As far as I know, no one in the Kaufman or Hart clan was the basis for anyone in the play. I think we all wish we had a Grandpa, Penny, and Mr. De Pinna in our families.

As a younger person I think I thought of myself as a Tony [from The Best Man], struggling with the legacy of my famous parents.

What makes You Can't Take It With You so popular and a perennial favorite with student and amateur productions (it continues to be one of the top 10 best-selling plays year after year) is the breadth of characters and personalities on display: in age, race, gender, social status, a true cross section of society when the play was written and also true today in terms of the reality of the humanity on display.

As far as I know, no one in the Kaufman or Hart clan was the basis for anyone in the play. I think we all wish we had a Grandpa, Penny, and Mr. De Pinna in our families.

All the statistics in the world can't measure the warmth of a smile.

Even though the play [ The Best Man] was written a long time ago, the characters seem modern and their struggles to make ends meet and to "have a little fun along the way" have a very contemporary feel. The similarity between the The Great Depression and The Great Recession - as well as the gulf between the super-rich and the ordinary Joe - still rings a bell. One of the things this production accentuates is how beautifully Grandpa and his family accept all kinds of people - rich or poor, black or white - and the best thing that can happen to you is to be part of a loving family.

A couple of years ago my friend and business partner Jeffrey Richards was doing the Gore Vidal play, The Best Man, starring James Earl Jones. I asked Jeffrey out to lunch and asked him what he thought of James playing Grandpa in You Can't Take It With You. Jeffrey thought it was a fabulous idea and so did James.