All eyes at The Colonial Theatre are focused on Kathleen Turner these days. She has stolen the spotlight as the star of Tallulah, Sandra Ryan Heyward's one-woman play, which began its pre-Broadway engagement last Tuesday.
Tallulah, Heyward's first play, is based on the life of eccentric and outlandish actress Tallulah Bankhead. It takes place in the bedroom of Tallulah's Bedford, New York, apartment. The play opens to reveal the actress in the midst of preparations for the fundraiser she is hosting that evening for incumbent president Harry S. Truman, and then concludes at dawn the next day. In the course of these twelve hours, Tallulah reveals the highs and lows of her life and confesses some of her deepest secrets, casually sipping champagne all the while.
Kathleen Turner first became involved with Tallulah when the play debuted in July 1997 at the Chichester Festival Theatre in Sussex, England. There is no doubt that Turner was the best choice for the role. She manipulates her portrayal of Tallulah Bankhead such that the audience can't help but be convinced that she was born for the part. No one else has the stage presence - not to mention the sultry and seductive voice - to pull it off. She succeeds in capturing every facet of Tallulah's erratic persona, from elation to desperation.
Bankhead was a whirlwind of a woman, particularly at the height of her career in the late '30s and early '40s. The Alabama native, born into a family of prominent politicians, began her career in the theater in London in 1923, where she continued to act for eight years.
When she crossed the pond to make a name for herself in the states, her theatrical success continued. She won the New York Drama Critics Award for Best Performance in both Lillian Hellman's The Little Foxes (1939) and Thorton Wilder's The Skin of Our Teeth (1942). In addition, she received the New York Screen Critics Award for her role in Alfred Hitchcock's Lifeboat (1944), often hailed as the best film performance of her career.
Bankhead's fame as an actress gave way to notoriety, thanks to her at-times questionable behavior. She was a heavy drinker as well as a cocaine addict. She was known around town for her sexual promiscuity ? she boasted having had 5,000 different lovers, men and women alike. According to Hitchcock, "The whole point about Tallulah was that she had no inhibitions."
When announcing her intention to run for the Senate, Bankhead's euphoria and her pride in the political history of her family is more than evident. The realization of how appalling her behavior was at the party when she awakes at dawn the next morning, however, is heart wrenching.
Turner's extensive experience as an actress is obvious from her ease on stage. She converses frequently with the audience, referring to the theatregoers that pack the Colonial as "Daaahlings." Her comfort level and skill were most apparent during the first act when the production was momentarily attacked by a variety of curious technical difficulties. Turner hardly skipped a beat. She seamlessly wove these bumps in the road with the play itself so that they truly became part of the evening's production.
Best known as a film actress, Lawrence Kasdan's film noir Body Heat, marked the beginning of Turner's career as a Hollywood star in 1981. She received both the Golden Globe and Los Angeles Film Critics Association Best Actress awards for her role in Romancing the Stone (1984). She has also received a number of nominations for various awards including the Golden Globe's New Star of the Year in 1984. In 1986, she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress in Francis Ford Coppola's Peggy Sue Got Married.
Despite her reputation as a star of the silver screen, Turner is hardly a stranger to the stage. She made her Broadway debut in the comedy Gemini, was nominated for a Tony Award for her role in the 1990 revival of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, and appeared in Jean Cocteau's Indiscretions in 1995.
The play's success owes a debt to the flawless direction of Michael Lessac. His credits include over 100 television productions, including such popular sitcoms at The Drew Carey Show, Just Shoot Me, and Grace Under Fire. He has also directed over 30 different theatre productions. Set designer Derek McLane captures the essence of Tallulah in his design of her lilac-colored bedroom, complete with billowed curtains and satin sheets. Turner's various costumes, from her flowing evening to her mauve satin pajamas, also add flavor and flair to the role, thanks to costume designer Bob Mackie.
One might argue that the history of Tallulah Bankhead and all her escapades are enough to make any play based on her life a smashing success. Tallulah, however, is not about shock-value. It's about an inside look at the life of a woman who couldn't help but be intriguing. Heyward achieved a perfect balance between comedy and tragedy, and she has made this play a true pleasure and a future Broadway treasure.
