Austin On Stage - Your Online Source for Austin's Performing Arts

Tea for Three

March 9th through 14th

Rollins Theatre at The Long Center

Three former First Ladies will be sharing secrets in the one-woman show, Lady Bird, Pat & Betty: Tea for Three. Starring Emmy Award-winning actress Elaine Bromka, the production plays the Rollins Studio Theatre at The Long Center from March 9th through 14th.

"With all our political tendencies and reverence for Lady Bird Johnson in this city, Tea for Three is a fantastic play for Austinites," said Cliff Redd, Executive Director for The Long Center." "Ms. Bromka's talent provides a rare chance to see such a touching, funny, and intimate portrait of these three fine first ladies."

Written by Eric H. Weinberger with Bromka, the play offers an intimate re-imagining of three women who suddenly found themselves celebrities. The behind-the-scenes look at Lady Bird Johnson, Pat Nixon, and Betty Ford reveals the personal cost of what Mrs. Nixon called the "hardest unpaid job in the world."

The inspiration for Tea for Three came after Bromka starred opposite Rich Little in The Presidents, which she performed across the country and on PBS. Called upon to impersonate eight of the most recent First Ladies, she spent months pouring through videotapes of the women - studying nuances of their body language and speech patterns to explore psychologically why they moved and spoke as they did.

"These were women of intelligence and grit who suddenly found themselves in a fishbowl," Bromka said. "I realized I wanted to tell the story from their point of view."

"And I wanted to explode myths," she elaborated. "Pat was called 'Plastic Pat' in the press, because she was always smiling. Look more closely at her eyes, though, and there's nothing plastic about her. You see the eyes of a private, watchful survivor."

Bromka possesses 30 years of experience in film, television, Broadway, and off-Broadway. She appeared as the mom in Uncle Buck with John Candy, as "Stella" on "Days of our Lives," and on the television shows "E.R.," "The Sopranos," and "Law and Order."

Her collaborator - Drama Desk and Lucille Lortel Award nominee Weinberger - authored several off-Broadway plays, including Wanda's World and Class Mothers '68. He and Bromka zeroed in on the three women, linking their stories by revealing each one at the threshold moment of the end of her time in the White House.

Currently touring the country and directed by Byam Stevens, Lady Bird, Pat & Better: Tea for Three plays the Rollins Theatre at The Long Center from March 9th through 14th at 8 p.m. Tickets are $19 to $54.

The Long Center is located at 701 Riverside Drive, on the corner of Riverside and South 1st Street. For tickets and more information, call (512) 474-LONG (5664) or visit www.TheLongCenter.org.




Tea for Three March 9th through 14th Rollins Theatre at The Long Center Three former First Ladies will be sharing secrets in the one-woman show, Lady Bird, Pat & Betty: Tea for Three. Starring Emmy Award-winning actress Elaine Bromka, the production plays the Rollins Studio Theatre at The Long Center from March 9th through 14th. "With all our political tendencies and reverence for Lady Bird Johnson in this city, Tea for Three is a fantastic play for Austinites," said Cliff Redd, Executive Director for The Long Center." "Ms. Bromka's talent provides a rare chance to see such a touching, funny, and intimate portrait of these three fine first ladies." Written by Eric H. Weinberger with Bromka, the play offers an intimate re-imagining of three women who suddenly found themselves celebrities. The behind-the-scenes look at Lady Bird Johnson, Pat Nixon, and Betty Ford reveals the personal cost of what Mrs. Nixon called the "hardest unpaid job in the world." The inspiration for Tea for Three came after Bromka starred opposite Rich Little in The Presidents, which she performed across the country and on PBS. Called upon to impersonate eight of the most recent First Ladies, she spent months pouring through videotapes of the women - studying nuances of their body language and speech patterns to explore psychologically why they moved and spoke as they did. "These were women of intelligence and grit who suddenly found themselves in a fishbowl," Bromka said. "I realized I wanted to tell the story from their point of view." "And I wanted to explode myths," she elaborated. "Pat was called 'Plastic Pat' in the press, because she was always smiling. Look more closely at her eyes, though, and there's nothing plastic about her. You see the eyes of a private, watchful survivor." Bromka possesses 30 years of experience in film, television, Broadway, and off-Broadway. She appeared as the mom in Uncle Buck with John Candy, as "Stella" on "Days of our Lives," and on the television shows "E.R.," "The Sopranos," and "Law and Order." Her collaborator - Drama Desk and Lucille Lortel Award nominee Weinberger - authored several off-Broadway plays, including Wanda's World and Class Mothers '68. He and Bromka zeroed in on the three women, linking their stories by revealing each one at the threshold moment of the end of her time in the White House. Currently touring the country and directed by Byam Stevens, Lady Bird, Pat & Better: Tea for Three plays the Rollins Theatre at The Long Center from March 9th through 14th at 8 p.m. Tickets are $19 to $54. The Long Center is located at 701 Riverside Drive, on the corner of Riverside and South 1st Street. For tickets and more information, call (512) 474-LONG (5664) or visit www.TheLongCenter.org.




		(Photo by Ron Marotta)

		Buy Tickets Visit Official Website Get Map to the Theatre


	© Copyright 2009 AustinOnStage.com All rights reserved