- That Dorothy Parker
By Carol Lempert from the words of Dorothy Parker; Me & Mr. Jones Theatre; Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Solo Performance;- Not for children; Mature Content
CLICK HERE FOR A RECENT REVIEWS IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER CLICK ON PLAY FOR AUDIENCE REVIEWS FOR THAT PLAY
- An Evening With Olaf
- Angry Jellow Bubbles
Anything Show
Avalanche
Beatrice And Virgil In Paradise
Benefit Of Doubt
Breton's Dream
Chain Reactions
Chasing Rabbits
Condensed Works Of Frank Cullen
Counting The Ways (A Vaudeville)
Crazy Lady
Devil, Doctor Faustus And …
Disengaged
Don't Tap On The Glass
Double Counterpoint
Dr. Constance Cumming …
First Woman Plural
Floating Bone
From Shit Grows The Roses
Gretl
Happy Endings Are Overrated
Hold Me!
Imbecillus
It Came From Beneath The Kilt!
Jack The Ripper Slept Here …
Kiwi Standup Experience
Male Diva
Ma-Ma-Mamalia
My Penis In And Out Of Trouble
Myth Of Sisyphus
Neo Surrealists
Number 2
Opium
Regular Show
Run Jenny
Seeds Of Longing…
Slam, Bam, Thank You Ma'am
Sole Searching
State Of The Empire Address
Stew!
Ten
That Dorothy Parker
Theatre/Plague
Thicker Than Water
Tim's Magic Lantern Show
Tragical History Of Dr. Faustus
Trailer Trash Tabloid!
Treachery
Withering Glances
Woven
Zewski's Folly
1play = That Dorothy Parker!
2name = Lewis Routh
3email = lew@trailertrashtabloid.com
4rating = 5 Stars
5review = THAT DOROTHY PARKER! by Carol Lempert made my fringe experience
worthwhile. Carol's thoroughly researched script is pointedly succinct.
Her Mrs. Parker is so perfectly fleshed-out, we yearn to embrace her and
call her a friend. We see more than the wit, we see truth and a vulnerablility
Dorothy Parker's writing hides from prying eyes. "Wit has truth in
it," Mrs. Parker said, "wisecracking is simply calisthenics with
words." Carol Lempert's Dorthy Parker is simply brilliant.
1play = Dorothy Parker
2name = david l. levine M.D.
3email = dllevine@yahoo.com
4rating = 5 Stars
5review = This was a meticulously written and very well acted portrayal
of a fascinating woman of American letters. It deserves a wide audience.
1play = That Dorothy Parker
2name = Ugo
3email = ugob@mindspring.com
4rating = 5 Stars
5review = How exciting to "get it all" in one hour of theatre:
a very accomplished actress fully committed to material which she has honed
& polished, yet feels very fresh; a nuanced multi-dimensional interpretation
of an easily cliched personality; and a lot of solid research leading to
a well-crafted script. Dorothy Parker's writings ain't too shabby either.
I hope Carol Lampert will return to next year's Fringe with the new show
she's been working on.
1play = That Dorothy Parker
2name = Laurent Saville
3email = manataglance@aol.com
4rating = 5 Stars
5review = Great Show. Best of the Fringe, by far. Quality writing &
acting. Overall a 5-star show.
11play = That Dorothy Parker
2name = Michael Ball
3email = ebguy2@aol.com
4rating = 5 Stars
5review = I'll admit that going into this show I was rather skeptical because
of the subject matter. Parker's personna seems to erroneously give performers
the permission to be drunkenly self-indultgent. However, Carol Lempert gave
such an honest, soulful, witty, funny and often touching performance that
I walked out of the theater feeling like Mrs. Parker had finally been redeemed.
Go see it if you can. This actress has something beautiful to give - go
and bask in her humanity.
play = That Dorothy Parker
2name = Len James
3email = freguyx@aol.com
4rating = None
5review = Best show I've seen at the Fringe this year. No doubt that the
show will continue to have a life after the Fringe. What a treat to see
something great before it hits the theater world-at-large!
1play = That Dorothy Parker
2name = Gary Kerr
3email = gsk2222@aol.com
4rating = 5 Stars
5review = 5 Stars aren't enough - seriously. An absolute tour de force.
Carol Lempert's talent is worthy of the subject matter. She wears Mrs. Parker's
soul, wit, charm, and despair like a glove. Cleverly written, very well-paced,
and brilliantly performed. SEE IT!!
1play = That Dorothy Parker
2name = hs
3email =
4rating = 5 Stars
5review = This was the most entertaining herstory lesson I ever learned.
I didn't want the play to end even though it was about 180 degrees in the
house!
