Gary Waldman & Jamison Troutman presented ME & JEZEBEL, a play by Elizabeth Fuller at the Wilton Playhouse, Fort Lauderdale, FL (2000) ... the following is a review published in The Palm Beach Post:
Wednesday, May 24, 2000
Man, does unsafe Bette pay off
By Hap Erstein
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
FORT LAUDERDALE—Who hasn’t wanted to meet a favorite movie idol or—indulging our fantasies further—have him or her stay over as a house guest?
Well, be careful what you wish for. It happened to Elizabeth Fuller, whose life, family and Westport, Conn. Home were disrupted by the arrival and open-ended stay of Bette Davis in the Spring of 1985. The experience—two parts joy and one part ordeal—spawned a book and then a play called Me & Jezebel, now at the Wilton Playhouse. The script is slight, but it becomes a campy romp because of the inspired casting of female impersonator Jim Bailey as the indomitable Davis.
Bailey uncannily captures the distinctive vocal and visual essences of the two-time Oscar winner, as well as the slyly larger-than-life version of her celebrity-has-its-privileges personality. The play, like Davis herself, overstays its welcome, but Bailey is so committed to the character and so compelling in his arm-flailing, chain-smoking caricature that he lessens the evening’s shortcomings.
Winsome Kim Cozort is the other half of the cast, playing perky housewife-author Fuller. She narrates and slips into a handful of supporting roles, telling how a dinner invitation to a neighbor turned into a meal with Davis. It is followed the next day by the star’s move into the Fullers’ guest room “for a night, possibly two,” ostensibly because of a hotel worker’s strike in New York.
Fuller is giddy with the prospect of such proximity to stardom, even if she gets a little more Baby Jane Hudson than she bargained for. Whether racking up long-distance calls to Europe or turning cups of coffee into ashtrays, Davis is an imperious handful on the home front. In public, she is always on her best behavior, taking Fuller to lunch in a chic café or holding court in the unfamiliar territory of McDonald’s.
Despite the good times, the daily catering to Davis’ whims soon become exhausting. Fuller’s husband threatens to move out if Davis won’t, and their 4-year-old son starts picking up new swear words and celebrity attitude from the house guest. Fuller’s scene-setting monologues begin with the day number of the Davis residency as if it were a hostage situation.
Ultimately, Me & Jezebel has a soft center, as the Fuller character remains star-struck throughout the month of Davis’ stay, concluding with misty-eyed wonderment that getting to know her idol has brought her closer to her dead grandmother.
Fortunately, Bailey often cuts through the play’s saccharine quality, booming out vintage Davis put-downs of Joan Crawford, intoning classic movie lines (“Fasten your seat belts—it’s going to be a bumpy night.”) our simply pulling audience focus with a withering facial expression.
Davis could be played by a woman, I suppose, but the results would not be nearly as much fun.
And probably not as convincing.
“Me & Jezebel,” a play by Elizabeth Fuller
Gary Waldman, Jamison Troutman, Kathi & Alan Glist and Jay H. Harris, producers,
Directed by Gary Waldman & Mark Graham
Set by Barry Axtel, Lighting by Jason Gould, Sound by John Wade
At the Wilton Playhouse through July 9th
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