ABSTRACT
Cassavetes, who was also the screenwriter and director, had this to say about the protagonist of Opening Night:
I picked a woman who has a career, ajob. She's not interested in children, she's not interested in men, even if she still is capable of romantic feelings. Myrtle has a job to do, a career, and that's the most important thing for her. Her whole life is acting, being an actress.... [And] Myrtle is alone and in desperate fear of losing the vulnerability she feels she needs as an actress.... You never see her as a stupendous actress.... She didn't want to expose herself in certain areas. So when she faints and screams on the stage, it's because it's so impossible to be told you are this boring character, you are aging and you are just like her.... When you have a problem as an actor people want to know why your feelings are different from theirs. And if you can't explain it to them, they attack you. And this woman can't resist the attacks - attacks coming not from her enemies but her friends. They are more threatening because they can destroy her image of herself.... It's very brave on her part to try, then, to follow her idea of herself. She is special in that she's completely honest with herself, very stubborn and very alone.
