BWW Reviews: THE LADY WITH ALL THE ANSWERS at ACT

ACT is presenting an intimate look at one of America's favorite columnists, Ann Landers with the one woman show, "The Lady With All the Answers".  Charming, funny and touching all at the same time, the show manages to give an inside peek at Ms. Landers' work and attitudes while never becoming preachy.

Set in 1975, the show joins Ms. Landers as she sorts old letters for a book, answers new letters and tries to get through writing a pivotal column dealing with a problem in her own life.  During that time she shares with us, her readers, examples of the types of letters she has received over the years.  She talks about everything from marriage to manners to war to sex to the correct way to hang your toilet paper roll.  But this is not just a "best of" kind of show.  The letters and columns are peppered with her own insight and form a rich tapestry of the life of this wonderful lady and by the end of the evening you feel you understand her better.  For those that were her readers during her 47 year reign, you can peek inside the inner workings of your favorite advice columnist.  And for those that weren't maybe because she was a bit before our time, we get to see into the life of an American pop icon.

And the daunting task of performing this icon is handled with seeming ease by Julie Briskman.  For those of you that were lucky enough to see ACT's stellar production of "The Women" a few years back, you'll recognize Briskman as the venomous Sylvia Fowler.  Performing a one woman show is not an easy thing.  You need someone who can capture an audience's attention by themselves for the entire time.  And anyone who has seen Briskman knows that she can handle it as she has stage presence for days.  She performs this icon with heart and humor but never makes her into a caricature.  She manages to capture the truth of the lady and the many situations throughout the evening and is a joy to watch.  I, for one, never found myself wanting for anyone else on that stage and the two hour run time of the show simply flew by.  Briskman is truly one of the great character actresses and I'm glad she keeps coming back to perform for us.

Round a stellar performance out with wonderful direction from Valerie Curtis-Newton and you cannot help but be moved by this lovely show.  Yes I actually found myself reaching for my tissues during the show ... a couple of times.  If you're looking for a great night out, the best advice I can give is to go see "The Lady With All the Answers".

"The Lady With All the Answers" performs at Seattle's ACT through October 31^st.  For tickets or information contact the ACT box office at 206-292-7676 or visit them online at www.acttheatre.org.

Photo Credit: Chris Bennion

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