Doug, what is Gone With The Wind in 20 Minutes (GWTW20). . . and how do you pronounce your last name?

   Doug Lothes (pronounced 'lotus' like the car, flower, or yoga position). In GWTW20, I take my audience through the highlights of the Technicolor spectacle based on the Pulitzer Prize winning novel by using only my vocal impersonations, facial expressions, and physicalizations, all without the use of sets or costumes, but by enacting scenes between the major characters Scarlett, Rhett, Ashley and Melanie as well as a dozen other characters, PLUS the burning of Atlanta!

   In the second half of this epic, the role of Scarlett is not only played, through my interpretation, by Vivien Leigh, but also by Bette Davis and Katharine Hepburn, who were the two top winners in a public-voted poll to determine which actress should play the role.

   This one-man parody is moving as well as funny. I make an effort not to sacrifice the pathos of the story through my humorous retelling.

Where do you perform Gone With The Wind in 20 Minutes?

   Almost anywhere! I created this piece while living in New York City in 1983 and began performing it there before moving to Atlanta in 1987. I have awed audiences all over Atlanta and the southeastern United States, from Annapolis, Maryland to Mobile, Alabama. I have performed in exhibition halls, hotel ballrooms, living rooms, and even on a moving train!

   In Atlanta, I have played in various venues including the Margaret Mitchell House (the birthplace of the novel); the annual "Sunday in the Park" fundraising event for Historic Oakland Cemetery (the resting place of author Margaret Mitchell); the Battle of Atlanta Festival; the Atlanta Historical Society's Swan House; the Georgian Terrace Hotel; the High Museum of Art; Georgia World Congress Center, the Alliance Theatre at the Woodruff Arts Center, and the Fabulous Fox Theatre.

   On December 13, 1989, I had the tremendous honor of entertaining the international press and the returning cast members of the motion picture Gone With The Wind at the 50th anniversary re-premier of the film in Atlanta. There are some pictures of me with the cast members on the Pix of GWTW20 page. (And yes, I took my mother to meet all the stars of the film that she loved so much!)

   May I just tell you that the cast members were bowled over? Well, Butterfly McQueen (Prissy) asked to meet me to express her admiration for all the work I put into my "fine performance." Evelyn Keyes (Suellen) and Ann Rutherford (Careen) joined Cammie King (Bonnie Blue Butler) in giving me a raving, "Bravo!" Rand Brooks (Charles Hamilton) said, "At first I was laughing, of course, then I realized I had tears in my eyes. It was so moving as well as funny."

   On December 31, 1999, I took over the Alliance Theatre mainstage as a "star performer" sponsored by Kodak during "First Night Atlanta 2000" and gave four packed-house performances in the 650-seat venue. What a way to end the old millennium and begin the new one!

Doug, what's the buzz on Gone With the Wind in 20 Minutes?

   In 1987, I made my Atlanta debut with GWTW20 at the Theatrical Outfit. WAGA-TV said, "Tonight's show stopper was a one-man rendition of Gone With The Wind complete with appropriate accents and an arched eyebrow Vivien Leigh would have killed for. That's Doug Lothes, folks." Creative Loafing added, "the audience was amazed by Doug Lothes." My performance of GWTW20 has also been featured in the Atlanta Journal/Constitution's "Best Bets" section.

   The video clip posted on the Home to "Tara" page is the first three minutes of my 25th Anniversary Edition DVD of GWTW20 that was performed and recorded at the Meeting Planners International (MPI) conference in Houston, Texas on February 5, 2008. The Atlanta Convention and Visitor's Bureau (ACVB) hired me and here's what Bette Sammons of the ACVB had to say in an email to me:

"Doug- Words cannot express how wonderful you were at our Atlanta Luncheon in Houston.  You were just what we needed to bring the entire event together. Everyone loved you! The true test was having a 'captured audience' and you accomplished this. You sounded more like the actors in the movie than they did and the Bette Davis and Katharine Hepburn renditions of Scarlett were priceless. Thank you so much for making our Luncheon for MPI a wonderful memory."

   And words from another trusted source:

   "Everything Doug does is wonderful! I've seen him perform GWTW20 hundreds of times for over two decades and I still laugh!" Keith Miller (aka big.peaches), my best friend.

(Grain of salt recommended and understood.)