Earlier this week, Daniel Selznick was on his cell phone to New York, in the middle of one of his twice daily long-distance confabs with playwright Randall David Cook.

        Mr. Selznick is directing Mr. Cook's Southern Discomfort for New Edgecliff Theatre (opening June 21 at the Aronoff's Fifth Third Bank Theater.)

        Mr. Cook couldn't get here for rehearsals of what will be the premiere of his first full-length play, hence all the hours of long distance. New plays, says Mr. Selznick, are filled with discoveries and questions that demand answers.

        “Give me that line again,” Mr. Selznick says into the phone. “I like the first half . . .” but gently continues “that's hitting it on the nose, you want to be a little off-center, set up the gags for the future . . . ”

        Yes, Mr. Selznick is son of the Selznick, David O. He's also the son of Irene Mayer, making him the grandson of MGM movie mogul Louis B. Mayer. So what is this Hollywood scion doing in a small theater in Cincinnati?

        Doing a show he believes in — and good-naturedly paying for the privilege.

        Mr. Selznick prefers the East Coast to the West Coast and theater to movies. (He comes by his love of the stage naturally. Mom produced plays, including Bell, Book and Candle and The Chalk Garden.)

        He's had a career that's encompassed producing films, TV and theater and some directing. He loves directing.

        These days he's board chairman of Manhattan's Ensemble Studio Theatre. A little more than a year ago, he came across a play submission, Southern Discomfort. It was exactly what he loves. “A play of tremendous promise that needs nurturing.”

        Southern Discomfort is about a deeply dysfunctional family of Southern women. It's the week before Christmas, Mom is under attack by Christian Fundamentalists as she plans a community theater production of The Diary of Anne Frank and awaits the return of movie star daughter Orchid.

        Largely ignored, as usual, is our frumpy heroine, younger daughter Maple.

        “It's in a certain tradition of gay play,” Mr. Selznick notes. “Bitchy.” He likens it to the work of brutally funny British playwright Joe Orton, leavened by the Southern eccentricity so richly mined by Beth Henley.

        “It has vitality, bite, courage,” he says happily.

        New Edgecliff artistic director Michael Shooner discovered Southern Discomfort even before Mr. Selznick and presented a staged reading in April 2000 its way to a 2000-01 premiere in Cincinnati.

        Back in New York, Mr. Selznick directed a workshop of the play at his Ensemble Studio Theatre last summer, encouraging many changes in the script.

        When New Edgecliff's assigned director moved on, Mr. Selznick was invited to step in. He agreed. Little did he know that his checkbook would be playing a major role in the production.

        In Cincinnati, a good small theater is still likely to be a theater on the edge of economic disaster. Financial support and corporate sponsorship are hard to come by.

        There were auditions. Mr. Selznick was worried about casting the tricky play in Cincinnati. New Edgecliff couldn't afford to bring him in. He bought plane tickets to Cincinnati. Twice.

        He found wonderful people, then lost some of them because New Edgecliff can afford to offer only honorariums. Sunshine Cappelletti and Carrie-Ellen Zappa had to drop out for paying jobs.

        The dates changed, and Ms. Cappelletti signed back on. He also sings the praises of Josephine Keenan, Joan Corey, John Goodnow, Jennifer Hurrell, Elizabeth Harris, Jennifer Dalton.

        New Edgecliff couldn't afford to house their director, but board member Jane Goetzman opened her Clifton home to him. It's convenient to the free rehearsal space provided by Cathy Springfield and Xavier University.

        Mr. Selznick and his cast have been re-writing furiously. He's been covering the costs for the long-distance conferences with Mr. Cook to work on the changes.

        Last week Mr. Shooner came to him with a sigh. Were there going to be many more changes? Would they need to keep re-copying scripts? They'd already exceeded the copying budget of $70.

        All worth it, says Mr. Selznick, to take a new script and polish it till it gleams.

        Now, if only some more local folks would start sprouting theater angel wings.

        Southern Discomfort runs June 21-24 and June 28-July 1. Tickets $15, $12 students and seniors. Box office: (513) 241-7469.

        Theater history: So how does it feel to be a part of theater history?

        Hello, Dolly! stood in the Broadway history books for almost 40 years with its 10 Tony Award wins, holding off challenges from shows including Company, A Chorus Line, Phantom of the Opera, The Lion King.

        Goodbye, Dolly! Last Sunday The Producers blasted that record apart, sweeping every category in which it competed and finishing the evening with 12 — a record that will be good for a few decades.

        North Avondale's Rick Steiner, one of the producers of The Producers, was easy to spot on stage at Radio City Music Hall in the last moments of the Tony Awards broadcast. He was among the company relishing the win that capped the evening, outstanding musical of 2001.

        “Mighty wonderful,” Mr. Steiner said on his return to Cincinnati. He confessed that he “blew my lungs out” when songwriter Mel Brooks took an unexpected Tony Award for best score.

        And, yes, a euphoric Mr. Brooks is thinking about tunes to supplement “Puttin on the Ritz” and “Sweet Mystery of Life” for a musical Young Frankenstein.

        Tonys on tour: The Producers doesn't have all the Tony Awards. While we're waiting for it to tour here (maybe as early as 2003), the Fifth Third Bank Broadway Series is getting ready for a season that includes four past Tony winners for Outstanding Musical.

        Following the long-run return of Phantom of the Opera opening Sept. 19, past Tony-winning musicals include Rent, South Pacific and The Music Man.

        Last Sunday, subscription series lead-off Blast! (opening Nov. 13) took the first Tony in a new category, special theatrical event. Look for incoming Mamma Mia! (opening in New York in October) to figure in next season's Tony nominations.

        Broadway series season tickets go on sale Tuesday at the Broadway Series ticket office (Mercantile Center, 120 E. Fourth St.) and by phone (800) 294-1816.

        Kincaid opens: Kincaid Regional Theatre in Falmouth opened 19 years ago with The Sound of Music. The Rodgers and Hammerstein evergreen is being revived to open the current season through June 24, and it's a real family affair.

        Becky Myers was the original Maria almost two decades ago. She returns to the show as the Mother Abbess, sharing the stage with the next generation Maria, her daughter Jennifer, a music and theater major at Northern Kentucky University. The family affair continues. Bob Myers (husband and dad respectively) is Kincaid's music director.

        Longtime Kincaid fans will also recognize the 1982 Mother Abbess back onstage. This time Shirley Merrill takes the role of Sister Berthe.

        The Sound of Music plays Sundays, Wednesdays and Thursdays at 2 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. The sing-along performance is June 21. Box office: (859) 654-2636.

        E-mail jdemaline@yahoo.com. /b>

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