Interview: Dale Hodges returns as 'Mrs. Mannerly'

Good manners, kindness, and a touch of theatrical magic take center stage in Jeffrey Hatcher’s Mrs. Mannerly. Fourteen years after first stepping into the Manners School classroom, Dale Hodges and Ray McAnally are reuniting to reprise their roles in Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati's latest production.  When asked what inspired her to revisit the beloved comedy, Dale Hodges reflected on returning to the stage, the joy of working with McAnally under Producing Artistic Director Lynn Meyers, and why Mrs. Mannerly's lessons in courtesy feel timelier than ever:

“When Producing Artistic Director Lynn Meyers got in touch with me a while back with the idea of revisiting Jeffrey Hatcher's play Mrs. Mannerly, which I had first performed with Ray McAnally 14 years ago, the question I asked myself was whether I, all these years later, had enough energy to do justice once again to a role I dearly loved. As Mrs. Mannerly herself says, 'It is a great risk we take when we pretend to know things we do not...'  But the offer of being back on the Ensemble stage with Ray and his delightful classroom of kids was just too good to refuse, so I decided to take that risk—and here we are! I hope Mrs. Mannerly herself would approve!

My memories from our first production were correct: once again we are finding that the script is both physically demanding and verbally funny. It requires lots of character shifts for Ray and prop-carrying for me, but being back in the Manners School hasn't changed my perspective on the boss herself. I see Mrs. Mannerly in the same way as I did before, and I have great affection for her. She's a survivor in an unforgiving world and firmly believes that what she is trying to teach her young students will help them survive too.

As a woman alone, her personal life may be something of a mystery, but I continue to respect her privacy and don't ask too many questions. Maybe that is what audiences like about her too. She tries to be kind and believes in the wisdom of Emily Post: 'Good manners reflect something from inside, a sense of consideration for others and respect for oneself.'  If she were alive today, I'm sure such examples of kindness and good manners would be hard to find, so maybe it's time to resurrect the idea of a Manners School. But until then, Lynn, Ray, and I, along with the remarkable team at Ensemble, will try to offer some good examples and hopefully send our audiences home smiling!”