Marilyn and Ella February 26, 2008
Posted by Linda in : Marilyn and Ella, Musicals, Theatre Royal Stratford East , add a comment
Set in 1955, the play looks at the unlikely friendship that developed between Marilyn Monroe, then a Hollywood icon and sex symbol and jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald. The play explores racial segregation in ’50s America and Marilyn’s determination to overcome it and see her idol play the whites only Mocombo Club in Los Angeles.
Playwright and critic Bonnie Greer is keen to emphasise that the play is not a total fiction. The two did meet, Marilyn was instrumental in getting Ella onstage at the club and afterwards the two did become friends.
The Director’s View
Director Colin McFarlane:
“I think it’s a lot to do with the fact that black history is often not included in the history books. That’s why Bonnie [Greer] and I work so well together because we both have a passion to tell stories about black history, and also to change people’s perceptions of things.”
Interviewed by the Jamaica Gleaner, he said he was drawn to the play because of the hidden nature of the story.
“Marilyn, who at that time was fed up of always being depicted as nothing more than a sex symbol, wanted to change this colour bar rule. So she rang the nightclub’s manager, Charlie Morrison, and said that she would sit in the front row of the club every week, if he let Ella Fitzgerald perform there. He agreed. Ella had never met Marilyn, but the two met at the Mocambo and they became lifelong friends. After that, Ella never played a second-rate jazz club again, and actually, on her website, she even said: “I owe Marilyn a debt. She was a woman ahead of her time.”
He goes on:
“It really is quite amazing how much they had in common and how they both educated each other.In act two of the play, you see Marilyn educating Ella about movies, because Ella really wants to get into films. Marilyn tries to show Ella that the industry at that time would never allow Ella to play any other role apart from that of a big black mamma, much like the role that actress Hattie McDaniel got the Oscar for when she played Mammy in Gone With the Wind. I can’t believe they’re doing that as a musical. So, Marilyn had to explain to Ella that even she, as Marilyn Monroe, was being pigeon-holed as a bimbo. So, Ella certainly didn’t stand a chance of landing any half-decent roles. But Ella, in turn, had to explain to Marilyn that, as a black woman, she had to take work where she could get it. It’s really deep stuff
Marilyn and Ella - My Review
I watched Greer’s play on the second night and I was really impressed. I thought she tackled the issues well, drew parallels between their backgrounds without making it too obvious. There were oblique mentions of their difficult childhoods, both were portrayed as vulnerable and yet not as victims and both made it clear they longed to not be in charge of their careers.
We saw Munroe struggling to be taken seriously as an actress, trying to shake off the image the studio had created for her and be seen as an artist. Fitzgerald speaks of her desire to make it in film. Each is a little naive about the other’s world.
The Cast
I thought Nicola Hughes, who plays Ella Fitzgerald, was simply stunning. She, wisely I think, did not try to just mimic Fitzgerald but brought her own interpretation to the songs. The play starts with a stunning rendition of “Someone to Watch Over Me” and this becomes a recurring musical motif throughout the piece. Now this is one of my all time favourite songs and I was all ready not to be impressed, but I was captivated at once by Hughes’ voice. As the evening went on Hughes seemed to relax into the role more and more and by the time we reached the Mocombo in the second act she was swinging it in a very convincing jazz style. I just loved her version of Mac the Knife!
Wendy Morgan plays Marilyn Monroe and that was always going to be hard for anyone. It’s easy to dismiss Monroe but she was quite a political figure at this time. She was interested in left wing politics, she was aware of racial issues, she was mixing in quite radical circles when she lived in New York. She had become involved with Arthur Miller, the left wing playwright, in 1951 and later in ‘56 went on to marry him. However Morgan plays the part well, her Marilyn is nervous and restless, somewhat self-obsessed, occasionally even quite quixotic, but actually very convincing.
I mustn’t forget to mention the band. They were excellent!
The staging
Some reviewers loathed the way the play is staged. The stage is split into an upper and lower level for the first act with Ella on the top level and Marilyn on the bottom. The two do not interact and the action switches back and forth between the two levels as we see them in various hotel rooms and recording sessions.
I think it worked well and allowed the small stage and Stratford to be used to advantage, giving the play a feeling of intimacy not often possible unless done ‘in the round’.
There were echoes too of some of the staging of Miller’s work, which I thought was a nice touch.
The Reviews
I loved the play, as did my companion for the evening. The audience came out buzzing and there was no doubt in my mind that everyone had a great time. So I was stunned to discover that some critics not only didn’t like the play but actually described it as drivel! I barely recognised the great show I’d seen in their shredding both of Greer and the play itself. More reasonable voices were heard as well though, with a particularly thoughtful review in the Guardian from Michael Billington (no surprises there then 
)
Marilyn and Ella is at the Theatre Royal Stratford East, Gerry Raffles Square, London E15 until March 15.
Extra Treat
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Marilyn and Ella - blog comments
Theatre Royal, Stratford East
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