A storied American woman’s life portrayed by an esteemed American woman stage actor. This is the satisfying pleasure of the single character, 85-minute, “Eleanor” at Laguna Playhouse.
The “Eleanor” of the title is Eleanor Roosevelt, the longest serving First Lady in U.S. history. Her impactful 20th century life and times are assayed by regional theater mainstay Kandis Chappell, a vaunted, oft-seen fixture on Orange County and San Diego stages (as well as a few Broadway houses) for the past four decades plus.
Kandis Chappell stars as Eleanor Roosevelt in “Eleanor,” playing through Feb. 2 at Laguna Playhouse in Laguna Beach. (Photo by Jason Niedle, TETHOS)
Kandis Chappell stars as Eleanor Roosevelt in “Eleanor,” playing through Feb. 2 at Laguna Playhouse in Laguna Beach. (Photo by Jason Niedle, TETHOS)
Kandis Chappell stars as Eleanor Roosevelt in “Eleanor” by Mark St. Germain, directed by David Ellenstein and playing through Feb. 2 at the Laguna Playhouse in Laguna Beach. (Photo by Jason Niedle, TETHOS)
Kandis Chappell stars as Eleanor Roosevelt in “Eleanor,” playing through Feb. 2 at Laguna Playhouse in Laguna Beach. (Photo by Jason Niedle, TETHOS)
Kandis Chappell stars as Eleanor Roosevelt in “Eleanor,” playing through Feb. 2 at Laguna Playhouse in Laguna Beach. (Photo by Jason Niedle, TETHOS)
Kandis Chappell stars as Eleanor Roosevelt in “Eleanor,” playing through Feb. 2 at Laguna Playhouse in Laguna Beach. (Photo by Jason Niedle, TETHOS)
Show Caption1 of 6Kandis Chappell stars as Eleanor Roosevelt in “Eleanor,” playing through Feb. 2 at Laguna Playhouse in Laguna Beach. (Photo by Jason Niedle, TETHOS)
ExpandSurprisingly, this is Chappell’s first ever appearance at Laguna Playhouse. Not surprisingly, this bioplay goes well in her hands. Having previously appeared in Mark St. Germain’s play in 2023 at North Coast Rep in Solana Beach, Chappell’s is a persuasive and polished portrayal.
Her Eleanor speaks to us from beyond the grave. The setting where she stands, walks about and sits on a stone bench is a cemetery. Not where is Eleanor buried, but a Washington D.C. site she often visited for quiet reflection during her husband Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s 4,442 days as president.
The show blends strength, warmth and humor, much like Eleanor herself.
The narrative skims across touchpoints of Eleanor’s Roosevelt’s privileged existence, revealing how at an early age she developed and then practiced a life of a social conscience, notably unique for people of her class and status in the period.
The play then focuses on how she supported her husband’s political rise as he struggled with polio.
Its deepest emotional dive touches occasionally on her lonely, detached marriage with FDR — and, briefly and tastefully, the emotional compensations from both sexes she found outside that union — but the play abruptly skimps on the iconic figure’s 17 years following the president’s death.
In addition to voicing FDR, Chappell toggles in and out of brief verbal exchanges with a total of 15 characters (the president speaks briefly, but significantly).
Chappell’s performance doesn’t trade on vocal mimicry, but she effectively conveys everyone from her boarding school influencer Madame Souvestre to FDR’s presidential successor, Harry S Truman.
Chappell accomplishes this through rising and receding vocal intonations, knowing facial expressions and physical gesture.
A notable example comes as she conjures to life Louis Howe. Who? A figure almost nobody alive seeing the play would have ever heard of was FDR’s earliest behind-the-scenes political fixer. (Eleanor’s description: “a gnomelike man, badly dressed and barely bathed.”)
Becoming Lowe in front of us, Chappell places hands on hips, protrudes her belly, and in a knowing, New York rasp, addresses the president’s wife with blunt, sage counsel: “(FDR’s) got the head for this game and you’ve got the heart. You can put yourself in anybody’s shoes and see the world like real people do. He needs you.”
The production here is ably directed by David Ellenstein, Laguna Playhouse’s artistic director. A key is the show’s pacing: up-tempo constancy as the subject matter shifts is a necessity in this production.
The show is subtle and successful in its mounting. There is a sculpture of a shrouded woman referred to as “Grief” and Stephen Gifford’s overall scenic design conveys a cloistered refuge.
Laguna’s stage is framed by lovely green leafing, quiet nature in spring — bathed by Matthew Novotny’s gentle lighting — and at the show’s finale, with colorings that evolve to brown.
The stage is backed by a large video screen. Sound and projections designer Ian Scot uses this to provide a source of visual energy framing Chappell’s performance.
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Chappell has also been well on display at different ages.
During the mid-1950s, on an elementary school stage during American Dental Week, she played a decayed tooth pulled out of someone’s mouth.
In “Eleanor,” Chappell at 77 continues as a source of pleasure.
From pain to pleasure — now, that’s actorly range.
‘Eleanor’
Rating: 3 ½ stars (from a possible 4)
Where: Laguna Playhouse, 606 Laguna Canyon Road, Laguna Beach
When: Through Feb. 2. 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Thursdays, 7:30 p.m., Fridays, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturdays, 1 and 5:30 p.m. Sundays. There will be no performance on Sunday, Feb. 2 at 5:30 p.m.
Tickets: $51-100
Information: 949-497-2787; lagunaplayhouse.com
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