Mr. Will & Dutch, entertaining new play, explores the unconventional life of actress Tallulah Bankhead

Posted by Mary McCord, June 16, 2015
Tallulah Bankhead Tribute, presented by Walker County Arts Alliance, June 11-14,
Jasper, AL, her birthplace
New play, Mr. Will & Dutch, shown at Rowland Auditorium, Bevill State Community College

    One of the highlights of the Tallulah Bankhead Tribute was the premiere of a new, insightful and thoroughly entertaining play based on her life story: Mr. Will & Dutch, Alabama’s Legendary Bankheads. Dutch was the nickname that Tallulah’s father, William Bankhead, affectionately called her.
    The play begins before she was even born in 1902 and follows her from childhood into adulthood where her behavior ranged from unconventional to flamboyant. It covers her becoming a stage and screen actress ending with her death in 1968.
     Directed by Dr. Alan Litsey, chairman of the Theatre Department at Birmingham-Southern College, the play captures your attention and holds it. The accomplished cast of actors breathed life into the characters they played and the story moved onward flawlessly.
     It was written by Jeanmarie Collins and the form she chose to tell the story of Tallulah’s life is evidence of her skill as a playwright. The play opens with a scene just after Tallulah’s death with a reporter interviewing Tallulah’s older sister, Eugenia. Angel Baker, who portrayed the reporter, and Susan Johnson Lawrence, the sister, were the catalysts for the play’s fast progression. Their interview continued to take place throughout the play. This technique allowed a glimpse into the sisters’ rivalry and provided a prelude to the scenes that revealed the Bankhead family’s personalities, relationships, history and mores of the times. It was packed with situations that challenged the actors to explore a wide range of emotions from deepest grief and depression to anger with large doses of humor to provide relief from the troubling parts of the play.
     Jessica Clark brilliantly played Tallulah as both a young girl and adult. She was amazingly believable as a rambunctious child, a feat that few adult actresses could pull off. Clark’s ability to transform from a child to teenager to adult was accomplished through wardrobe, hairstyle and makeup changes. But it was her solid acting skills that really took her through Tallulah’s childhood shenanigans to the unrestrained adult Tallulah. The theatre resonated with the throaty, familiar voice of Tallulah Bankhead and Clark had the mannerisms down pat, also.
     John McGinnis, who played William Bankhead, “Mr. Will”, acted convincingly through the emotionally demanding role of a man so tortured by his beloved wife’s death that he turns to alcohol and ceases to function in life, neglecting his young daughters. When he finally recovers, he becomes a doting father who has a loving relationship with Tallulah, but is often perplexed with how to parent the problem child.
     Ron Dauphinee portrayed Captain John Hollis Bankhead, Tallulah’s grandfather, a U.S. Senator, with all the flair of a retired officer and politician. Sandra Taylor gave an amusing performance as the stern grandmother who fervently voiced her opinion as to the proper way a young girl should behave.
    During the play, a slide show displayed photos of Tallulah and events from her life on large screens set up on each side of the stage. The photos slowly changed to reflect the story as it unfolded. The slideshow, along with the actors’ wonderful interpretations and the on-going interview, made it seem as if you were in an old-fashioned cyclorama. You had a 360° view into the life and mystique of the talented, charismatic Tallulah Bankhead.
     Mike Putman, producer, would like for the Tallulah Bankhead Tribute to become an annual event with the play as a featured attraction.