Go behind the scenes of 'Gone With the Wind' with comedic play on stage in Tucson

There was nothing funny about the making of the movie “Gone With the Wind,” which went through 16 screenwriters, thousands of auditions, multiple directors and millions of dollars in reshoots.

But this is very funny: Live Theatre Workshop’s production of “Moonlight and Magnolias,” which looks at the week that producer David O. Selznick, director Victor Fleming and screenwriter Ben Hecht were locked in an office in an effort to come up with a definitive script for the movie after several writers, including F. Scott Fitzgerald, had failed. (It is a fact that the three holed up together for a week and worked on the script; how that went exactly comes from the mind of playwright Ron Hutchinson.)

The three fought among themselves — should the cruelty toward Black slaves be depicted or not, should Rhett Butler say the censored word “damn” in his famous line “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn,” should the language be lifted right from Margaret Mitchell’s book or not.

All of those quandaries were actually presented in the creation of the movie, but this cast and the playwright make what was likely a humorless reality packed with easy laughs.

Christopher Mosely’s Selznick was a perfectionist full of nervous energy, outrageous and meddling behavior and dictatorial tendencies. Mosely fully embraced the character. Matthew Copley beautifully embodied the screenwriter Hecht, who had never read the novel (true), fought to show the true treatment of slaves in the film (he lost), and lived on bananas and peanuts for the week that Selznick had him locked in the room doing rewrites (kind of true).

Patrick Burke was a hoot as the macho director Fleming. He strode on stage, sporting an ascot and oozing testosterone. He was pulled off the set of “The Wizard of Oz,” grateful to be away from drunk munchkins and the 16-year-old Judy Garland, who he famously slapped on the “Oz” set because she couldn’t stop laughing at the Cowardly Lion’s performance. (The slapping part is true; he only did it once he insisted in “Moonlight.”)

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Samantha Cormier, as Selznick’s much mistreated secretary, had limited lines (mostly “Yes, Mr. Selznick”) but her face speaks volumes and her comedic timing is so supreme that all eyes were on her when she was on stage. A look from her brought squeals of laughter from the audience.

Cormier also directed and she knew exactly how to draw every ounce of humor out of the script and actors.

Sure, the play is a tad over-the-top, and the characters broad and one-dimensional. But, unlike the making of this movie, this production is great fun and well worth your time.

“Moonlight and Magnolias” continues through March 24 at Live Theatre Workshop, 3322 E. Fort Lowell Road.

Tickets are $21-$23, with some discounts, at livetheatreworkshop.org or 520-327-4242. The show runs about two hours with one intermission.