Meet Tallulah Bankhead In Looped
Valerie Harper stars in "Looped" at the Lincoln Theatre
There are two stars in Arena Stage’s new production, Looped. Audiences might be drawn to the show for the familiar name above the marquee, TV actress Valerie Harper. But the play's real star is her character, film actress Tallulah Bankhead, a woman notorious for unapologetic appetites and ego. Both women are captivating, and it’s hard to tell where one ends and the other begins.
Looped is based on a legendary recording session in which eight hours were spent dubbing a single movie line. By 1965, the year in which the play is set, Bankhead’s professional reputation was dismal and her health worse. She arrives drunk at the sound stage and proceeds to get drunker, downing pills and snorting cocaine while her temporarily assigned wrangler, a film editor who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, tries to coax her to work.
The seasoned Harper renders Tallulah without a hint of bodily self-consciousness. She rocks and rolls as though balancing on a particularly volatile waterbed, throwing her limbs and head into whatever dramatic anecdote she’s relating. The danger here is that the performance could descend into camp, but Harper manages to be simultaneously outrageous and convincing without seeming too mannered.
Jay Goede plays Danny Miller, the editor desperate to get the job done, with intense yet restrained frustration, clenching his jaw and keeping his eyes off his flamboyant companion as much as possible. His presence is that of the consummate straight man until a point in the second act when his anger abruptly gives way to despair. This moment is so awkward that even Tallulah comments. (“That’s enough now,” she says sternly, disconcerted, in spite her having encouraged him to let down his guard.) The play is most enjoyable when the leads are bouncing off one another with witty retorts, but the wounds behind Tallulah’s vulgar façade and Danny’s stiff upper lip give the story depth.
Matthew Lombardo’s biting script is a barrage of one-liners and punch lines, many of which actually were the original words of Tallulah Bankhead (“Cocaine isn’t habit-forming. I should know; I’ve been using it for years.”). Those that aren't still manage to be pitch-perfect imitations: "I'm bisexual: Buy me something and I'll be sexual," Bankhead quips.
Looped is at the Lincoln Theatre through June 28. Tickets are available online.