1play = Dorothy Parker
2name = Steven Mandeville-Gamble
3email = stevenmg@bayarea.net
4rating = 5 Stars
5review = This play was at turns side splittingly funny, slyly humorous,
poignant, thought-provoking, and moving. I have not enjoyed a performance
so much in a long, long time.
1play = That Dorothy Parker
2name = Mike Ward
3email = IsisArtsCo@aol.com
4rating = 5 Stars
5review = Wonderful work by Carol Lempert, who serves double duty as writer
and star of this poignant, playful and rich look at the life of one of the
greatest wits of our time.
Lempert's performance is clean, sharp and well placed through some interesting emotional terrain. A solid performance.
The direction of Mark Wilson is exceptional. Not a spare gesture or false moment is allowed through his taut, defined staging in the exceptionally intimate Phoenix II. Beautifully paced, he allows Lempert's depth and range to shine beautifully.
In case you can't tell, I liked. Very much. Hopefully, there is life
for Dorothy Parker beyond the Fringe. Serious potential for a commercial
(that's not a bad word!) run and my best wishes to this creative team from
Toronto.
1play = That Dorothy Parker
2name = Vince Vitale
3email = WorldGazer@aol.com
4rating = 5 Stars
5review = That Dorothy Parker
The devoté of the monologue lives to experience a work like this.
It is perfect in every way. Carol Lempert's portrayal of Dorothy Parker,
presiding queen of the Algonquin Round Table, is superb. Parker is mostly
remembered for her witticisms, although she also wrote for Hollywood, i.e.,
"A Star is Born." What was the Round Table? It was a small group
of literaries who met regularly at the Algonquin Hotel in New York of the
20s and 30s to share time, spirits and thought. Looked at another way, they
were a bunch of nasty people who convened in order to trash everything in
sight, including each other. There's no need to do any homework on Parker
before coming to the theater. Lempert lovingly footnotes and does cameo
portrayals of the identity of each luminary with all the information the
uninitiated need to enjoy this history. Don't miss this performance. It
is easily one of the most perfect and perfectly engaging monologue experiences
of my life.
1play = That Dorthy Parker
2name = Bryce Allemann
3email = brycea@ninthhouse.com
4rating = None
5review = Carol Lempert does an excellent job in this one-woman show. She
performs with flawless transitions between time/place/emotion. All in all,
an excellent actress who makes the show well worth seeing, above and beyond
the already interesting subject matter. If you are at all familiar with
this time period, this circle of columnists and writers, there will be no
new revelations. If, however, you are a novice to the wit of the Algonquin
Round Table, this short play will be an excellent introduction, and will
hopefully spur you to read the literature of that time period. The packed
audience last Sunday afternoon at the Phoenix II hung to every word. Worth
seeing
1play = That Dorothy Parker
2name = Gina Foster
3email =
4rating = 5 Stars
5review = As a fan of Dorothy Parker I came not wanting to like the show,
but was won over by an excellent performance. This show deserves BEST OF
THE FRINGE!
1play = That Dorothy Parker
2name = brewster
3email = brewster_david@hotmail.com
4rating = 4 Stars
5review = Great show. Witty and well-performed. But first let me say that
I met Carole Lempert before the show on my way to the bathroom (there's
no 4th wall or even a 1st wall around the green room at the Phoenix II,
it appears). And she is just the nicest, sweetest, most charming person!
Definitely try to talk to her after the show! I was in a toss-up over which
show to watch that night, and meeting her sealed the deal! In character,
as Dorothy Parker, she's acerbic, of course, and needy, vulnerable, hiding
behind wit and alcohol, but I also saw the charm that goes beyond Dorothy
Parker, and is all Carole Lempert.
The story is often fun and often sad to watch, and there are lots of clever,
hilarious Dorothy Parker lines interspersed. Her embodiment of Dorothy is
excellent, and I enjoyed the character of Alexander Woollcott, and how Robert
Benchley was represented physically as a hand halfway shoved in a coat pocket.
Early in the play, it was fun seeing Dorothy getting drunk, and then no
fun later on. Much like a lot of stories of performers and artists of that
period. So it is unfortunately overdone to see that 'devolving into alcoholism'
thing. But I enjoyed the end of that segment, where Dorothy desperately
reads a rather horrifying piece of writing to a friend. The scene is moving.
I'm not much familiar with Dorothy Parker and the other figures in the play
beyond "That Jennifer Jason Leigh movie", and I sometimes was
not as involved in the story as a result, but I definitely wanted to stay
through Carole Lempert's performance. Note: it's good to read the extensive
bios on the!
key players in the program, which I didn't give enough time for before the
show. I was interested to learn that Alec Woollcott was "The Man Who
Came to Dinner". Saw it in High School. Loved it!
