ABOUT
LADIES OF EOLA HEIGHTS
The
estranged Locksdale sisters reunite at their Eola Heights
home in Orlando, Florida to plan their daddy's funeral.
As they struggle to reconnect, the sisters discover that
their brother Jackson is living his life as a woman. Family
secrets and old wounds come bubbling to the surface as all
hell and one born again Christian break loose in this hilarious
bittersweet comedy, which garnered rave reviews and a cult
audience in Orlando.
Record-Breaking
SRO Run
Originally intended for a 5-week run, Wanzie's
LADIES OF EOLA HEIGHTS played to sold out houses,
for 9 months, in Orlando Florida's 180-seat Footlight Theater.
Diverse
Appeal / Universal Themes
This cross-dressing comedy/drama succeeded
in attracting a huge senior citizen audience to the cocktail
theater located within The Parliament House - The world's
most famous all-gay resort. Vans and buses from retirement
communities became the norm at The Footlight Theater and
the Orlando Sentinel wrote a 2-page human-interest feature
article chronically the diverse demographics of the LADIES
audience base.
In
addition to striking an unanticipated chord with the senior
set, LADIES OF EOLA HEIGHTS
proved popular with straight couples of all ages and enjoyed
group bookings for Bachelor parties, Office Parties and
LADIES' Nights Out as well as the usual gay clientele,
which would normally keep a play running for only a month
or two at the Footlight Theater.
Several
Theater Critics credited the play's “Universal Themes”
along with the observation that “Ten minutes into the
show you totally forget you are watching men playing women”
for it's unprecedented success.
RAVE REVIEWS:
“The laughs are loud and deserved ...
but these camp interludes are headed for a place of tenderness
... Wanzie has a genuine concern for these characters ...
a strangely satisfying tale.”
- Steve Schneider, Orlando Weekly
“For these LADIES it's the distinctly southern charm
that makes this piece work - that blend of a little bit
crazy, a little bit wise, and a lot of strength."
- Rebecca Swain Valdine, Orlando
Sentinel
“Wanzie the playwright has a great ear for dialogue,
and gives his ladies some great catty lines; but he's also
got a nice feel for the way people struggle to dig themselves
out of the messy holes they find themselves in."
- Michael Freeman, Lakeland Ledger
“Leave it to a gaggle of gay men to tell us a tale
about finding strength through family.”
- Charles Martin, East Orlando Sun
“Steel Dragnolias!”
- T. J. Frasier, Orlando CityBeat
“With southern zeal and more than a little help from
Jack Daniels, these sisters jab at one another with sharp
one-liners until they rediscover love for one another. There's
more than steel to these magnolias.”
- Scottie Campbell, Orlando Leisure
Magazine
“Record breaking longevity is what happens when a master
of wretched excess like Wanzie adds a gentle subtext of
female empowerment to one his Southern Gothic bitch fests.”
- Steve Schneider, Orlando Weekly
BLOGS ARE NOW ACTIVE!
MEET
THE MEN BEHIND THE LADIES:
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DOUG
BA'ASER
(Opal)
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Here for Doug's BIO
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Doug's BLOG
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to EMAIL Doug
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“Doug
plays tightly wound Opal perfectly as a prim
woman on the verge of a spectacular breakdown.”
- Rebecca Swain-Valdine,
Orlando Sentinel
“Ba'aser
performs the particularly difficult job of making
Opal dowdy yet never dismissible.”
- Steve Schneider, Orlando
Weekly
“Doug
Ba'aser is excellent as Opal, who could have
been a one-joke spoof of religious people, but
actually comes off as a sweet and likeable character.”
- Michael Freeman, Lakeland
Ledger
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MISS
SAMMY
(June/Jackson)
Click
Here for Miss Sammy's Bio
Click Here to
EMAIL Miss Sammy
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“Miss
Sammy's Jackson/June Cleaver almost steals the
show, whether it's being dressed as a post-bird-attack
Tippi Hedren form The Birds or lip-syncing an
ode to breakfast cereal.”
- Rebecca Swain-Valdine,
Orlando Sentinel
“A
mute, 60's obsessed Stepford Wife called “June”
(as in Cleaver), for whom each appearance heralds
a costume change into a breathtaking frock and
the lip-synching of a meaningful show tune.”
- Charles Martin, East
Orlando Sun
*EDITORS
NOTE: Miss Sammy's costumes designed and fabricated
by Marcy Singhaus.
