Kandis Chappell stars in Eleanor now onstage at the Laguna Playhouse
By MARRIE STONE
“Person after person has said to me in these last few days that this new world we face terrifies them. I can understand how that feeling would arise unless one believes that men are capable of greatness beyond their past achievements…The time now calls for mankind as a whole to rise to great heights. We must have faith or we die.”
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Eleanor Roosevelt wrote these words on August 10, 1945, in her nationally syndicated newspaper column, “My Day.” Four days earlier, a uranium bomb had detonated over Hiroshima, razing and burning roughly 70% of all buildings and causing an estimated 140,000 deaths by the end of that year. Cancer and chronic disease would haunt its survivors.
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Photos by Jason Niedle/Tethos
Kandis Chappell is Eleanor Roosevelt in “Eleanor” now playing at the Laguna Playhouse through February 2
It’s been said that plays exist in three time periods – the period they’re set, the period they’re written and the period they’re performed. Playwright Mark St. Germain wrote Eleanor in 2020, during the height of COVID. Beginning after Roosevelt’s death and flashing across her lifespan (1884 – 1962), Eleanor might feel just as resonant in our current political climate as it did during her lifetime. It might even feel more resonant this month than it did last, before wildfires claimed large swaths of land across Los Angeles.
Directed by David Ellenstein, this one-woman show stars Kandis Chappell as Eleanor Roosevelt. The duo previously performed the show on the North Coast Repertory stage in 2023, where the San Diego Union-Tribune called it “a thoughtful, insightful and well-cast look at the former first lady.”
Chappell is a natural for the role. As a young girl in the 1950s, she was putting on shows in her San Diego garage. Her parents weren’t theater people, but once she discovered the stage in elementary school, she never looked back.
“My whole life has been in the theater. The importance of it can hardly be overstated,” Chappell said. “Those of us who are completely hooked on it, it’s in our blood. You’re born with it. Some people are just born with it.”
Since childhood, Chappell has made San Diego’s Old Globe Theatre her second home. She’s an associate artist there and has appeared in more than 30 productions. She also regularly appears on the South Coast Repertory stage in Costa Mesa and the North Coast Repertory stage in Solana Beach. On Broadway, Chappell has played lead roles in Neil Simon’s Rumors and Getting Away with Murder by Stephen Sondheim and George Furth. She is a four-time recipient of the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award.
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Kandis Chappell has made a life onstage since childhood, starring regularly in regional theaters across Southern California and on Broadway
But solo shows present special challenges, and Eleanor marks Chappell’s first one, which she describes as “daunting” and “thrilling” all at once.
“I play 15 people. Some of them are just one line or two, but some (characters) have scenes,” Chappell said. “This takes you through Eleanor’s whole life, starting when she’s already dead, and flashing back and forth in time.”
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The play’s conceit is that Eleanor’s spirit can’t rest until she decides if her life was worth it, and if she made the right choices.
For those unfamiliar with the contours of Eleanor Roosevelt’s life, it’s more interesting and complicated than you might think. She endured a privileged but unhappy childhood, losing both her parents and one brother before age 10. Her father, an alcoholic confined to a sanitarium, died two years after Eleanor’s mother and brother succumbed to diphtheria. He jumped from a window during a fit of delirium tremens, surviving the fall but dying from a seizure.
The longest serving first lady (1933 – 1945), Eleanor remained married to Franklin D. Roosevelt (who was also her fifth cousin) until his death in 1945. But the two shared a rocky union, both maintaining significant relationships outside their marriage (Eleanor with AP journalist Lorena Hickok). After her husband’s death, she continued her humanitarian and human rights efforts.
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“Eleanor” delves deep in the private and public life of Eleanor Roosevelt and her relationship with FDR
Despite her difficulties, Eleanor enjoyed a reputation of being one of the warmest figures in history. “What I love about this play is that it brings out all her flaws, the difficulties she had to overcome, the things she may have been petty about or not as forthright about. And, despite all that, she made the choice to overcome that stuff and be an agent for good in the world,” Ellenstein said.
Eleanor was, of course, a staunch Democrat. But Republicans liked her too, Ellenstein said. They understood the good she did and respected her humanist view of the world.
St. Germain excels with historical biographies, having done plays about Sigmund Freud, Dr. Ruth Westheimer, C.P. Ellis (a KKK leader) and Ann Atwater (a Black civil rights organizer). Unlike many conventional biopics, St. Germain digs under the hood to unearth the vulnerable people behind their exceptional stories. Eleanor is no exception.
For those lucky enough to have already purchased seats for the sold-out matinee show on Saturday, Jan. 25, there will be a talkback discussion with Mary Roosevelt, Eleanor Roosevelt’s daughter-in-law. Mary was married to the Roosevelts’ son, James, who passed away in 1991. Guests are invited to share a cup of tea as they listen to Mary’s personal insights and stories. Eleanor believed tea offered the perfect accompaniment for tackling the tough questions of life. As she famously said, “A woman is like a tea bag – you never know how strong she is until she gets in hot water.”
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Eleanor Roosevelt’s life and work will be further explored in a talkback discussion on January 25 with her daughter-in-law, Mary Roosevelt
Eleanor runs through Sunday, Feb. 2. Tickets range from $51-$100. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit their website by clicking here.
Laguna Playhouse is located at 606 Laguna Canyon Road, Laguna Beach.
