Orlando – Ten years after it was originally staged at the Footlight Theatre at the Parliament House, Michael Wanzie’s The Ladies of Eola Heights gets a chance to show it’s dysfunction and madness at The Abbey.
Director Kenny Howardis the new artistic director at The Abbey and this will be his first production in that position. But it’s not the first time Howard has worked with Wanzie. He directed this very show before and brings popular local actors Peg O’Keef (“Opal”), Beth Marshall (“Pearl”) and Blue Starr (“Ruby”) alongside original cast member Sam “Miss Sammy” Singhaus (“June/Jackson”) in this story of sisterhood, which runs July 10-28.
“The original production ran for a record-breaking nine months of Saturday night performances, failing to sell out only two shows in that entire time, making it then, and still now, the longest running, most attended show in the 38 year history of the Parliament House,” says Wanzie, who penned the play.
If you’re not familiar with the Ladies of Eola Heights, here’s a synopsis. The estranged Locksdale sisters reunite at their family home, situated on Cathcart Street in downtown Orlando—right in the middle of The Eola Heights Historical District. The sisters gather to plan their father’s funeral and, of course, the sisters are all big-time drama queens.
Ruby has taken to loose-living and drinking, while older sister Opal has become a born again Christian. Matriarch Pearl has gained weight and now has an oxygen tank as an accessory to her Home Shopping Club addiction. With addictions and secrets surfacing, the women discover that their brother Jackson is living his life as a woman named June.
“Opal moved to Buckhead, joined society and tried to forget her simple roots and instead found religion, snobbery and judgment,” Howard explains. “Pearl stayed home with Jackson to take care of daddy. She is the nurturing caregiver. Ruby also left home and is the wild child of the bunch. Jackson has some very strange habits—he is stuck in 1964 mentally and thinks he’s June Cleaver.”
Singhaus, who was in the original production, relates to the character of June/Jackson.
“I am lucky to relate to June/Jackson because of what I do as the character Miss Sammy,” Singhaus says. “In the play, June gets to interject happiness into the household by doing musical numbers, thus breaking tensions and helping make difficult topics easier to deal with. I feel a lot of the same things when doing Miss Sammy. She makes people laugh and forget about troubles for a while.”
June reveals to each one of the sisters how she has been living as Jackson. Each sister has a different reaction, but Opal’s reaction is negative and she believes something is mentally wrong with her brother.
Wanzie explains the process of writing Singhaus’ role.
“The characters portrayed by everyone other than Sam (June/Jackson) are actually females,” he says. “We played the women as male actors in drag. Sam’s role is actually written to be a man whom, in response to a crisis, begins dressing as a woman.
“As I wrote the play, I tried very carefully to not write any lines or jokes that would pander to the fact that men would be playing the female roles—that device was certain to sell tickets at the Parliament House at the time. But rather to be careful to write every line with the thought that these were indeed actual women so the play could later be produced utilizing actual female actors. From the onset it was my desire that Ladies of Eola Heights would eventually be published and produced all over the country by colleges and community theater groups, as well as by professional regional theater companies casting women in the women’s roles.”
Wanzie says there are only two differences in this production of play from the original. One is that the majority of female characters are being portrayed by real women, and secondly, the play was written to take place in the present. Since the play is 10 years old, there’s a shift reference to make it set in present day.
Wanzie knew he wanted Howard to direct the play and when he pitched it to him, everyone at The Abbey supported the project.
“I thought it would be uniquely noteworthy for people to have the opportunity to enjoy the play in a venue that is located within a few blocks of the real life neighborhood in which the play takes place,” Wanzie says. “The Abbey is situated within walking distance of many of the downtown locales referenced in the play. In a broad way, Ladies of Eola Heights at The Abbey qualifies as a site-specific theater.”
Wanzie says what makes the play so appealing is that it’s relatable to everyone in the audience.
“The specific issues may not be exactly those of you or the next person, but the concept of how we communicate, or fail to communicate, within the family dynamic, is universal,” Wanzie says. “Seeing how other people deal or don’t deal with the demons in their lives is something with which everyone can identify. And finding the ability to laugh at terribly hurtful situations, and to have that laughter triumph over tragedy, is a concept we all long to latch onto.”
Wanzie, of course, is more than a writer. He has appeared in many shows over the years and played Pearl in the original Ladies of Eola Heights.
Howard, who directed the original production 10 years ago and during its run at FringeNYC, describes the show as a “funny, southern comedy with a bit of The Birdcage thrown in just to make sure.”
Singhaus says his favorite part of the play is at the end.
“Everyone leaves the theatre with a great big smile on their face and with their heart absolutely beaming,” he says.
More Info:
WHAT: The Ladies of Eola Heights
WHERE: The Abbey
WHEN: July 10-28
TICKETS: $30 at AbbeyOrlando.com
