LEGEND PLAYS LEGEND: Judith Ivey portrays the legendary advice columnist Ann Landers in David Rambo's play 'The Lady With All the Answers.' (Carol Rosegg)
Landers, born Esther “Eppie” Pauline Friedman, was a clever young woman who wrangled her way into her job by meeting the right people and learning to use them to her advantage. Once she landed the assignment in 1945, she kept writing and dispensing advice to millions of people—the lovelorn, confused teens, and the like—in her enormously popular syndicated column until her death in 2002.
The play is set midway in her career, in June 1975, in Landers’s beautifully appointed Chicago apartment (a dreamy set by Neil Patel), as she’s about to sit down and write her most difficult column. For this expert at giving advice to others is having a rough time trying to find an opening sentence for her toughest assignment—what is to be a display of her own troubles. It seems that her 30-plus years of marriage are about to come to a close—the end being brought on by her husband’s falling for a younger woman.
Anybody would need outside help for that one, but Landers has only herself to turn to. Understandably, she does a lot of pacing about before she can settle into this uncomfortable assignment, and during her procrastination, lets the audience savor some of her amusing and heartfelt columns of the past. She glances at a file full of readers’ letters, some of which she will use in a forthcoming book she’s planning, others that she will discard.
She was a wise, smart woman, who, without the advantage of a degree in psychology, was able to deal with hard subjects. She helped break down barriers and deal practically with issues including dating, sexuality, and marital relationships (a very funny letter indicates a man completely differing with his wife’s opinions about their relationship, unbeknownst to the wife). There’s a long sequence in which the proper way to hang a roll of toilet paper causes a slew of letters from readers to be sent to the advice lady.
What makes the play work so well is Ivey’s vivid performance, larger than life, combining sophistication and slight vulgarity. The bouffant hairdo (courtesy wig designer Paul Huntley) and sleek, chic costumes (by Martin Pakledinaz) add to the effect. Direction by BJ Jones, who worked with Ms. Ivey in Chicago for many years, is tasteful and right to the point.
My only quibble is the tack playwright Rambo has taken. Whom is Landers addressing when she speaks directly to the audience? There is no justification. One must simply accept it as a theatrical ploy. Rambo might have found a specific rationale, such as a lecture setting, for example.
However, this is a minor quibble when offset by the vivacious performance of two-time Tony Award winner Judith Ivey.
The Lady With All the Answers
Cherry Lane Theatre
38 Commerce St. (Greenwich Village)
Tickets: 212-239-6200 or www.telecharge.com
Running time: 1 hour, 40 minutes
Closes: Nov. 29
Diana Barth writes and publishes New Millennium, an arts newsletter. For information: diabarth@juno.com.