“Ladies
of Eola Heights can also be enjoyed for…the
musical interludes by Miss Sammy, the actor
who plays Jackson…His version of the old
Barbra Streisand hit People not only comes at
a very appropriate moment in the story, but
also demonstrates why drag shows have been a
hit since Mae West was dancing it up on Broadway
with her male buddies in the 1920's."
- Michael Freeman, Lakeland
Ledger
“You'll
never hear People the same way again.”
- Steve Schneider, Orlando
Weekly
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TOMMY
WOOTEN
(Ruby)
Click
here for Tommy's Bio
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to EMAIL Tommy
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“But
nobody can beat Tommy Wooten, who is just priceless
as the fiery Ruby."
- Michael Freeman, Lakeland
Ledger
“Tommy
Wooten gives Ruby a sharp-tongued, almost giddy
edge that hides a wounded side.”
- Rebecca Swain-Valdine,
Orlando Sentinel
“Wooten
has a way with a Southern-fried put-down that's
unequaled locally.”
- Steve Schneider, Orlando
Weekly
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MICHAEL
WANZIE
(Pearl)
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“Wanzie,
the actor, makes a great Pearl, a kind of wise,
Solomon-like referee who stands in between his
antagonistic sisters.”
- Michael Freeman, Lakeland
Ledger
“In
Pearl, Wanzie creates a sister who has always
taken care of others but who isn't afraid to
resort to a little trickery to get help for
herself now and then.”
-
Rebecca Swain-Valdine, Orlando Sentinel
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MICHAEL
WANZIE
Playwright
Click
here for Wanzie's Bio
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BLOG
Click Here
to EMAIL Wanzie
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PLAYWRIGHT:
“In
between the many, many laughs of this and his
previous shows, he {Playwright Wanzie} makes
many important points about horrible habits
like abuse, cruelty, alcoholism, addiction and
even death. Most patrons, however, will probably
be too busy laughing to notice until later…Wanzie
has a real knack for wrapping “heavy”
issues in a helium-light wrapping that will
leave you weak with laughter ... ”
- Charles Martin, East
Orlando Sun
“A
roller coaster ride of emotions, form rip-roaring
funny to moments of dark revelations…Author
Michael Wanzie gives the audience just enough
time to grasp the seriousness of the situation
before the actors take off on another hilarious
tangent."
- Greengirl
“Michael
Wanzie's latest script, Ladies of Eola Heights,
is a touching, hard-hitting play that tackles
serious family dramas and downright depressing
social issues. So why is it in drag... And it
turns out the answer is: Because it's damn hysterical…Eventually
the audience looses its ability to gasp.”
- T. J. Frasier, Orlando
CityBeat
“Michael
Wanzie has woven a tale of personal horror and
wrapped it in humor…As an audience we were
alternately roaring with laughter then reflectively
silent when the awful past was revealed in bits
and pieces.”
- Orlando Man About Town
- Tribune Media Services
“This
is no over-the-top drag show, but a touching
look at three middle-age women struggling to
find a little happiness for themselves…When
the initial gag of seeing three men dressed
as women quickly wears off, you'll be amazed
at how convincing all three are as middle-age,
Southern gals. Getting placed in a very well
written script makes for an especially rewarding
show.”
- Michael Freeman, Lakeland
Ledger
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KENNY
HOWARD
Director
Click
here for Kenny's Bio
Click Here
for Kenny's BLOG
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to EMAIL Kenny
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“The
Play, directed by Kenny Howard, is a generous
heap of wildly funny (and occasionally off-dolor)
comedy, brought to life by a cast that works
well together.”
- Rebecca Swain-Valdine, Orlando Sentinel
EDITORS'
NOTE: For reasons unbeknownst to us at WANZIE.com,
Rebecca Swain-Valdine (directly above) is
the only theater critic to have even referenced
Mr. Howard as the director of Ladies of Eola
Heights in a review of the show. While we
find this curious, we can't help but note
that LADIES OF EOLA HEIGHTS was reviewed by
seven theater critics, not one of whom wrote
a single negative comment about the show.
Ladies of Eola Heights was literally praised
by every critic who reviewed it, and every
critic referenced the great ensemble work
of the performers and the fact that the audience
quickly forgot they were watching men play
women. Obviously these achievements could
not have been realized without the guidance
of a gifted director. We at the WANZIE.com,
join the cast of Ladies of Eola Heights in
recognizing the most able contributions of
Make-Up artist Mike Nesheim, and the insightfully
deft direction of Kenny Howard in bringing
Ladies to life and to critical acclaim.
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