Historical Drama Based on Actual Events

Newspaper photographer DANNY MCGUIRE is struggling to cope with his recent disability. To make matters worse, his ex-fiancée, GINGER LOGAN, a woman he’s never stopped loving, has started seeing a man he despises—SAL RUSSO, the cocky strong-arm for Boston’s swanky Cocoanut Grove nightclub. So, Danny agrees to help his best friend, JIM REED, a tenacious newspaper reporter, blow the lid of the shady practices going on there. Beneath the club’s glamorous façade, offering renown big band music and exciting showgirl entertainment, lies greed and corruption.

On Saturday night November 28, 1942, a fire rips through the overcrowded nightclub. A fireball races in mid-air, felling those in its path and setting them ablaze. People trample one another, desperate to get out. To ensure patrons wouldn’t leave without paying, all exits were kept locked except for a slow-moving revolving door. And when that jams shut, there is no escape. Ginger and hundreds of others are left helplessly trapped inside.

Danny is frantic to find Ginger. He and Jim search for her as they cover the biggest story of their lives. Firemen battle the blaze. They find bodies heaped behind every locked door. Multitudes of fire hoses pummel water at the building. Some firemen fall through the roof. The dance floor collapses. Despite the enormous rescue effort that includes civilians and every available fire company, police department, and branch of the military, the death toll mounts, resulting in the deadliest nightclub fire in history. 

CONCEPT:  "Drama based on real life.  In 1942 a fire burnt down the Cocoanut Grove nightclub in Boston.  This story captures all the gritty details and adds a love story to draw us further into the tragedy that killed so many people.  One of the best screenplays I’ve read."

PLOT: LOG LINE:  "There is nothing so tragic as a death that could have been avoided; how much more tragic are 492 lives gone in a flash.  Two reporters from the Boston Globe have been trying to take down the Coconut Grove Nightclub owner about safety issues.  They got their story and so much more.  Add to that their own personal stories and this is a power packed drama.  Knowing that the fire really happened and many of the details in the script are accurate.  WOW."  

STRUCTURE:  "The personal stories of the reporters and the love story are what make this a terrific three-act screenplay.  The climax of the story is the fire itself in all its horrible detail.  But the resolution adds a bit of hopefulness, as we know the lovers have been reunited."  

CHARACTER:  "It would take more time and spaces than I’ve been allowed to describe the depth of these characters.  It isn’t just the story of the fire but these characters draw you and give you an idea, a small one, but an idea of how tragic this fire really was.  Thanks for the awesome characters." 

DIALOGUE:  "It’s as good as the characters.  Boston dialect, Italian dialects and good 1940s slang.   You really can hear these characters come off the page."  

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Structure - Excellent

Plot/Story Line - Excellent

Character Development - Excellent

Dialogue - Excellent

First 20 Pages - Excellent

and 

​Script - Recommend

Writer(s) - Recommend

"...the writer(s) succeed(s) in engaging the reader from page 1."

"The premise of the entire story arc is also present from the beginning."

"There is a comprehensive three-act structure and the fire scenes are highly climactic." 

"...an interesting story that keeps the reader engaged throughout the script."

"...memorable characters...bring us closer to the fire and the descriptions of the chaos are so vibrant and detailed, that one almost feels like they are a part of the crowd that assembles around the destruction." 

"The characters in A FIRE THAT STILL BURNS are well developed and believable.  It is always important to create characters that are complex and multi-dimensional and the writer is effective in communicating the different characteristics, motives, emotions, needs and wants for each of the main characters and even the smaller characters (such as the women in the club).  This is very important because as the fire progresses, characters that we have gotten to know are either struggling to escape the flames or are burnt and killed.  The story becomes much more emotional when these characters are fighting for their lives because we “know” them."

"The dialogue is appropriate for each character as they speak in their own individual manner and via their unique personalities.  Adding in certain colloquialisms that were true to that time period... adds to the realism of the characters and their existences." 

"I recently had the pleasure of meeting Denise McShane at an event our organization was holding.  I was intrigued when I learned that Denise and her partner, Betty Nye, had written a script about the Cocoanut Grove Fire in Boston.  Not only is the fire an event that I have studied extensively, but one that is a major focus within our organization.  I was more than thrilled when Denise invited me to read it, and from the moment I picked it up, I could not put it down.  This, however, was not only for the subject matter, but also because of the excellent writing and story line that Denise and Betty had provided. From beginning to end, their story held me, and it was easy to read while still professionally presented. I am truly honored to have read their piece, and I challenge anyone to read one of their pieces and not be hooked."
 

Sean Colby 

Fire Lieutenant Boston Fire Department; former Treasurer, Boston Fire Historical Society