Ernest Thompson is a novelist, an Academy Award-winning screenwriter, a playwright, director, actor, lyricist, an in-demand public speaker, and a teacher. His own work has been produced around the world and he has helped hundreds of other writers develop their stories and thousands of actors realize their dreams of improving their skills and confidence on stage and in front of the camera.
“A good father despite himself; a forgiving child despite it all. Their adventures will make you worry, weep, and laugh out loud.”
—Carly Simon
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THE BOOK OF MAPS
IN THE NEWS On Mic with Jordan Rich – May 2023 The Morning Show with Sherry Taylor on Z95.1 – May 12, 2023 iHeartRadio NightSide with Jordan Rich – April 19, 2023 The Weirs Times Book Review – March 22, 2023 (page 3) The Baltimore Sun – January 29, 2023 My Eastern
THE WEST SIDE WALTZ
It’s a family affair at Will Geer’s Theatricum Botanicum as the legendary Grandpa Walton’s eldest daughter Ellen Geer, her sister Melora Marshall, and Ellen’s daughter Willow Geer make theatrical magic in The West Side Waltz, Ernest Thompson’s captivating slice of 1980s New York life. Ellen stars as the irascible Margaret
The West Side Waltz
Playwright Ernest Thompson revisited his Broadway play The West Side Waltz for the Theatricum Botanicum’s 2022 summer season. The original Broadway production debuted in 1981, starring Katherine Hepburn. The fresh rewrite stars the timeless, nuanced Ellen Geer as widowed and isolated pianist Margaret Mary Elderdice. Her co-stars are Melora Marshall as Cara
The Golden Geer “Girls” Are in High Gear: Golden Pond Meets Golden Girls
THE WEST SIDE WALTZ: Theater Review Thompson’s reinvigorated Waltz waltzes over from Ibsen, O’Neill and Chekhov character-driven territory to a Bertolt Brecht and Clifford Odets-like social drama. ~by Ed Rampel In this day and age of superheroes deluging the big screen with their derring-do, it’s a delight to discover a
Theatricum Botanicum to Present New Revival of THE WEST SIDE WALTZ
Forty-one years after its premiere at the Ahmanson Theatre, Will Geer’s Theatricum Botanicum will present the world premiere of an “all new” revival of The West Side Waltz by Academy Award-winning writer Ernest Thompson (On Golden Pond). The production, directed by Mary Jo DuPrey, will run June 25 through October
THE WEST SIDE WALTZ at Will Geer’s Theatricum Botanicum
June 25 – October 1, 2022 Forty-one years after its premiere at the Ahmanson Theatre, starring Katharine Hepburn, Ernest deconstructed his script for The West Side Waltz. In the world premiere of Ernest’s newly revised, heart-filled story set during the tumultuous ’80s, Will Geer’s Theatricum Botanicum’s artistic director Ellen Geer; her
