Podcast Summary: "Ethan Hawke Stars in 'Blue Moon'" — All Of It with Alison Stewart (WNYC) Episode date: October 23, 2025

Episode Overview

In this rich and intimate conversation, host Alison Stewart welcomes Ethan Hawke to discuss his starring role as Lorenz “Larry” Hart in the new independent film Blue Moon. The film centers on Hart, the legendary lyricist of Rodgers and Hart, at the bittersweet turning point when Rodgers partners with Oscar Hammerstein to create Oklahoma, effectively ending their collaboration. Filmed almost entirely over a single night in 1943 at the opening party for Oklahoma at Sardi’s, Blue Moon explores themes of loss, change, artistic legacy, and personal struggle. Hawke shares insights about Hart’s character, the unique challenges of the film’s real-time structure, and the enduring relevance of the Rodgers and Hart songbook.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Setting the Scene: Lorenz Hart’s World on the Brink

• Historical and Emotional Context

  • The episode opens with Stewart framing Hawke’s performance amid his busy 2025 career, noting his ability to vanish “with aplomb in a terrible combover” into Hart’s frail, witty, woeful figure.
  • Hart at the party: “He’s sitting on the edge of a cliff…The Jazz Age is about to fall into oblivion, and all his work is going to be rendered irrelevant as something new takes off. Oklahoma…is nostalgic for a world that never existed.” (Ethan Hawke, 02:56)
  • Hart views Oklahoma as ushering in a new, less honest era, marking the passing of his own artistic moment.

• Hart’s Immediate Goal

  • "I really believe his goal that night is to convince Rodgers he’s a better partner than Oscar…He just expects more from a genius like Rodgers. If he can just stay sober long enough to convince Rodgers…obviously he should join, come back and work with me." (Ethan Hawke, 03:41)

2. The Unique Format: Real Time at a Party

• One Night, Real Time Storytelling
  • Hawke compares the narrative to a chain of dominoes: “Each domino has to hit the one in front of it…It’s not a movie that can be made in the editing room…It’s all happening in real time, and the stakes are so high.” (Ethan Hawke, 04:37)
  • The structure immerses viewers in a pivotal historical moment.

3. Loneliness and Melancholy: Hart’s Inner Life

• Root Causes of Hart’s Isolation
  • Hawke discusses Hart’s profound sense of loneliness, “He hates himself. He sees himself as unworthy of love…Whatever the real pain is—whether it’s being gay at a time when it was illegal, or knowing his talent is drying up—it’s all now overshadowed by the alcoholism.” (Ethan Hawke, 05:42)
  • The Rodgers and Hart songbook is described as “the definition of bittersweet…So funny, so smart, so alive, and it’s so deeply sad and lonely.” (Ethan Hawke, 05:42)

4. Echoes of Breakup: Artistic Collaboration as Intimacy

• The Rodgers-Hart Dynamic
  • Hawke and Andrew Scott (Rodgers) focused on evoking a decades-long partnership in their characters’ final exchange: “Artistic breakups are different than romantic breakups. There’s an intimacy…They wrote a thousand songs together…That’s a lot of nights drinking and carousing at burlesque houses.”
  • “It’s kind of like the ex-wife showing up at your new wedding and wanting them to thrive and wanting this breakup to be good for both…but it’s not going to be okay for Larry.” (Ethan Hawke, 07:47)
• Jealousy and Artistic Evolution
  • “Imagine if you were the greatest mandolin player in the world and then you watched Elvis break…You want to say, ‘Don’t you remember the mandolin? It’s amazing!’ But it’s not what the world wants anymore.” (Ethan Hawke, 10:00)

5. The Impossible Romance: Hart & Elizabeth

• Hart’s Relationship with Elizabeth (Margaret Qualley)

  • “She might have represented the idea of a 1943 quote-unquote ‘normal’ relationship…He creates a new pain, putting all his energy on Elizabeth. That’s a pain he can control, whereas the Richard Rodgers pain is overwhelming.” (Ethan Hawke, 11:36)

• Notable Clip – Larry and Elizabeth

  • The banter between Larry and Elizabeth (Margaret Qualley) at the party is both flirtatious and bittersweet. Example:
    • Elizabeth: “Do you like the hair?”
    • Larry: “I love it. It’s much better than the red…It’s much more otherworldly.” (13:02)

