Friends of the Library Press Release
Photo courtesy of Stephan Leimberg
unseenimages.com
Submitted by Catherine Henry
Over the last three years, acclaimed actress Sinda Nichols has enthralled audiences in the U.S. and Ireland with her stunning portrayal of poet Emily Dickinson in the one-woman show, “The Belle of Amherst,” directed by Ron Kurtz. Now, the talented pair is collaborating on another play about a prominent “lady of letters” — advice columnist Ann Landers — to premiere locally at the Woman’s Club of Fernandina Beach on January 25.
“The Lady with All the Answers,” by former “CSI” scriptwriter David Rambo, is drawn from the life and letters of Ann Landers with the cooperation of her daughter, Margo Howard. The play is a witty exploration of the wise, funny, no-nonsense Esther “Eppie” Lederer, who, for nearly half a century, wrote the hugely popular Ann Landers advice column.
Artwork by Robert Neubecker.
The action takes place in Lederer’s Gold Coast apartment in Chicago on a night in June 1975. There, she regales us with anecdotes about her twin sister and fellow advice columnist, Pauline “Popo” Lederer, aka Abigail Van Buren (“Dear Abby”); Eppie’s daughter, Margo, then married to the actor, Ken Howard; and her husband, Jules Lederer, co-founder of Budget Rent A Car. She also reads excerpts from her favorite letters, ranging from the hilarious (marital kink, vacuuming in the nude and how to hang a toilet paper roll) to the heartbreaking (struggles with homosexuality, addiction and the aftermath of an auto accident). Gradually we learn that Eppie is struggling with heartbreak of her own and with how/whether to reveal it in her column.
The play’s local premiere on January 25 is the centerpiece of an exclusive benefit hosted by the Friends of the Library to raise funds for the expansion and renovation of the Fernandina Beach Library, the main branch of the Nassau County Library System. It’s a labor of love for Nichols and Kurtz, who are both strong library advocates. He is a former member of the Friends board, and she has donated a portion of the proceeds from “Belle” to the Fernandina Beach Library and other local libraries in communities where she has performed.
Asked why she thought a play about Ann Landers was an appropriate library fund-raiser, Nichols responded, “At one point in the play, Eppie says, ‘Listen, I’m not an expert on any subject. But I can get to the experts.’ That sounds like the quintessential librarian to me. You can’t get much more appropriate than that!”
The library fund-raiser will begin at 6 p.m. with both a silent auction featuring fabulous trips, artwork, one-of-a-kind jewelry, real estate and autographed books and a reception featuring wine and heavy hors d’oeuvres. The performance will begin at 7 p.m.
A limited number of tickets are still available at $75 (theater seating) and $100 (café table seating, four seats per table). Visit www.fernandinafol.org (click on the DONATE NOW! button), call 904-321-6529, or e-mail [email protected]. Tickets are also available at the Fernandina Beach Library, 25 N. Fourth St., on Mondays from 10 a.m. to noon and Wednesdays from 3 to 5 p.m.
January 7, 2014