WEST PLAINS, Mo. – The story of beloved advice columnist Ann Landers will come to life at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 21, when the Nebraska Theatre Caravan brings its production of “The Lady With All the Answers” to the theater stage at the West Plains Civic Center, 110 St. Louis St., in West Plains.
The performance by this national touring production is being sponsored by the University/Community Programs (U/CP) Department at Missouri State University-West Plains. Tickets are $8 in advance through the civic center box office and $10 at the door; university students will be admitted free with their BearPass ID.
“We are thrilled to bring the national tour of ‘The Lady With All the Answers’ to West Plains,” said U/CP Theater and Events Coordinator Emily Gibson said. “This is a unique experience for our stage, as we spend an evening with our gossipy, straightforward, validating longtime friend, Ann Landers.”
For decades millions of Americans sipped their morning coffee and began their day reading three simple words, “Dear Ann Landers.” Eppie Lederer, better known as advice columnist Ann Landers, answered countless letters from lovelorn teens, confused couples and a multitude of others in need of advice. No topic was off-limits, including nude housekeeping, the proper way to hang toilet paper, sibling rivalries, addiction, religion and wandering spouses. Landers regaled her readers with direct, insightful and often humorously honest responses. Late on a 1975 night in Landers’ Chicago apartment, an ironic twist of events confronts her with a looming deadline for a column dealing with a new kind of heartbreak: her own.
This one-woman, off-Broadway tour de force provides a compelling portrait of the bubbly, frank and slightly eccentric writer who became a fixture of our culture. It is all about the no-nonsense Sioux City, Iowa, native whose daily dialogue with America helped shape the social landscape for the last half century.
“The Lady With All the Answers” was written by David Rambo, who drew his inspiration from the life and letters of Ann Landers, with the cooperation of her daughter, Margo Howard. It stars Rebecca McGraw, an Ann Arbor, Michigan, native who moved to New York at age 20 to pursue her acting career. While there, she appeared in many musicals including “Gotta Sing, Gotta Dance,” and “Of Thee We Sing Gershwin” with the Spotlight Repertory Theatre, “Born to Rhumba” with the Duo Theatre and a world-premiere production of “The Snow Queen.” After spending several years teaching in Illinois, she resumed her acting career in productions by several regional theater companies.
The Nebraska Theatre Caravan is the professional touring wing of the Omaha Community Playhouse, the nation’s largest community theater.
“The Lady With All the Answers” contains some adult content intended for mature audiences, organizers said. For more information about the performance, contact the U/CP Department office at 417-255-7966. For more information about other upcoming U/CP events, visit www.wp.missouristate.edu/ucp.