to see the show. That night his director,
in a desperate bid to save the show, sends the cast out on stage nude.
The cringe factor is in the stratosphere as Sam performs Shakespeare
without a stitch on, in front of his lover, potential stepchildren, and
smarmy romantic rival.
In the original history, this was too much for Joe: he refused to give
Hamlet his naked all. The show folded, and Jane went home to Cleveland
forever. But Sam’s triumph over stage fright brings an unexpected and
off-beat reward…the chance to become a spokeshunk for Boxer Boy jockey
shorts.
The lion’s share of Sam’s leaps bring him into a small circle of
everyday people. They aren’t famous, or wealthy, and the tragedies he
prevents are very personal: they affect individuals, families, and
small communities. In season five, the show begins to diverge from this
pattern: he kick-starts Elvis’s career, gets entangled with the Kennedy
assassination and works for Marilyn Monroe. For the most part, however,
the Quantum Leap creators considered it a point of pride that they
weren’t changing the big historical events of the twentieth century.
The not so ordinary heroine of this episode is Jane—a role played with
verve and a real sense of joy by Penny Fuller. In her, most of us can
see our mothers and grandmothers: she has been, for thirty years, a
dutiful mother and wife. Since her teens, she’s done everything
conventional society expects of her. It is only now, as a widow whose
son is independent, that she has made the move to New York in search of
something for herself. And even so she isn’t sure, deep down,
that she’s entitled to any kind of glamorous reboot.
This is something many women struggle with, even today…believing
they’re permitted to not only have emotions but to want so-called
“selfish” things like attention, success and artistic fulfillment.
Sam, of course, is heroic in support of Jane and indifferent to the
judgments of her family, society, and even Al (who has the gall to call
Jane “long in the tooth” despite his relentless girl-chasing). Sam
champions Jane’s right to sing and to love Joe, even when she’s just
about given up. And when he succeeds they remain ordinary people: Joe
never wins an Oscar, and Jane never gets a Grammy. Their prize, modest
and yet priceless, is the happy, fulfilling life that Jane longs for.Source
Personal
Review by Rindi:
This
is a good episode - one of those episodes that show Sam’s sweet
romantic side. This episode makes you want to reach your dreams and to
find that one love that will support you while you do it. It’s a
touching episode.
Sam believes it
is ok for women to marry younger men just as much as men being able to
marry younger women.
Al Trivia:
Al’s fifth wife’s dream
was to be in the roller derby.
Al’s fifth
wife ran off with a bricklayer.
Al says "Oh Boy!"
once in this
episode.
Al appears 3
different times in this episode and each time
he has a cigar.
Al’s Women: Al likes Petra.
He mentions his fifth wife
- she was a roller derby fan.
Al’s
Outfits Worn in the
Episode:
1st
appearance: Al was wearing a red jacket, a white button up collar
shirt, a metallic bolo, black slacks, and sunglasses pin.
2nd
appearance: Same outfit as #1.
3rd
appearance: Al was wearing a light mustard jacket and slacks to match,
metallic gold button up shirt with white spiral ovals placed
sporadically over the shirt, a metallic goldish copper tie and shoes
cant be seen.
Miscellaneous
Trivia: The
title is a quote from Hamlet. In Act 2, Scene 2, he says “The play’s
the thing; wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the king” (often
modernised to “…to uncover the conscience of the king”). Hamlet is
saying that Claudius’ guilty conscience will reveal itself when he is
watching a play that Hamlet has arranged. Source
Jane Linhurst says "Oh Boy!" once in this episode.
Sam gets Joe
a job as the new Boxer Boy (a play on the
underwear Joe Boxer).
The credits flash over a scene of Penny Fuller singing "For Once In My Life."