• On Elizabeth’s Motivations

  • “She’s practical, not evil…She really wants to meet Richard Rodgers.” (Alison Stewart, 14:08)
  • Hawke: “He’s so thrilled to use whatever tool he has to get her attention…” (Ethan Hawke, 14:33)

6. The Script and Performance

• Verbal Brilliance
  • “My character does not stop talking. It’s almost like a man who’s put in front of a firing squad, and if he stops talking, he’ll be killed.” (Ethan Hawke, 15:17)
  • Hawke praises Robert Kaplow’s script: “The screenplay is so disciplined, so precise, it’s just a phenomenal piece of writing. Sometimes admiration for a script just blossoms because the level of difficulty is so high.” (Ethan Hawke, 15:17)

7. Legacy and the American Songbook

• Favorite Song
  • Stewart asks about a favorite Rogers and Hart song —
    • Hawke: “‘My Funny Valentine’… But I didn’t know ‘Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered’…It’s eight minutes long…Listen to Ella Fitzgerald’s version…It’s like a little play.” (Ethan Hawke, 17:00)
    • “These lyrics can be better.” (Ethan Hawke, 17:00)

8. The Plight and Pride of Independent Cinema

• Distribution and Audience

  • “The hard thing about independent cinema is you do it, and you don’t get paid and it doesn’t come out and nobody sees it, and it’s this huge source of joy in your life. I am the advertising budget for ‘Blue Moon’…” (Ethan Hawke, 18:04)
  • “You really don’t need to know who Larry Hart is…He’s worth meeting, you know?” (Ethan Hawke, 18:04)

• On Universality and Humanity in Art

  • Referring to Tom Stoppard: “I read all those books so you don’t have to—just come see the play…We’re not here teaching anything.” (Ethan Hawke, 18:04)
  • “There are hearts broken and people killed in this movie, but nobody does it out of malice…It’s really human, and I love that about it.” (Ethan Hawke, 18:04)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Oklahoma, in a strange way, represents the moment America started seeing itself in the third person…telling ourselves stories that feel good and are flattering but aren't true.”
  — Ethan Hawke, [02:56]

• “He hates himself. He sees himself as unworthy of love. And what started that? I don't know…At the point we find him, his temporary cure for his loneliness, alcohol, has overshadowed whatever the real pain is…”
  — Ethan Hawke, [05:42]

• “It’s kind of like the ex-wife showing up at your new wedding and wanting them to thrive and be good…It’s not going to be okay for Larry.”
  — Ethan Hawke, [07:47]

• “Artistic breakups are different than romantic breakups. They're similar. There's an intimacy…That's a lot of nights drinking and carousing at burlesque houses.”
  — Ethan Hawke, [07:47]

• “If he stops talking, he'll be killed…I giggled through the entire experience of memorizing.”
  — Ethan Hawke, [15:17]

• "You really don’t need to know who Larry Hart is…He’s worth meeting, you know?”
  — Ethan Hawke, [18:04]

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:09 — Introduction & context for Ethan Hawke’s career and Blue Moon
• 01:15 — Clip: Larry (Hawke) and Richard Rodgers (Andrew Scott) at Sardi’s
• 02:45 — Hawke’s physical transformation and initial acclaim for the role
• 02:56 — What’s happening with Hart that night
• 03:41 — Hart’s goal at the party
• 04:37 — Challenges of real-time storytelling
• 05:42 — Discussion: The roots of Hart’s loneliness, alcoholism, and legacy of his lyrics
• 07:47 — Hawke on artistic breakups and the Rodgers-Hart relationship
• 10:00 — Envy vs. jealousy and the changing face of American music
• 11:08 — Hart’s fixation on the much younger Elizabeth (Margaret Qualley)
• 12:53 — Clip: Larry and Elizabeth’s tender conversation at the party
• 15:17 — Hawke reflects on the script’s unique demands and joys
• 17:00 — Hawke on favorite Rodgers & Hart songs and their enduring relevance
• 18:04 — Reflections on independent film, audiences, and artistic purpose

Summary

This compelling episode offers a deep dive into Blue Moon and Ethan Hawke’s committed, captivating performance as Lorenz Hart. Through their dialogue, Stewart and Hawke explore not only the artistry behind the film but the wider questions of artistic relevance, deep creative bonds, and the emotional turmoil of change. Hawke brings Hart’s bittersweet wit and loneliness to life, inviting listeners to appreciate the depth and complexity of both the character and his era. Blue Moon emerges not just as a period piece, but as a reflection on the ache of loss, evolution in the arts, and the stubborn, shining spark of human creativity.