“Ava: The Secret Conversations”.

*** Tonight, we were witnesses to a play about a film star that I found quite a sex symbol. Her name , Ava Gardner. Since she passed away 35 years ago at age 68, many young people will not be drawn to this powerful story about a woman who made many a young man fall in love. Ava was born to a farming family, but at the age of 17 while visiting New York, she is spotted, her photo taken, and then her new life begins.

What are the secret conversations that are somewhat detailed in this 90 minutes ( no intermission) of theater? The play is about a series of interviews with writer Peter Evans (Aaron Costa Ganis), who’s mission is to gather all the juicy stories from her life. Her loves and marriages: Mickey Rooney, Artie Shaw and of course Frank Sinatra. There is the relationship with Howard Hughes and the turmoil it created. Ava ( played by Elizabeth McGovern, who I must confess, I love in the role) is evidently someone that McGovern truly wanted to get inside ( she wrote the play based on the actual book by Peter Evans and Gardner). The book was stopped prior to publishing and gathered dust for a quarter century until Gardner’s estate gave them permission to go forward, and thus permission was also granted to take this book to the next level, which is this play.

Ava Gardner was the sex symbol of her day. We all know young men who worshipped screen stars in their youth: Marilyn Monroe, Betty Grable, Leslie Caron,  Bridgett Bardot and so many others, but in my day, it was Ava Gardner. Many of the audience members at tonight’s opening were far to young to know much about this remarkable, and gorgeous woman, so I suggest they use the infamous “Google” before they go watch this story unfold.

Here are some films that you can probably watch on cable:

“On The Beach”, “The Night Of The Iguana”, “East Side West Side”, ” Whistle Stop”, “The Bribe” and one of my favorites “One Touch Of Venus”. In every film one sees her beauty shine through and no matter what her character, that beauty is always there. Since I never saw her as an older woman, I looked at Ms. McGovern’s portrayal as one that was very credible. I found myself forgetting that this was a play, but rather that I was the “fly on the wall” watching and listening to these secrets of someone that I truly admired as an actress.

There is a third person in the play handled by Michael Bakkensen, who does off stage voices and comes on for the final scene. The play is directed by Moritz Von Stuelpnagel on a set designed by David Meyer so that it can be transformed from one room to another swiftly and without breaking the story. The sound ( Cricket S. Myers) and lighting ( Amith Chandrashaker) are perfect and the projections ( Alex Basko Koch) that show Ms Gardner behind Ms McGovern make a point, showing us the beauty she was and what aging has done to her. Toni-Leslie James’ costumes are wonderful and while no credit was mentioned in the program, I thought the props were well handled and added to the overall production.

As mentioned, this is not a play for everyone with some language and the story about Ava and her love affairs, but I suggest, if you want to learn more, to do so. See a few of her films and you will find a greater appreciation for her story..this story!

“Ava:The Secret Conversations” will continue thru October 12th with performances as follows:

The Studebaker theater is located at  410 S, Michigan Avenue ( The Fine Arts Building)

Tickets range from $40 with student tix at $30

Call 312-753-3210 ext 102

or visit www.fineartsbuilding.com

To see what others are saying, visit www.theatreinchicago.com, go to Review Round-Up and click at “Ava: The Secret Conversations”.