Bloopers:
Regular
Cast:
Scott
Bakula as Sam Beckett
Dean
Stockwell as Al Calavicci
Guest Stars:
Penny
Fuller as Jane Lindhurst
Robert
Pine as Ted
Daniel
Roebuck as Neil Lindhurst
Anna
Gunn as Liz Lindhurst
Craig
Richard Nelson as The Director
Paul Collins as Rob Jackson
Eva Loseth as Petra
Deem Bristow as King
Will Schaub as Joe Thurlow (Mirror Image)
Penny
Fuller as Jane Lindhurst: Penny
Fuller was born on July 21, 1937 in Durham, North Carolina, USA. She is
an actress, known for All the President's Men (1976), Quantum Leap
(1989) and The Elephant Man (1982). In 1970, starred opposite Lauren
Bacall on Broadway in Applause, musical adaptation of the movie
classic, All About Eve (1950). Bacall played fading Broadway star Margo
Channing (Bette Davis ' role in the film) and Penny played conniving,
grasping actress Eve Harrington (Anne Baxter's role). Won an Emmy Award
for her performance in The Elephant Man (1982). Anne Bancroft played
her role in the big-screen version. Trained for her craft at Illinois'
Northwestern University.
Was twice-nominated for Broadway's Tony Award: in 1970 as best
supporting or featured actress (musical) for Applause and, in 2001, as
best actress (featured role - play) for Neil Simon's The Dinner Party.
Made her Broadway debut in 1962 in A Moon Besieged. She later served as
a starring replacement in popular '60s Broadway hits such as Barefoot
in the Park, as Corrie, and Cabaret, as Sally Bowles. Has one daughter,
Heather Kinlaw, who has graduated from public policy school. Penny and
Paula Prentiss were both in the play, "Wonderful Town", at Northwestern
University, where they were both students. She guest starred in two
unrelated television series featuring a regular character named Sam
Beckett: China Beach (1988) and Quantum Leap (1989).
Robert
Pine as Ted: Robert
Pine is an American actor who is best known as Sgt. Joseph Getraer on
the television series CHiPs (1977-1983). Including CHiPs, Pine has
appeared in over 400 episodes of television. Pine was born in New York
City on July 10, 1941, the son of Virginia (née Whitelaw) and Granville
Martin Pine, a patent attorney. He graduated from Ohio Wesleyan
University in 1963. He is married to Gwynne Gilford, who appeared in
several episodes of CHiPs as Betty Getraer, the wife of Pine's
character. They have two children, actors Chris and Katie. Appeared on
commercials for Priceline.com with William Shatner. His son, Chris
Pine, succeeded Shatner as Captain Kirk in Star Trek. Robert has also
done voice over work for Star Wars video games.
Daniel
Roebuck as Neil Lindhurst: Having
made his feature film debut starring in the teen comedy Cavegirl Daniel
Roebuck quickly realized that there was only one direction to travel in
his career. Up! Soon after Cavegirl, Roebuck established himself as one
of the industry's youngest character actors with his haunting portrayal
as the teenage killer, Samson in The River's Edge. Now, nearly 30 years
later, Roebuck has amassed a substantial resume as an actor, writer and
director. He has moved easily between all mediums having continued
working on television, in movies and on the stage. His film credits are
myriad, having starred in blockbusters like The Fugitive, US
Marshals,and final Destination, as well as popular titles including
Agent Cody Banks and it's sequel, That's What I Am, Money Talks, Flash
Of Genius and so many more. Lately, Roebuck has enjoyed working in a
number of horror movies - his favorite genre. He has collaborated with
filmmaker Rob Zombie on Halloween, Halloween 2, Devil's Rejects, and
Lords of Salem (as well as a commercial for AMDRO, the insecticide). He
also appeared in Don Coscarelli's cult favorite Bubba Ho Tep as well as
the director's Reggie's Tales and John Dies At The End. Daniel has also
been a familiar face on television for nearly 3 decades, he was a
regular for three seasons on the evergreen hit drama, Matlock,
portraying attorney 'Cliff Lewis," the junior partner of the law firm
headed by Andy Griffith's beloved character, 'Ben Matlock.'
