She’s Alive! Interview with Playwright Charlotte Booker
Charlotte Booker is an actress and playwright who has appeared on major TV-network sitcoms and in Broadway shows; now she is excited to announce the debut of her one-woman stage play titled “Elsa Lanchester: She’s Alive!” that explores the fascinating life of actress Elsa Lanchester and is scheduled to premiere at Manhattan’s The Laurie Beechman Theater on October 6, 2023, and run until November 3.
As one might surmise from the show’s title, actress Elsa Lanchester was especially famous for her role depicting the Bride of Frankenstein. Yet she was also nominated for two Oscars and appeared in other famous films such as “Mary Poppins” and That Darn Cat!” Later in her career (and life) Elsa toured with a bawdy cabaret/nightclub act where she belted out original ribald songs; this stage of her life is at the center of the play which also delves into memories of her very colorful life.
Charlotte Booker recently discussed this play and more via an exclusive interview.
Meagan Meehan (MM): How did you get interested in acting and why do you tend to gravitate towards the theater so much?
Charlotte Booker (CB): I always knew I would be an actor, even before I’d seen a play. It was probably Lucille Ball’s fault. I adored her on TV and, of course, wanted to be her. Then I saw Geraldine Page in “Summer and Smoke” and decided I would be her, too. I felt that I could do that mysterious thing they were doing — if anyone ever gave me the chance.
MM: How did you delve into playwriting and do you find it easier to write one-woman shows or plays that feature full casts?
CB: I’ve written all my life, but became more secretive about it after high school, when I realized how my efforts paled in comparison to “real” writers. So, I had all these half-written, unfinished pieces collecting dust, and ideas scribbled all over the place, constantly reproaching me. When I fell in love with a “real” writer, my husband, Mark Nutter, who writes every day, it all seemed less daunting. During Covid I “finished” the Elsa piece and three plays. Of course, everything gets re-written dozens of times, so “finished” isn’t what I thought it’d be. One-person shows are much more difficult for me than plays. I LOVE big casts! Solo shows are lonely and scary, and if I didn’t feel so strongly about Elsa I’d have given up on this long ago.
MM: What is it about Elsa Lanchester that so fascinated and inspired you?
CB: Almost everything! Her autobiography is so vivid and funny and so full of holes — clearly there were times of life she just didn’t care to look at, and that’s fascinating to me. Also — I’m “of an age” now, and I’m so attracted to stories about people who don’t give up. You look at glamorous photos of Elsa in her 20s and 30s, and it’s difficult to put them together with the old lady in “Willard” or “Murder by Death”. Like Ruth Gordon, Elsa seems to have lived several lives, all driven by passion and a real talent for living.
MM: How much research did you have to do into her life and what were some of the most interesting and/or surprising things you learned about her?
CB: I’m looking at my bookcase, and there are 30–40 books I’ve read, by and about her, some several times. I’ve met her editor, her former agent’s wife, people who worked with her, and people who just met her in passing. I spent a day in London with her biographer, MJ Simpson, who is SUCH an Elsa encyclopedia! Elsa was sculpted and painted by major artists in her youth; studied dance with Isadora Duncan; crossed paths with Alistair Crowley, HG Wells, Huxley, Tallulah, Gielgud, and so many more people — before heading for Hollywood. She was the It Girl of London before she ever met Charles Laughton. She had very little formal education, even though her mother had graduate degrees! She even co-wrote a musical based on TS Eliot’s “cats” poems, decades before Andrew Lloyd Weber. She was married to a gay man for 30+ years, and said she had the happiest life of anyone she knew. I’m crazy about her.
MM: How long did this play take to complete?
CB: Years! I had an idea I wanted to play her when I read her autobiography in the 1980’s. At one point I thought I’d write a play about her relationship with Laughton — that my old pal David Schramm would play Charles, and I’d play Elsa, not realizing other people had already done it. I’d say this musical/cabaret version has been percolating for the last dozen years or so. And, as I said, who knows if it’s finished? I might have to change everything all over again!
MM: How did you mentally prepare yourself to play the role of this real-life figure?
CB: I’ve done enough research to feel confident about the basics. The real issue is honoring her without being too tied to the facts. She was bigger than life, and sometimes facts get in the way of the truth. It’s funny, her voice is so strong in my head right now, she actually gives me advice about how to play her. If that sounds crazy, imagine how it feels. Ha!
MM: What is your favorite part of the play and why?
CB: The music! It’s really more of a hybrid cabaret/play with music. She loved to sing and dance, and her songs were funny and wistful and strange. I’m telling her story, illuminated by her music. And that outrageous voice! Have you heard her sing? Oh my. Laughton called her a “diseuse”, not a “chanteuse” — because she wasn’t exactly what you’d call a great singer. Unique, not great. And I love being onstage with my husband, Mark Nutter, who plays piano for me and is a stand-in for Elsa’s dear friend, accompanist, and sometime lover, Ray Henderson.
MM: What other people or themes might inspire future plays?
CB: I started one about Clara Bow years ago, unfinished, of course. And there’s a two-hander about adolescent friendship that needs to be re-focused. But after Elsa I’m going back to a series of family plays, set in Missouri from the Depression-1970’s. My small-town trilogy that has grown into a saga. I’ve been calling myself Hortense Foote lately, because Horton Foote is one of my heroes and I’m super-inspired by his writing.
MM: How do you hope your career evolves over the next five years?
CB: I really hope to get to perform Elsa until I’m sick and tired of her — everywhere! Even in London. You know, it’s funny, my early life I was always called “precocious”. That doesn’t mean a thing after 30. Now I’m way past that and I’ve decided to be a late bloomer. Like Ruth Gordon and Elsa and all the people who Don’t Give Up. It must be wonderful to feel creative right up to the end. I’m counting on things just getting better over the next five years.
MM: What are your ultimate goals for the future and is there anything else that you would like to mention?
CB: More travel, more writing, more reading, more music, more adventures. I want to work. And I’d like to mention to anyone knew Elsa or who loves her as much as I do, please come to the show and tell me what I’m missing. For show dates and ticketing info, visit ElsaLanchestershow.com.
