Neither Kandis Chappell nor Mark St. Germain is a stranger to San Diego theatre’s although Ms. Chappell, I believe, has been absent much too long from our stages. Before Eleanor she appeared on NCR’s stage in “Collected Stories”, “King O’ The Moon”, and “Lion In Winter” to name a few. She is also an associate artist at the Old Globe having appeared in over 30 productions. She is always always at the top of her game and “Eleanor” is no exception.
The same can be said of playwright Mark St. Germain, again no stranger to NCR stages having penned “Freud’s Last Session” “Becoming Dr. Ruth” and ”Camping With Henry and Tom”. Artistic director and director of “Eleanor” David Ellenstein, completes the troika that makes this production of “Eleanor” hum along flawlessly, easily and endearingly. It has already been extended through July 9th.
Since the former first lady has been dead for some 57 years, admitting that to the audience was a bit of an eye opener, since it seemed like yesterday that she was acting as her husband’s change maker, pacifist, political advisor and activist during her years at the White House from 1933 to 1945 (he was Pres. for almost three terms).
Franklin called her ‘his eyes and ears’ although he was not always in agreement with her ideas and questioned some of her decisions as she traveled to the front lines where politicians dare not be seen.
Chappell’s delivery of St. Germain’s 90 minute script brings to life the one woman who can convince us flawlessly of her knowledge of Eleanor. We understand who she became and how she lived her personal and professional life in the shadow of her husband before, during and after he met his tragic fate of contracting Polio, a children’s disease, at the age of 39. They were married at the time and had already grown children who were out of the ‘house’.
The setting takes place in Rock Creek Park Cemetery in Washington, D.C. where Anna Eleanor Roosevelt begins her story by telling us how she and Franklin were related,(fifth cousins once removed) met and later married. Confessing that she was a plain child with buck teeth, no chin to speak of and topping it off, she was unloved and ignored by her own mother and was loathed by her mother- in -law Sara is heartbreaking. As can be expected, Sara was adored by her son Franklin; they were close as two peas in a pod. For Eleanor, the one person she cherished the most was her father Elliot. But Elliot, who later took his life leaving her orphaned at 10, always left an empty hole in her heart.
She took her duties one step further by personally visiting poor neighborhoods, meeting and being photographed with the folks who lived there and was not afraid to speak out. Once in a meeting with Churchill, (she recalled) who visited the White House to ask for war supplies from FDR, she recounts how he came out of his room in the ‘altogether’ and announced that he had ‘nothing to hide’.
There were other important men and women in her life including reporter, presidential adviser and ‘the man behind Roosevelt”, Louis Howe who befriended her and advised her to hold regular press briefings, something no first lady had ever done. He gave her political advice even going so far as to coach her on what to say.
In her storytelling, Chappell seamlessly segues from childhood to adulthood to painfully learning that her husband had a long term affair with the First Ladies personal secretary, Lucy Mercer. Much to her chagrin and with the aid of their daughter, Anna who was taking direction from her ailing father, she contacted Lucy and urged her to stay with her father in Warm Springs, Georgia.
Lucy was with him at the time of his death in Georgia. Eleanor was devastated and barely recovered from his callousness. All this was happening while she out doing his diplomatic work. She even alluded to some of her own extra marital jaunts with her bodyguard, assigned to her by Roosevelt and close journalist friend Lorena Hickock. Yes, she lived in the White house for a while.
Confessing that theirs was an ‘in marriage only’ arrangement and slept in separate rooms; she with him on invitation and only on condition she agreed. Ironically, it was Franklin who insisted they be buried side by side with Fala, his dog, in Hyde Park, Dutchess County, New York.
Among her accomplishments, and there are too many to list in this 90 minute tell all, (she served a stint from 1945 to 1951, in its earliest years), she was a U.S. delegate to the United Nations General Assembly. She subsequently served on the UN Human Rights Commission, where she helped draft the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was signed by the nations of the world on Dec. 10, 1948. She spoke out, railing against segregation and she urged her husband to allow the Jewish refugees from the Holocaust be allowed to enter the states while the ship carrying them sat outside American waters.
Her senses of justice and loyalty were never questioned except by then, F.B.I. Director J. Edgar Hoover who had a 3,000 page file on her accusing her of being a communist because she fought for liberal causes. How could one get that so wrong? Well, just look at politics today.
The setting, from D.C.’s Rock Creek Cemetery with projections (Aaron Rumley), of Churchill, F.D.R., Louis Howe, Lorena Hickock and her favorite statute of Augustus Saint- Gaudens’ behind her, helps define some of her favorite places and people brought to the fore by set designer Marty Burnett, lighting designer Matt Novotny , sound and projection by Aaron Rumley and a smart looking but plain dress designed by Elsa Benzoni and Peter Herman designed the wig and hair design.
How does one manage to capture an audience for a 90 or so minute monologue without losing interest or being over -whelmed by the facts ? If you are Kandis Chappell channeling Eleanor Roosevelt, I’m not going to say is easy, but just following along makes you feel you are in the presence of a very involved and dignified first lady.
If you’ve never seen the monument to both FDR, Eleanor and Fala in D.C., Neil Estern's sculpture of Franklin Roosevelt and his dog Fala is just part of this large memorial. It is located in West Potomac Park between the Lincoln and Jefferson memorials.
Closer yet, there’s no excuse to miss “Eleanor” now on stage at The North Coast Repertory Theatre in Solana Beach. You wont regret it.
Dates: Extended through July 9th
Organization: North Coast Repertory Theatre
Phone: 1 858 481 1055
Production Type: One Woman Show
Where: 987 Lomas Santa Fe Drive
Suite D
Solana Beach CA 92075 USA
Photo: Aaron Rumley
Ticket Prices: Start at $54.00
Web: northcoastrep.org
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