Interestingly, his landing the role was the fulfillment of a promise
made several years earlier with his first appearance on "Matlock" in
its inaugural season. At that time, Roebuck was told that Griffith had
been so impressed with his work that he would be back as a regular on
the show. It took five seasons, two more guest shots as different
characters, and a change of networks, but Griffith kept his promise and
Roebuck indeed became a series regular. He portrayed the irascible Rick
Bettina on many episodes of Nash Bridges and in the fall of 2003 Daniel
returned to series television as Pete Peterson, the gay owner of a
local diner in A Minute With Stan Hooper. As a television guest star,
Daniel has played countless characters. Some of his most memorable are
a cop who literally turns into a pig on Grimm, a Romulan on Star Trek,
Next Generation, a gun toting hostage taker on NYPD Blue, a cranky
studio owner on Sonny With A Chance and a grieving father on Glee. He
played other memorable roles on New Adventures of Old Christine, NCIS,
Ghost Whisperer, CSI, Boston Legal, CSI Miami, Law And Order, Desperate
Housewives and Hot in Cleveland. On the popular show, Lost, Roebuck
portrayed the infamous Dr. Leslie Arzt, the aggravating science teacher
whose explosive exit in the finale of the first season remains one of
television's most surprising and talked about moments. He has starred
in dozens of TV Movies. Perhaps his most famous turn was his critically
acclaimed portrayal of Jay Leno in The Late Shift. He stepped into
another pair of famous shoes when he played Garry Marshall in Behind
The Camera; Mork and Mindy, The Unauthorized Story. Other Movies for
television include A Family Lost, A Glimpse Of Hell, Murder At The
Presidio, Shredderman Rules, A Borrowed Life, Quints and many others.
Daniel's voice over work includes Christmas Is Here Again (a film he
also produced),The Haunted World Of El Super Beasto and the
groundbreaking video game, L.A. Noire.
Anna
Gunn as Liz Lindhurst: Anna
grew up in Santa Fe, New Mexico after her parents, Sharon (Peters) and
Clemens Gunn, Jr., transplanted the family from Cleveland, Ohio to the
Southwest in the late seventies. She discovered acting in a drama class
at the Santa Fe Preparatory School and was fortunate to study with two
formidable teachers from the Actor's Studio as a teenager. She
continued her education and training at Northwestern University's
renowned theatre department, winning a coveted scholarship award in her
junior year. During her time at Northwestern, Anna went abroad for a
semester to study with the British American Drama Academy and had the
marvelous opportunity to perform in the school's final project at the
famed Royal Court Theatre in London. Anna has moved between television,
film, and theatre with much ease. In 2004, Anna landed her breakout
television role, playing Martha Bullock on HBO's seminal show, Deadwood
(2004) and later received a SAG nomination for Best Ensemble Cast in
2006. Anna's association with Deadwood (2004) creator David Milch began
early on when she first worked with him on his hit drama NYPD Blue
(1993), giving a memorable performance as Kimmy, a junkie longing to
escape New York to swim with the dolphins. Anna made such an indelible
impression on Milch, that almost nine years later she became the
template for the pivotal and complex character of Martha. Another major
recurring role for Anna was on David E. Kelley's The Practice (1997),
delivering a notable turn as ADA Jean Ward opposite Dylan McDermott and
Lara Flynn Boyle. Her extensive television credits also include
starring roles in several made for TV movies and major guest starring
appearances on such shows as Six Feet Under (2001), ER (1994), Boston
Legal (2004), Law & Order (1990) and Seinfeld (1989). Highlights of
Anna's feature film work include the dark comedy, Nobody's Baby (2001),
in which she starred with Gary Oldman and Mary Steenburgen; the film
premiered at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival. In 1998, she played
