A once-acclaimed New York playwright, Nate is struggling to finish a play when his wife leaves him, taking their son. Desolate, broke and unable to pay the rent, Nate begrudgingly moves in with his widowed father, Bob, in his New Jersey retirement golf community. Nate stumbles on a senior citizen theater troupe staging a musical and agrees to help, but quickly realizes it will not be easy to get these quirky women to cooperate.

A young writer sacrifices his life in the present to find happiness in the past, where true love awaits him.

An ageing folk singer is accused of performing an inflammatory song which might have incited a sewage worker to commit suicide. As the trial unfolds, the personal lives of the lawyers and the judge involved in the case are observed outside the court.

"December 1897, Paris. Edmond Rostand is not yet thirty but already has two children and too much anxiety. He has not written anything for two years. In desperation, he offers the great Constant Coquelin a new play, a heroic comedy, in verse, for the holidays. There's one problem: it is not written yet. Ignoring the whims of actresses, the demands of his Corsican producers, the jealousy of his wife, the stories of his best friend's heart and the lack...

Born to great wealth, the fiercely independent Julia devotes her life to political causes, fighting fascism in the 1930's. While traveling in Europe, the playwright Lillian Hellman, a friend of Julia's, is swept into a dangerous world, smuggling money across hostile borders. DVD format.

Six episodes combine history, biography, iconic performances, new analysis and the personal passion of its celebrated hosts, to tell the story behind the stories of Shakespeare's greatest plays.