Dear One: Ivey Is Ann Landers, Dishing Answers in IL, May 27-June 29
By Kenneth Jones
27 May 2008
Tony Award winner Judith Ivey is The Lady With All the Answers — newspaper advice columnist Ann Landers, that is — in the Northlight Theatre's Midwest premiere of David Rambo's solo-actress play, The Lady with All the Answers, May 27-June 29.
Artistic director BJ Jones stages the production, which has a creative team that includes Tom Burch (scenic design), Todd Hensley (lighting design), Tatjana Radisic (costume design) and Kevin O'Donnell (original music and sound design). Rose Marie Packer is the stage manager.
The dates here represent a slight change; it begins a week later than previously announced. The extension of the hit comedy Better Late pushed the dates back. Opening night is June 1.
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According to Northlight, in Skokie, IL, "For decades, newspaper columnist and Chicago icon Ann Landers dispensed wit and wisdom to lovelorn teens, confused couples, and others in need of advice. Now she finds herself writing a column about a new kind of heartbreak — her own. Drawn from her life and letters, this touchingly comic portrait will remind you why so many put their faith in this wise, funny, no-nonsense woman."
Director Jones stated, "Ann Landers certainly did not invent the advice column but no one refined its power and accessibility with more personal warmth and commitment to the job. She was a character with character, and this enjoyable evening of theatre comes to life with Northlight veteran and dear friend Judith Ivey. Judith brings to life one of Chicago's most treasured citizens. There are few actresses as accomplished and sublime as she. Judy is an amazing wife, mother and actress who balances a career in film, television, and theatre with equal facility and dedication. We are honored to have her with us here at Northlight."
Ivey is fresh out of an Off-Broadway double bill of Edward Albee's American Dream and The Sandbox, in Greenwich Village. She's also a busy director lately, having staged Off-Broadway's Secrets of a Soccer Mom and the workshop of the Broadway-bound musical, Vanities (a summer tryout plays the Pasadena Playhouse). She directed Northlight's Bad Dates last season.
Ivey was a resident actress at Northlight Theatre (then the Evanston Theatre Company) for the 1977-78 season. She was nominated for a Jeff Award for her performance in The Goodbye People, co-starring BJ Jones. Since then she has received the Tony Award and Drama Desk Award for her work in Steaming and Hurlyburly, the Obie Award for The Moonshot Tape, and countless other awards for her stage and film work.
Rambo's plays include God's Man in Texas, The Ice-Breaker, The Lady with All the Answers, The Spin Cycle, Babbitt and an all-new book for the classic Lerner and Loewe musical Paint Your Wagon.
Northlight Theatre, home of the world premieres of Better Late and The Last 5 Years, among others, is at North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, 9501 Skokie Blvd in Skokie, IL, in suburban Chicago.
Tickets for Lady with All the Answers are available at (847) 673-6300, or online at www.northlight.org.
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In its 33-year history, Northlight has mounted over 160 productions, including over 33 world premieres, and garnered 140 Joseph Jefferson Award nominations and 24 awards.
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Judith Ivey as Ann Landers.
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