opposite Jon Voight in Tony Scott's summer blockbuster, Enemy of the
State (1998). Her first starring role was in 1995's independent
thriller, Without Evidence (1995), along side Angelina Jolie. Anna was
recently in Kevin Smith's Red State (2011). Her upcoming films include
Little Red Wagon (2012) and Sassy Pants (2012), for which she received
a nomination at the 2012 Milan Film Festival for Best Supporting
Actress. Anna is also a highly regarded and much sought after actress
of the stage. In early 2009 she created the leading role of
photojournalist Sarah Goodwin in Donald Margulies' world premiere
production of Time Stands Still, directed by Daniel Sullivan at the
Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles. In 1999 she starred as Isabella in
Measure for Measure at the Ahmanson Theatre helmed by the famed
director Sir Peter Hall. In 1997, Anna was brought east to make her
Broadway debut alongside Roger Rees in The Rehearsal at the Roundabout
Theater. Before that she played on the LA circuit, including the 1995
American premiere of Hysteria directed by Phyllida Lloyd at the Mark
Taper Forum. Before settling in Los Angeles, Anna built an impressive
background performing on stage in Chicago. She received exceptional
reviews in Uncommon Ground at the Northlight Theatre, and playing
opposite Jeremy Piven in Keith Reddin's Peacekeeper at the American
Blues Theatre. She even landed her first professional acting role,
playing Lucy Lockit in the critically acclaimed production of The
Beggar's Opera at the Court Theatre while still an undergraduate at
Northwestern University. In late 2011, Anna immersed herself in the
role of Marie Curie for Alan Alda's world premiere of Radiance: The
Passion of Marie Curie, directed by Daniel Sullivan at the Geffen
Playhouse and received rave reviews. She starring as Skyler White on
AMC's Emmy award-winning series Breaking Bad (2008); a role that
garnered Anna a 2012 Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
Emmy Nomination until she won in 2013-2014, a 2012 Best Supporting
Actress nomination by the Broadcast Television Journalist Association
for a Critics' Choice Television Award, and a 2012 & 2013 Screen
Actor's Guild Award for Best Ensemble Cast. The cast was also the
recipient of the 2008 Peabody Award and won an AFI Award both in 2008
and 2011. The show was also nominated in 2013 by the Hollywood Foreign
Press Golden Globe's as Best Television Drama until it won in 2014.
Craig
Richard Nelson as The Director: Craig
Richard Nelson was born on September 17, 1947 in Salt Lake City, Utah,
USA. He is an actor and director, known for The Paper Chase (1973), 3
Women (1977) and Quantum Leap (1989).
Paul Collins as Rob Jackson: Paul
Collins was born on July 25, 1937 in London, England, UK. He is an
actor, known for Peter Pan (1953), Dave (1993) and Instinct (1999).
Eva Loseth as Petra: Eva
Loseth was born on December 20, 1968 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. She is
an actress and producer, known for Quantum Leap (1989), The Dead Girl
(2006) and Art House (1998).
Deem Bristow as King: Deem
Reginald Bristow was an American actor known for providing the English
voice of Dr. Eggman from 1999 to 2004. He voiced Dr. Eggman in Sonic
Adventure, Sonic Adventure 2, Sonic Heroes and Sonic Advance 3. He
passed away January 15, 2005 in San Diego, California, USA due to a
heart attack. He passed away the same year as fellow Dr. Eggman actor
Long John Baldry. He was succeeded by Mike Pollock since Shadow the
Hedgehog.
Will Schaub as Joe Thurlow (Mirror Image): Will Schaub is known for Executive Decision (1996), 17 Again (2009) and The Setting Son (1997).
Say
What? This episode takes place in 1969. All the
errors here are due to the timeline:
There
is a card with a barcode on the back, but barcodes weren't used until
1974.
Stock footage
contains an advertisement for the show "Sly Fox", that opened in 1976.
The Twin
Towers are seen in stock footage, but were not finished until 1973.
A poster for
"Happy Birthday, Wanda June", can be seen, but the play didn't open
until 1971.
