OFFSTAGE

Film star Andy Garcia’s newest role is onstage at L.A.’s Geffen Playhouse in his own adaptation (with playwright Jeffrey Hatcher) of the gangster drama Key Largo, originally a 1939 play by Maxwell Anderson, later an iconic 1948 Humphrey Bogart film.
—Rob Weinert-Kendt

Why bring Key Largo, which started as a play but is best known as a film, back to the stage?

I’ve always been a fan of the film. I grew up in Miami Beach after my family and I left Cuba, and I was based on a play, and I always thought, wouldn’t it be great to either remake the movie or take it back to the stage? It could be a very entertaining piece of theatre. I was performing at the Geffen with my band—I have a 13-piece traditional Cuban orchestra—and Gil Cates and Matt Shakman said, “You should come do a play here.” And I said, “I’ve always thought it could be interesting to adapt the movie back to the stage.” They just looked at me without missing a beat and said, “Okay, we’ll get you a dramaturg to work with and you guys create a new adaption.” The thing is, I’ve had a blessed creative life, but if I were to tell you the amount of times I’ve gotten “no” in my life, either looking for parts or trying to pitch an idea, we wouldn’t have enough time for this interview. So when someone’s embracing something so quickly, you’ve got to go like, “Okay, I guess it’s on me now.”