NewsPHOTO EXCLUSIVE: A Day at Walnut Street Theatre's Arsenic and Old Lace With New Mom Jennie EisenhowerJennie Eisenhower, who plays love interest Elaine Harper in Walnut Street's production of Arsenic and Old Lace, shares a day at the theatre. The new mom documents the challenges and joys of juggling a life in the theatre with the demands of having an 8-month-old baby at home.
By
Matthew Blank
April 04, 2014
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PHOTO EXCLUSIVE: A Day at Walnut Street Theatre's Arsenic and Old Lace With New Mom Jennie Eisenhower
PHOTO EXCLUSIVE: A Day at Walnut Street Theatre's Arsenic and Old Lace With New Mom Jennie Eisenhower
Jennie Eisenhower, who plays love interest Elaine Harper in Walnut Street's production of Arsenic and Old Lace, shares a day at the theatre. The new mom documents the challenges and joys of juggling a life in the theatre with the demands of having an 8-month-old baby at home.
37 PHOTOS
My name is Jennie Eisenhower and I'm honored to get to share a day in my life with Playbill.com!
Jennie Eisenhower
By night, I am Elaine Harper - newly engaged to Mortimer Brewster (the dashing Damon Bonetti) - in Arsenic and Old Lace at the beautiful and historic Walnut Street Theatre.
Jennie Eisenhower
By day (and middle of the night), I am a married mom of an 8 month old named Chloe! Here is a peek at my life as an actor and a new mom.
Jennie Eisenhower
Chloe is a Walnut Street baby through and through: I was pregnant with her during An Ideal Husband last season and our fabulous costume designer, Colleen Grady, hid my rapidly growing bump…
Jennie Eisenhower
I went into labor while I was at the Walnut watching Grease
And Chloe’s favorite thing to suck on is my Walnut Street Theatre lanyard!
Jennie Eisenhower
Our day begins around 6 AM. This selfie is as hazy as I feel when Chloe wakes me up. It’s a good thing she’s cute!
Jennie Eisenhower
After breakfast at home, Chloe and I go to Starbucks immediately. I don't even take the time to put in my contacts. Chloe sucks on her Walnut Street lanyard and watches dogs out the window; I consume a vat of coffee.
Jennie Eisenhower
After Starbucks, we like to visit the kitties at PAWS - an amazing animal rescue on the corner of our street.
Jennie Eisenhower
We have several other neighborhood rituals. We live in historic Old City, so often we walk down Elfreth’s Alley, the oldest residential street in America.
Jennie Eisenhower
And we like to visit the home of Betsy Ross, the seamstress of the first American flag, to see the kitty statue. In case you missed it, Chloe is very into cats.
Jennie Eisenhower
The rest of the day is improv, but usually includes music, gourmet cuisine, and lots of costume changes!
Jennie Eisenhower
My husband, Tony, gets home around 4 and spends time with Chloe. The three of us have dinner together – sometimes at home…
Jennie Eisenhower
And sometimes at our favorite neighborhood spot, the Race Street Café!
Jennie Eisenhower
hen, it's time to put Chloe to bed and sprint the mile to the theatre just in time for half hour. I always go right by Independence Hall and the huge clock lets me know if I need to pick up the pace.
Jennie Eisenhower
I go in through the main entrance – and always say hello to Tom Brzozowski! You want tickets? You have to go through him!
Jennie Eisenhower
Spending time alone with a baby most of the day, it is nice to have some adult conversation in the green room! Here I am with Paul Nolan and Laurent Giroux.
Jennie Eisenhower
Then it’s off to my dressing room to transform into Elaine.
Jennie Eisenhower
Here’s Larry Giroux becoming Dr. Einstein…
Jennie Eisenhower
And Dan Olmstead striking a pose as he turns himself into Jonathon Brewster.
Jennie Eisenhower
We recently had Opening Night, so there are some delicious treats still hanging around to nosh on. Here, Damon Bonetti and lead dresser, Deb Holloway, display meat sticks.
