The second show in two months based on Dorothy Parker material is coming soon. We heard from Carol Lempert, who has her one-woman show That Dorothy Parker, at the Soho Playhouse on Aug. 5. She plays 5 Questions with us to talk about the show; ticket info is below…
What drew you to Dorothy Parker?
I’d heard of Dorothy Parker’s wit as early as high school. I wore glasses,
so my cousins teased me all the time with: “*men seldom make passes at girls
who wear glasses*”. (As a teenager this was depressingly true.) But, I
didn’t read anything of hers until college. At first I was drawn to her
drollness – Oh, to be that droll and smart. And pretty!
But as I learned more about her life I became very much drawn to her
commitment to social issues; going to Boston to march for Sacco and
Vanzetti, heading the Spanish Children’s Relief Fund, helping to start the
Screen Writer’s Guild. These were the actions of someone with deep
conviction and character.
How did you adapt her material?
A lot has been written about her relationship with Robert Benchely. But I
became very interested in her relationship with Alexander Woollcott. There
is some research that indicates that she called him “Mother” as a sort of a
pet name – and the idea that he became kind of a surrogate mother for her
captured my imagination. I use this as the dramatic hook of the show.
The play begins on the day of his death and then flashes back to the day
they first met. But the story doesn’t unfold chronologically, it moves back
and forth from 1943 to 1919 to 1938 to 1917 etc. The poetry holds it
together in a theatrical way.
Which Parker pieces are in the show?
Certainly the ‘favs’: Resume, Symptom Recital, Theory. But I also liked the
idea of counterpointing specific pieces of verse against things that were
happening in her life at the time. So after I introduce all the players from
the Algonquin Round Table I include: The False Friends. And when she marries
Alan Campbell I include: Autumn Valentine.
And because I was so taken with her commitment to social action there is a
big section of Soldiers of the Republic.
Why do you think Parker is still popular in 2009?
She wrote about the human condition. She wrote a lot about the female
condition to be sure, but mostly she wrote about what it is to be human; to
be totally infatuated with someone, and then to be disappointed by them. She
wrote about pettiness and prejudice and fashion and all the things we all
write about in our diaries late at night. These things don’t ‘belong’ to a
period of history. They are universal. And timeless.
What can audiences expect from your performance?
Everything Dorothy! Dogs and martinis and wit and banter and heartbreak and
hard work and quips and verse.
I have a comedy background, so I also play many of the characters from the
Round Table. Woolcott. Bencheley. FPA. Harold Ross. Talullah. Hopefully
audiences will learn something about her they didn’t know. And for the
die-hard fans it’s an opportunity to be in the theater with others who share
the same passion about her.
After the show there will be snacks in the Huron Club under the theatre and
I’ll come down to meet and talk to people.
My favorite time is after the show – hearing people’s stories about the
first time they encountered Dorothy’s work. And sometimes I meet people
who’ve met her and have wonderful personal stories. It should be a fun night
for all. Oh, and you can tell your readers if they want to know more about
me or the show to check out my web-site.
info about the show:
That Dorothy Parker
Written and Performed by Carol Lempert*
Directed by Janice L. Goldberg
as part of the Summer Solo Series at the Soho Playhouse
August 5, 2009. 8:00 pm.
One Night Only!
A one woman show that weaves together hilarious anecdotes of the ten years Mrs. Parker spent lunching at New York’s famed Algonquin Round Table, her involvement in the Spanish Civil War and selections of her writing.
ALL SEATS $35. 3 Ways to Purchase Tickets
Online: www.sohoplayhouse.com
By Phone: (212) 691-1555
In Person: Soho Playhouse Box Office (Open Tuesday-Sunday 1PM-8PM. Closed on Monday)
Soho Playhouse
15 Vandam Street (1 block north of Spring Street, just west of Sixth Avenue. C/E Train to Spring – 1 block North. 1 Train to Houston – 3 blocks South)
* appears courtesy of Actor’s Equity Association