We chat with Paul Rudnick, beloved American playwright, screenwriter and novelist. Beyond penning plays such as I Hate Hamlet, The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told and Valhalla, Paul’s royally witty romcom Playing the Palace is set to release this month. We got to ask Paul all our burning questions about his writing process, his favourite royals and future projects!
Hi, Paul! Thanks for joining us today! Why don’t you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
I’ve written plays, like I Hate Hamlet and Jeffrey, movies, such as Addams Family Values, Sister Act and In&Out, and books, including I’ll Take It, Gorgeous and I Shudder. I live in New York, and I’m thrilled to be introducing Playing The Palace to readers on the Nerd Daily!
Lightning round: You can only read three books for the rest of your life – which ones would you choose and why?
This is very tough – whenever I’m asked to make lists, I panic and my mind goes blank. But I find myself rereading The Great Gatsby, Auntie Mame and Confederacy of Dunces. What these books share are portraits of mesmerizing, full-scale characters, an investigation into every aspect of American life and above all else, a huge amount of humor. Sometimes people forget the wit and satire of Gatsby – I’m always surprised at how fresh it feels. And all of these books are wildly entertaining, which is something I always aim for.
Now onto Playing the Palace. Tell us what readers can expect when picking up this hilarious romcom!
Playing The Palace is an all-out romantic comedy, about the unexpected and passionate relationship between Carter Ogden, a lonely New York event planner, and Prince Edgar, the Crown Prince of England. Both guys are happily and openly gay, and one of the many things I love about New York is that their meeting is actually possible. The couple goes everywhere together, from the wedding of Carter’s beloved sister in New Jersey to Buckingham Palace and beyond. It’s a heartfelt whirlwind, with uproarious and heartbreaking results.
What inspired you to write a royal romcom? And what are your top three favorite things about royals…and maybe one least favorite to keep it interesting?
Like the rest of the world, I’ve always been fascinated by the royals – their lives seem both glorious and difficult, filled with glamour and rulebooks. I’ve always wondered about what would happen if a regular guy like Carter entered that world – how does a Crown Prince behave when no one’s looking, and how scary would it be to meet the Queen of England, especially if she didn’t quite approve of you?
Three favorite things about royals might include their castles (I’m an architecture fan); their crowns (which manage to be both magnificent and silly at the same time); and the good deeds royals are capable of. Princess Diana had an enormous impact, when she visited AIDS patients, and Harry and Meghan seem ready to support a wide variety of causes, including racial justice and mental health services.
A danger of royal lives involves the constant scrutiny, by the media and the internet: everything a royal does is analysed and judged by millions of people around the world, which can’t be easy to live with on a daily basis. This is something Carter and Edgar have to deal with, when their romance becomes very public.
I loved the comparison to The Prince and Me! Do you have any movies, plays or books about royals that our readers need to put on their to-watch/read list?
There are so many great royal books and movies. I’d recommend Roman Holiday, starring Audrey Hepburn as a runaway princess; The Queen with Helen Mirren; The Audience, a play by Peter Morgan; all of Meg Cabot’s Princess Diaries books and Once Upon A Mattress, the delightful musical based on The Princess and the Pea.
Playing the Palace has an undeniable cinematic feeling to it. As a playwright and screenwriter, what are the biggest challenges for you when writing novels? What are the biggest perks of having the expertise of a screenwriter?
Writing for the page, the stage and the screen are very different pursuits, and I’ve learned these differences through endless trial and error. Jokes that might resound onstage can fall flat onscreen, and movies supply an instant visual element which a novel needs to build in other ways. Writing screenplays has taught me the virtues of speed and concision. But I love writing novels because of the detail involved, and being able to find just the right voices for all the characters. In a way, when I write a novel, I get to be the screenwriter, the director and the cast in one: I get to make every decision, and guide the reader in the way a camera might.
The humor in Playing the Palace is so spot on and nearly every sentence is quick-witted and carries a real sense. How does the writing process work for you? Do these lines come to you immediately or do you have to craft them one by one?
I’m a great believer in rewriting. I start with an incredibly rough draft and keep examining every word, until the dialogue and action are as sharp as I can make them. I love really getting to work on a manuscript, and then trying to make the fine-tuning seem effortless.
Speaking of writing, do you have any tips for aspiring novelists, playwrights or screenwriters on how to get the ball rolling?
In light of my answer to the previous question, here’s my largest bit of advice: never treat your words as untouchably precious. Keep working, and don’t be afraid to toss out an entire draft in order to get things right. Beyond that, write because you love the experience, because the next step, getting published or produced, can be challenging. But if you enjoy the writing itself, you can protect yourself from the trauma.
You’re very vocal on Twitter about the current political climate and approach the subject with equal measures of competency and ridicule (I might have nearly choked on my coffee seeing some of the “Barbie” posts). Want to cheer us folks up with one of your favorite tweets you’ve written recently?
I try not to play favorites and I’m always surprised and delighted by what the Twitterverse will enjoy – so check me out at @PaulRudnickNY and see what you think!
With Playing the Palace releasing soon, are you already working on another project? If so, could you share a little sneak peek of what’s to come with our readers?
I’m working on a batch of things, including another novel and a play that was postponed by the pandemic, but which will premiere at the LaJolla Playhouse in California next year. I just wrote a monologue which was performed by the wonderful Nathan Lane at a Broadway theatre, before a socially distanced audience of healthcare and theatre workers, as part of NY PopsUp, a program designed to welcome folks back to live performances.
Last but not least, do you have any book recommendations for our readers?
Two current titles are We Play Ourselves by Jen Silverman and Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters, both terrific, gorgeously written and very funny new novels.
