Alone With Her Memories

Lady in Denmark – Goodman Theatre

 

Dael Orlandersmith’s new, one-woman play, now enjoying its world premiere, is under the gentle direction of Victory Garden’s Artistic Director, Chay Yew. In this play we have the story of two ladies, for the price of one. First we meet and get to know Helene, a Danish immigrant lady in America, now living in a beautiful, Prairie-style home in the Andersonville neighborhood of Chicago. The second is Lady Day, the nickname given to famed jazz singer, Billie Holiday, with whom Helene and her family have been longtime fans and also had the good fortune to actually meet. The two stories are intertwined in Helene’s 90-minute monologue that takes audiences into the lives of both women.

Helene, played with humanity, affection and wit, by Linda Gehringer, is a woman who has experienced a full life. Not all of it has been a bed of roses, although she does share many joyous, heartwarming remembrances from her past. The fictional Helene, like so many others, has a life peppered with sorrow and unforgettable, traumatic events, moments that have colored her later life. Helene grew up in Copenhagen in a warm, affluent family. Her father was a empathetic doctor, who often worked out of his Danish home. Helene was always very close to him, as well as to her mother and sister. She vaguely recalls her homeland’s Nazi occupation, but her most vivid childhood memory is the time she met Billie Holiday when she was 12 years old.

Lady Day was unquestionably her father’s favorite singer. Because their home was always filled with recordings of her music, Helen and her family also became avid fans. When the news came that Billie Holiday would be singing at the Tivoli Gardens, Helene and her sister gave their father tickets to the concert for his birthday. Through a personal contact at the venue, not only did the family enjoy Miss Holiday’s musical performance, but they were invited backstage to meet the famous jazz singer. Holiday, and her surly husband, were invited back to the family’s house for a delicious, home-cooked meal and some welcome medical advice. It was the beginning of a long relationship that continued, even after Miss Holiday’s death five years later.

Through Helene’s personal recollections, the audience learns  about her loving, far-reaching relationship with her late husband, Lars. Although the man valiantly fought stomach cancer, he passed away three weeks ago; but Helene has decided to go ahead and throw him a posthumous family and friend-filled celebration, on the anniversary of his 80th birthday. As the play opens, all the guests have left and Helene begins cleaning up, while reminiscing about who attended the party and why she ultimately decided to honor Lars after his death. She segues into stories about her life in Denmark, her courtship and marriage to Lars, the loss of her mother and father and her immigration to America. Helene’s stories are intermingled with her love for the songs of Billie Holiday, in particular, “God Bless the Child,” “Strange Fruit” and, the song that Lars wooed her with, “Them There Eyes.”

Chay Lew’s production of Dael Orlandersmith’s new work is compassionately directed. The play’s comprised of a series of recollections by a strong woman, a parallel to another strong woman from the music world. Helene is beautifully played by Linda Gehringer. She portrays a survivor who’s now alone with her memories. Her empty house, beautifully designed in minute detail by Andrew Boyce, and nostalgically lit by Lee Fiskness, is filled with the music of Billie Holiday, in a fine sound design by Mikhail Fiksel. The play is haunted by the ghosts of so many friends and members of her family, but it’s Helene’s determination to never forget her past and live in the present, that forms the message for all of us.

Recommended

 

Reviewed by Colin Douglas

 

Presented October 19-November 18 by the Goodman Theatre,170 N. Dearborn, Chicago.

Tickets are available in person at the box office, by calling 312-443-3800 or by going to www.GoodmanTheatre.org/LadyinDenmark.

Additional information about this and other area productions can be found by visiting www.theatreinchicago.com.