Jennie Eisenhower
I always bake from scratch for opening and was determined to do it this year even though it is time consuming. I hired a babysitter this time just to make sure I’d be able to get it all done.
Jennie Eisenhower
This is a cake with Peter Schmitz and our leading ladies, Jane Ridley and Mary Martello, on it. It was an opening night gift from our co-producers, the Fulton Theatre.
Jennie Eisenhower
Mary’s face is missing because this guy, John Jarboe (who plays Officer Klein) ate it in the hopes that consuming her face would make him a better actor.
Jennie Eisenhower
Our wonderful director, Charles Abbott, on opening night!
Jennie Eisenhower
Mary Martello (Abby Brewster) is very thoughtful and makes sure Mr. Spenalzo doesn’t get dehydrated.
Jennie Eisenhower
Jane Ridley (Martha Brewster) is about to make her entrance.
Jennie Eisenhower
John Jarboe climbs into the window seat to play dead!
Jennie Eisenhower
Good enough to off: Peter Schmitz as both the Brewsters’ would-be victims: Mr. Gibbs AND Mr. Witherspoon
Jennie Eisenhower
Intermission: never a dull moment.
Jennie Eisenhower
Here are Fran Prisco (Officer Brophy) and Ben Dibble (Teddy Brewster) playing cribbage. They attempted to teach me but it didn’t take.
Jennie Eisenhower
Intermission for me is when I get done everything I can’t do at home, whether it is answering emails…
Jennie Eisenhower
Or doing yoga!
Jennie Eisenhower
Time for act 2, where I make sure my dress is smoothed down and then get out there.
Jennie Eisenhower
Here are Damon and I, coming down from the platform after bows!
Jennie Eisenhower
Then I get out of costume as soon as possible and hurry home in case Chloe is up. When the monitor light is red, it’s going to be a long night. If it’s green, we’re good!
Jennie Eisenhower
I’m in bed by about midnight – then it’s back up at 6 am the next morning. But I certainly don’t mind, and Chloe doesn’t seem to either. Judging by her reaction to visiting the Walnut for the first time, she is enjoying her life as a theatre baby!
Directed by Charles Abbott, this 75th Anniversary production began previews on March 11, opened on March 19 and runs through April 27th on the Walnut’s Mainstage.
"Drama critic Mortimer Brewster is engaged to the lovely Elaine Harper... but will she fit in with his 'unusual' family? Abby and Martha Brewster are known throughout Brooklyn for their many acts of kindness and charity. But Mortimer has just learned that his charming spinster aunts have taken to relieving the loneliness of old men by inviting them in for a nice glass of home-made elderberry wine laced with arsenic, strychnine, and 'just a pinch' of cyanide! And, his brother believes that he's Teddy Roosevelt! What else can go wrong?" The cast is led by the deceptively delicious Brewster sisters, Mary Martello (Abby) and Jane Ridley (Martha). Theatre critic Mortimer Brewster and his love interest, the beautiful Elaine Harper, are played by Damon Bonetti (The Glass Menagerie) and Jennie Eisenhower (An Ideal Husband), respectively. Ben Dibble (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels) and Dan Olmstead (Amadeus) play the zany Brewster brothers Teddy and Jonathon. Adding to the madcap events are cast members Paul L. Nolan (Love Story), Fran Prisco (Elf), John Jarboe (Vincent in Brixton), Peter Schmitz (Hairspray), Laurent Giroux (Aspects of Love) and John-Charles Kelly (42nd Street).
The Walnut Street Theatre is located at 825 Walnut Street in Philadelphia, PA. For more information and tickets, call (215) 574-3550 or visit WalnutStreetTheatre.org.
The revival of the John Kander-Fred Ebb-Joe Masteroff musical opened at the August Wilson Theatre April 21, with Eddie Redmayne and Gayle Rankin leading the cast.
