Kathleen Turner was a box office bombshell in films such as "Body Heat" and "Romancing the Stone." In the last many years, however, Turner has focused her formidable acting skills upon the stage. And we theatergoers are better off for it.
In her segue from screen siren to stage maven, Turner has, in front of Broadway audiences, characterized such demanding roles as Mrs. Robinson, in the stage adaptation of "The Graduate" (in which she had a nude scene), and Martha, in the theatrical marathon that is "Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf." For the latter performance Turner was nominated for a Tony Award.
Now Turner is performing in what amounts to a solo-show at Westwood’s Geffen Playhouse. There is one other actor, Matthew Van Oss, stealthily appearing onstage from time to time and who’s credited in the program listings simply as a “Helper.” The script is titled "Red Hot Patriot: The Kick-Ass Wit of Molly Ivins." It’s a bio-play, written by sisters Margret and Allison Engel, and based on the true life and times of the titular character, a left-leaning Texas journalist.Not only was Ivins a noted nemesis of the East Coast bred but Texas transplanted George W. Bush when he was president of the United States, but she also lent her tart tongue to assessing Texas politics when Ivy Leaguer Bush was the fledgling governor of the Lone Star State. In fact, it was Ivins who dubbed Bush, Jr. with the sobriquet, “Shrub.”
Under the aptly anterior direction of David Esbjornson, "Red Hot Patriot" is not subtle, and neither is Turner’s rough-hewed characterization. Then again, the extraverted Ivins was not known for her gentle way with words or her kid-glove approach to others. Once Ivins was called-on-the-carpet of The New York Times for using the term “Gang pluck” to describe a Texas ritual, wherein beer-swilling men gather in a seated circle to de-feather a flock of chickens. Ivins claimed that it was merely harmless wordplay. Her editor disagreed and redacted the phrase from the article.
Loaded with anecdotes and homilies, as well as the lowdown on lawmakers and chief executive officers across the land – "Red Hot Patriot" is a tribute to a truly independent Texan, as well as a lesson in speaking truth to power. Not only was Ivins a breath of fresh journalistic air, she was also a gifted humorist with the populist touch of a Mark Twain or Will Rogers.
What’s more, Ivins was an intellectual who could go toe-to-toe with the best and brightest in the political world. Ivins could win them or wound them with her sharp wit – she once warned that if one old pol’s I.Q. sunk any further he’d have to be” watered twice a day” – and she could be unnerving in her insights: she stood firmly against the claim that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction.
Turner delivers the spirit, spite and bite of Ivins with obvious relish and easy command of the stage. Though her raspy voice and Texas patois may raise questions about Turner’s vocal vulnerabilities, as well as the veracity of her Yellow-Rose dialect – the effect of her characterization remains towering and is, ultimately, convincing.
Clad in dark jeans, an un-tucked blue jean shirt and red cowgirl boots (costuming by Elizabeth Hope Clancy), and with projections by Maya Ciarrocchi of the actual Molly Ivins (as well as other noted or notorious figures) displayed up-center stage behind her, Turner brings vitality and dedication to the narrative, while adding ample doses of emotion. When Turner, as Ivins, reveals her struggle with breast cancer, we empathize with her; when she refers to her life without children or a husband, we sympathize with her.
In an 80-minute tour de force, Turner believably embodies the irrepressible Ivins. Ivins is a character worth knowing; Turner is an actor worth seeing. Molly Ivins’ words, as interpreted by Kathleen Turner, put the “riot” in “Patriot.”
Red Hot Patriot: The Kick-Ass Wit of Molly Ivins continues at the Geffen Playhouse – 10886 Le Conte Avenue Los Angeles – through February 19. Show times are Tuesday through Saturday at 8 p.m. Matinees are Saturday at 3 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. There are also performances on Sunday at 7 p.m. For reservations, dial (310) 208-5454. For online ticketing, visit www.geffenplayhouse.com.
