First Lady Suite

Produced to wide acclaim by the New York Shakespeare Festival’s Joseph Papp Public Theatre, these four chamber pieces, ranging from riotously funny to hauntingly lyrical, focus on celebrated first ladies and the people surrounding them. Each one-act can be licensed separately.

The first piece, the staccato, yet hauntingly lyrical OVER TEXAS, takes place aboard Air Force One on November 22, 1963. Mary Gallagher, the First Lady’s personal secretary, and Evelyn Lincoln, personal secretary to the President, are trying to relax as they fly into Dallas. Mary, exhausted by the lifestyle, is coaxed into napping by the cool, collected, Evelyn. Mary’s dreams become portentous nightmares as they are haunted by a ghostly Jackie and an eerie Lady Bird.

The brassy, bouncy WHERE’S MAMIE? Takes place in Ike and Mamie’s bedroom at the White House, yet quickly turns into a time-travel fantasy as Mamie, melancholic and alone on her birthday, is paid a visit by Marian Anderson. Marian whisks Mamie off to Algiers to confront Ike about his affair with his driver, Kay Summersby, and warn him of the racial strife he’ll face later in life as President.

The comical OLIO presents Margaret Truman at a recital trying her best to sing as she’s constantly, hilariously, being upstaged by First Lady Bess.

The final piece of the Suite, the melodic ELEANOR SLEEPS HERE, is a heart rending examination of the relationship between Eleanor Roosevelt and Lorena Hickok as they’re being flown over Washington by Amelia Earhart.