When Linda J. Wilczynski completed her May 2017 Towle Theater run in the title role of the one-woman play “Vivien Leigh: The Last Press Conference” chronicling the iconic actress who played Scarlett O’Hara in “Gone with the Wind,” she made an announcement that it would be her last role.
“I told everyone there’s just no way to top a show run when you get to step into a role such as playing Vivien Leigh,” Wilczynski said.
“Also, as you get older, it’s always more of a challenge, and I thought that show was the perfect last bow for me. In fact, I just had my birthday this October, and I turned 55 this month.”
Wilczynski, who lives in Whiting, said however, “an impossibly grand opportunity,” pitched from Jeff Casey, managing director at Towle Theater in Hammond, recently lured her to accept not just one solo starring role, but two, for the live performance venue’s 2023 milestone 20th anniversary season.
Wilczynski was drawn to both the role of Linda Porter, wife of famed Hoosier composer Cole Porter, for the one-woman play “Love, Linda” Feb. 24-March 5, 2023, launching the Towle’s new season, and also “Sidekicked,” which closes the Towle 2023 season Sept. 8-17 and is a one-woman show about actress Vivian Vance, forever remembered for her television role as neighbor, and best pal, Ethel Mertz on “I Love Lucy.”
“The Towle creative team Jeff Casey and Kevin Bellamy told me about both of these shows and the roles enticing me, and responded by saying even if I would agree to come back for another Towle show, how could I possible pick between both these two great roles,” Wilczynski said.
“And their response was, ‘that’s why we’d like you do both shows.’ And how could I refuse that?”
Some of Wilczynski’s other productions at Towle include “Parade” playing Lucille Frank, “Tick, Tick, Boom!” as Susan and “Ordinary Days” playing Claire.
Casey, who will be directing Wilczynski in both of the 2023 productions, working alongside music and vocal director Valerie Webdell, describes the Towle Theatre 20th anniversary season as “landmark programming” for next year with “a female focus theme.”
“We love that we get to start the year with ‘Love, Linda’ in February because it’s really a valentine to Linda Porter, Cole Porter’s wife of 35 years,” Casey said.
The second show of the season is “Women in Jeopardy!” May 5-14, which Casey said is “one of the funniest comedies ever produced at Towle.”
For the summer show, Casey and Bellamy selected a programming contrast, “Murder Ballard,” which Casey describes as “a dark and ominous murder mystery,” before the season is capped by both humor and serious moments in “Sidekicked” in September detailing the personal and professional struggles of actress Vivian Vance.
Season tickets are now on sale for all four shows as our individual show tickets.
“I was already familiar with the story of the marriage of Cole and Linda Porter because of the 2004 feature film ‘De-Lovely’ about the couple,” Wilczynski said.
“But for many audiences, much of this will be new to them and surprising. Even though Cole Porter was gay, as is well-documented, his was still a true love for his wife Linda, and they had a partnership on every level.”
Casey said he is equally fascinated by the stage story and setting for “Sidekicked,” which is framed by the premise that actress Vivian Vance is in her dressing room preparing for the filming of the final episode of iconic CBS comedy sitcom series “I Love Lucy.”
“The audience gets to overhear what is going through the mind of Vivian as she wonders what is next for her in her career, and ponders if she forever be typecast and associated with this role as Ethel Mertz,” Casey said.
Wilczynski said Vance was much more layered and complex than the next-door neighbor character she portrayed so comically convincingly on the small screen.
“Vivian had many struggles in her life, besides her marriages, and a career that did not just start with ‘I Love Lucy,’ since she worked in movies for many years before becoming what was eventually described as ‘an overnight success’ to become a household name,” Wilczynski said.
“And she worked very hard for balance in her life. This included her new chapter after the end of ‘I Love Lucy,’ which began meetings with a therapist for sessions every day of her life, for the rest of her life, to help maintain the balance she needed.”
Towle Theater 20th Anniversary 2023 Season
When: Feb.-Sept. 2023
Where: Towle Theater, 5205 Hohman Ave., Hammond
Cost: $65 for season tickets for returning subscribers and $75 for season tickets for new subscribers for all four shows; $24 for individual show tickets in 2023
Information: 219-937-8780; towletheater.org
Philip Potempa s a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
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