Sometimes all it takes to inspire a writer is a line of poetry, or a shooting star, or a falling leaf. Or, in the case of Gore Vidal, a little something like an all-star Broadway production.
Invigorated by the current revival of his 1960 political satire "The Best Man," Vidal said this week that he was writing a new play, although one based on a subject he has already covered: Aaron Burr, whose life Vidal dramatized in his highly praised 1973 novel "Burr."
Speaking from his home in Ravello, Italy, Vidal said that he had been kicking around the idea for years but that "The Best Man" "reawakened my interest in the theater." He added, "I'd forgotten how much I like it."
He said he planned to finish the script this winter, with an eye toward a production next fall.
For those who skipped class, Burr fought in the Revolution and became a lawyer whose place in history was sealed when he shot and killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel in 1804. (Vidal said this scene would close Act I.) He also tied with Thomas Jefferson in the Electoral College vote in 1800 (sound familiar?) before being elected vice president by the House of Representatives.
"They were all posing for Mount Rushmore," Vidal said. "But Burr was the only one who was onto the whole act."