1play = That Dorothy Parker
2name = Carl Thelin
3email = carl_eye@hotmail.com
4rating = 5 Stars
5review = Fantastic! Carol Lempert brought such life and warmth and sorrow
and understanding and wit to the character of Dorothy that I was ready to
line up to become her next husband. Go see it.
1play = That Dorothy Parker
2name = Mitch
3email =
4rating = 5 Stars
5review = What a well written and performed piece. A
great tie-in w/ "The Man Who Came to Dinner"
1play = That Dorothy Parker
2name = John Degen
3email = lempwat@interlog.com (guest)
4rating = 5 Stars
5review = A wonderfully funny and touching slice of literary history. I
must admit, I was drawn to the show by it's subject matter... as an amateur
history buff, that period in literary history has always fastinated me.
But, Carol Lempert's play brought the subjest to life in an absolutely CDAPTIVATING way.
Lemperts writing is tight, funny and biting. Her use of Mrs. Parkers material is perfection itself, a perfect mix of contextual reverance, with a perfect Dorothy Parker BITE!
Lemperts performance is energetic and focused. Her interpretation of Mrs. Parker is absolutly brilliant.
She is definately my pick for BEST OF THE FRINGE.
1play = That Dorothy Parker
2name = Deirdre Nurre
3email = nurre.deirdre@epamail.epa.gov
4rating = None
5review = Carol Lempert's performance illuminates Parker as a woman who's
more than the hard-bitten alcoholic she's remembered as. As much as I enjoyed
watching her Dorothy Parker, I enjoyed her characterization of Alexander
Wolcott still more. Wolcott keeps showing up in the play as an irritating,
enduring, endearing friend to Parker. Produced with skillful lighting and
sound (the sound occasionally distracting), "That Dorothy Parker"
is more a polished, coherent production than a rough-around-the-edges fringe
show. Lempert's script for the show presents a few point-of-view problems,
particularly in the beginning, when I as an audience member couldn't figure
out which side of the "fourth wall" I was supposed to be on. The
staging justification of introducing the character by her talking to a small
dog seems hackneyed, as does reading her own work at the typewriter. Once
these hobbles are dispensed with, however, the characterization moves along
as a dreamlike collage. !
Recommended, especially for the generation who appreciated Parker during
her lifetime.
1play = THAT DOROTHY PARKER
2name = James Olander
3email = James0924@aol.com
4rating = 4 Stars
5review = I've been to 11 Fringe plays... this was the best. I loved the
show. Excellent
1play = That Dorothy Parker
2name = Carol Lempert
3email = Lempwat@interlog.com
4rating = 5 Stars
5review = DOROTHY TRULY DIVINE
Glenn Sumi Theatre Critic
Toronto’s NOW Magazine
Carol Lempert’s confident, full-throated impersonation of Dorothy
Parker and her particular circle of Algonquin Round Table friends has the
stamp of authenticity in almost every line.
That’s no surprise, since Lempert has obviously done her research,
sifting through Parker’s bio and canon to arrive at a nuanced script
that informs and entertains. But what’s astonishing is Lempert’s
perfect timing as she delivers anecdotes, alcohol-inspired witticisms and
- at significant moments- excerpts from the writer’s poems and stories,
all underscored with music of the area.
While the Mark Wilson-directed piece travels across the globe and back and
forth through several decades- its touching to see Parker’s gentleness
before she became cynical and miserable. Four Stars.
A FRINGE HIT
Joanne Huffa Theatre Reviewer
Toronto’s eye weekly
Five Stars
‘What fresh hell is this?’ With these five words Carol Lempert,
as tragic 40’s wit Dorothy Parker, addresses the audience -- treated
as a gathering of hearse chasers -- near the beginning of her one woman
show, That Dorothy Parker. Lempert captures Parker’s acerbic, though
shaky, presence as she attempts to keep herself together following the death
of the Algonquin Round Table’s acid tongued leader, theatre critic
Alexander ‘Mother’ Woollcott.
Lempert’s Parker is a hard-shelled softy prone to falling too much
in love and whose snappy one-liners -- you can lead a horticulture but you
can’t make her think’ -- were often used to cover the pathos of
her life. With two failed marriages, suicide attempts and an unwavering
fondness for martinis on her resume, Parker’s life was not all Academy
Awards (for the screenplay of the original A Star Is Born), Vogue and hanging
out with Hemingway. Always riding the fine line between lovesick and sick
of it all, Lempert seamlessly draws from the wealth of Parker’s life
to create a multifaceted portrait of one of the century’s enduring
cultural icons.
.