"…don’t
you think maybe she’s a little um long in the tooth for you?" --Al "Her
teeth look just great to me." --Sam " No, no, no, no, I mean don’t you
think she’s more right for me…" --Al "Oh, no, no, no she’s much too
sophisticated for you." --Sam
"Just
goes to show you that (pause) some dreams are suppose to stay up in the
clouds." --Al "What are you talking about, no, you can never give up on
your dreams." –Sam
"
…the only thing worse than lying to other people was lying to
yourself." --Neil\
Best Line:
"Quantum
leaping through time I’ve leaped into an electric chair, gun fights,
and the variety of handcuffs. It looks like I finally rated a cushy
time." "Thank You." (Talking to God) --Sam "No (pause), Thank You."
--Jane Lindhurst
Best Scene:
The
best scene in this episode is at the beginning when Sam first leaps
into Joe Thurlow an actor. He leaps into a bed of silk sheets and
pillows. He thanks God for a comfortable landing and then an older
woman rolls over, his girlfriend and Thanks him back, assumingly for
the night before. Sam lye’s in bed naked and shy with a woman he does
not know, not exactly the comfortable situation he thought.
I
also liked the scene where Sam is trying to convince Jane to sing for
an audition for the jingle singer for the Boxer Boy commercials and Al
says, "Actions speak louder than words Sam," and he kisses her
passionately to prove he loved her and supported her career.
Production Credits:
Theme by: Mike Post Music by: Velton Ray Bunch Co-Executive Producer: Deborah Pratt Co-Executive Producer: Michael Zinberg Supervising Producer: Harker Wade Produced by: Jeff Gourson, Tommy Thompson Produced by: Chris Ruppenthal, Paul Brown Created by: Donald P. Bellisario Written by: Beverly
Bridges
Directed by: Eric Laneuville
Executive Producer: Donald P. Bellisario Associate Producers:Julie Bellisario, James S. Giritlian Coordinating Producer: David Bellisario Director of Photography:Michael Watkins, A.S.C. Production Designer:Cameron Birnie Edited by: Jon Koslowsky, A.C.E. Unit Production Manager: Ron Grow First Assistant Director:R. John Slosser Second Assistant Director:Kate Yurka Casting by: Ellen Lubin Sanitsky Set Director: Robert L. Zilliox Costume Designer: Jean-Pierre Dorleac Costume Supervisor: David Rawley Art Director:Ellen Dambros-Williams Sound Mixer:Barry D. Thomas Stunt Coordinator: Diamond Farnsworth Sound Editor:Greg Schorer Music Editor: Bruce Frazier Special Visual Effects: Roger Dorney, Denny Kelly
Panaflex ® Camera and Lenses by: Panavision ®
This
motion picture is protected under laws of the United States and other
countries. Unauthorized duplication, distribution or exhibition may
result in civil liability and criminal prosecution.
The
characters and events depicted in this photoplay are fictitious. Any
similarity to actual persons living or dead is purely coincidental.
Bellisarius Productions In Association With Universal Television, an MCA Company
Podcasts:
Quantum Leap Podcast - The Play's The Thing
Listen to The Quantum Leap Podcast
on this episode here:
We must be courageous. We must be innovative. We must be. . . NUUUDE! Because The Play’s the Thing!
Smell the insanity as hosts Allison Pregler, Matt Dale and Christopher
DeFilippis discuss Sam’s Leap as a young actor who must tread the
boards in his all-together, while trying to spark the singing career of
a girlfriend twice his age.
It’s fun that’s guaranteed to last a lifetime. Plus ten years!
Let us know what you think!
Leave us a voicemail by calling (707) 847-6682.
Send in your thoughts, theories, and feedback, voice memos, MP3s & email to quantumleappodcast@gmail.com.
Also,
join us on Facebook.com/QuantumLeapPodcast and
Twitter.com/QuantumLeapPod and as a patron receive bonus and exclusive
content by signing up here… www.patreon.com/QuantumLeapPodcast