Video: Elizabeth McGovern Previews AVA: THE SECRET CONVERSATIONS on LIVE WITH KELLY AND MARK
The production begins performances July 30, 2025, and will open August 7, 2025 at NY City Center, Stage I.
By: Josh Sharpe Jul. 24, 2025
Elizabeth McGovern, star of the stage and screen, is bringing her play AVA: The Secret Conversations to the New York stage this month following previous runs in London and Los Angeles. The play, in which she stars and also wrote, brings to life conversations between Hollywood icon Ava Gardner and biographer Peter Evans, based on a book published by the late author.
"The relationship that is depicted in this book is so engaging [between] a movie star and a biographer and what goes on in that interaction where they're really getting to know each other quite intimately,' said McGovern on a recent visit to Live with Kelly and Mark."I thought, what a great way to tell a fantastic story of a life is watching these two try to put the story together... There's this concurant story. You're finding out about her life, but you're also watching this relationship play out."
McGovern went on to reveal that she will often encounter audience members who knew Gardner personally and have a story to share about the late actress. "She just had the most fantastic character. She really made an impression on so many people."
AVA: The Secret Conversations begins performances July 30, 2025, and will open August 7, 2025 at NY City Center, Stage I. The production, directed by Tony Award nominee Moritz von Stuelpnagel and produced by Karl Sydow, will also feature Aaron Costa Ganis.
At the height of the Golden Age of Cinema, starlet Ava Gardner sat for a series of interviews with writer Peter Evans for him to glean the juicy details about her life story, her marriages to Mickey Rooney, Artie Shaw, and Frank Sinatra, and her turbulent relationship to Howard Hughes. Initially barred from publication, Evans’ account of a bygone era was published twenty-five years later with permission from Gardner’s estate and is now reimagined on stage.
With AVA: The Secret Conversations, McGovern returns to the NY stage for the first time since 2017. Best known for her role as Lady Cora in the “Downton Abbey” series and films, McGovern will be seen this fall on screen in the sequel, Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale. She also stars in Anne Rice’s “The Talamasca” on AMC this fall.
Scenic design is by David Meyer, costume design is by Toni-Leslie James, lighting design is by Amith Chandrashaker, sound design is by Cricket S. Myers, projection design is by Alex Basco Koch, and wig design is by Matthew Armentrout. Production Stage Manager is Avery Trunko. General management is by Pemberley Productions.
