Remembering Elizabeth Taylor (1932-2011)

"Exit the Queen"

By: Jordan Overstreet
Published: April 4, 2011

“What can you say about a legend?” mused Paul Newman in a 2007 tribute to Elizabeth Taylor, who past away on March 23 from congestive heart failure. "So much has been written, so much has already been said for so many years about Elizabeth Taylor. Is there anything left to say?"

Well, I think there is, especially for those of you who are not familiar with the two-time Academy award-winning actress; but, like Newman, I’m not going to focus Ms. Taylor’s beauty. Simply enter her name into a Google image search and you will discover her unforgettable features—those violet-eyes and raven hair. What I do want discuss is Ms. Taylor’s legacy, what she brought to the screen and why many consider her passing to signify the death of era.

In a world of flickering lights and images, Elizabeth Taylor was a true star. Audiences were formally introduced to a 12-year-old Elizabeth in “National Velvet” (1942) and this meet-cute spawned a seven-decade long romance between fan and actress. She grew up on the screen, gracefully avoiding the awkward middle school ages, and we watched as she blossomed into a young woman in “A Place in the Sun” (1951) and later a leading lady in “Cleopatra” (1963).

Incidents in Ms. Taylor’s personal life, such as her eight marriages or infamous weight gain in the late 1970’s, had always seemed to imitate her art form. Due to her lack of theatrical training, her home studio, Metro Goldwyn Mayer, was careful to cast her only in films where her own life, or elements of it, was similar to that of the fictional heroine in the given motion picture. In fact her first marriage to hotelier Conrad “Nicky” Hilton, Jr. was arranged by MGM as a publicity stunt to promote her recent film “Father of the Bride.”

The lines between reality and fiction would continue to blur through the 1950’s as Ms. Taylor embarked on a romance a very attractive and very-married crooner, Eddie Fisher, who just happened to be the husband of her closest friend’s, Debbie Reynolds. (To simplify, think of Taylor as Angelina Jolie, Fisher as Brad Pitt, and Debbie as Jennifer Anniston). With the press coloring her behavior as wanton and immoral, Ms. Taylor’s onscreen persona seemed to mirror this, specifically in “BUtterfield 8” in which she plays an escort for hire.

Nonetheless, during the filming of “Cleopatra,” this fourth wall would ultimately be smashed to pieces when Liz met Dick. Ms. Taylor had found her match in a Welsh actor, Richard Burton, and much like that of Cleopatra and Marc Antony, was anything but swift and peaceful, considering both she and Burton where married to other people at the time. Spanning fourteen years, the tempestuous relationship between the two and is considered to be the most epic love story in Hollywood history: 11 feature films, the jewelry, the yachts, the booze, and a condemnation from the Vatican.

Playing lovers on the on screen appeared no different from being the Burtons in real life. When viewing “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” (1966) you wonder if Ms. Taylor and Burton every play these vicious games that their characters play. Are they actually George and Martha when the cameras stop rolling?

By blurring the lines between reality and fiction, Ms. Taylor removed the protection of the fourth wall and allows her spectator to connect with her. Thus, audiences were no longer alone in the dark with the characters on screen. They were alone with Elizabeth Taylor.

In an environment where the average career span is fifteen minuets, Elizabeth Taylor was a rare breed of celebrity. For over 70 years she managed to draw and captivate an international audience by sharing with them her most vulnerable side. She is the true definition of a movie star, giving so much of herself to both her fans and her various causes, specifically the fight against AIDS, for so little in return. If nothing else, there is applause and Elizabeth Taylor is most deserving of our appreciation.

Top Ten Must-See Elizabeth Taylor Films
1. “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” (1966)
2. “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” (1958)
3. “A Place in the Sun” (1951)
4. “Suddenly Last Summer” (1959)
5. "BUtterfield 8" (1960)
6. “The Sandpiper” (1965)
7. "The Taming of the Shrew" (1967)
8. "Father of the Bride" (1950)
9. "X,Y, and Zee" (1972)
10. "Raintree County" (1957)

For further reading about Ms. Taylor check out Sam Kashner and Nancy Schoenberger's book "Furious Love: Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, and the Marriage of the Century" as well as Alexander Walker's "Elizabeth: The Life of Elizabeth Taylor"

Theatre Review: Hecuba (2011)

"Hecuba is Mad Againe"

By Jordan Overstreet

While many consider Anson Mount to be the most notable alumnus from the Theatre Sewanee program, it appears a woman has entered the theatrical wrestling ring and may possess the power to uproot Britney Spears’ leading man from his throne. This tour-de-force is Tarashai Lee, who triumphs as Hecuba in Theatre Sewanee’s recent production of Euripides’ classic tragedy.

Shedding her “Flavor of Love 2” television persona, Miss Lee adopts the trappings of a Trojan slave woman caught in a masculine chess game of violence where women are merely sacrificial pawns. While once the Queen of Troy, Hecuba’s majesty is nowhere to be found on the stage: she is dressed in rags, the set—minimal in its elements—has been stripped of regality by Grecian invaders, and the only possessions of value left to Hecuba are here children, Polydorus (Oliver Crawford) and Polyxena (Rebekah Hildebrant). As she loses both of her children over the course of the play, Miss Lee expertly channels the both grieving mother, embodying ever aspect of grief be it hysterical tears of cries of anguish, and the femme fatale, cleverly avenging her son’s death by puppeteering her male counterparts into submission.

But the power of Miss Lee’s performance is in her ability to completely transform into Hecuba down to her fingertips. When she cries, her face actually swells from the constant outpour of tears; when she lets out crescendos of grief, her shrieks are so natural that they become disturbing to witness; when she is forced to listen to the greedy soliloquies of Agamemnon (Anthony Caskey) or the King of Thrace (Buckner Hinkle), she listens like Hecuba, fully remaining in her character.

Consequently, when juxtaposed with Miss Lee, the abilities current Sewanee students involved in the production get diminished; they cannot eclipse her talent. However, Miss Lee does find equal scene partners in seniors, Tory Nettleton and Mr. Hinkle. Miss Nettleton, last seen as Kate in “Dancing at Lughnasa,” brings a mature, worldly reading to her role as the Chorus Leader, surpassing her choral companions in emotional depth and range.

Mr. Hinkle proves to be a match for Miss Lee. Identifying the King of Thrace as her son’s murderer, Hecuba lures the glutton to his doom with whispers of riches. As Miss Lee channels a siren as she sings these false prophecies into Mr. Hinkle’s ear and he slyly lies about her son’s whereabouts, the two fall into a duplicitous dance that ultimately leads Thrace to blindness. It is marriage of talents and their scenes together are the highlight of the play.

“Hecuba” from its first lines demands your focus. Director David Landon aesthetically layers the performance with fresh dialogue penned by Brown Foundation Fellow Poet-in-Residence, Marilyn Nelson, engaging visuals details, and an intriguing musical score by James Carlson; yet, despite being a true collaboration of the Sewanee community, “Hecuba” remains Tarashai Lee’s vehicle. Miss Lee’s honing of her skills since graduating in 2000 is further evidence of Sewanee’s capabilities as an institution; her divine performance is comforting and inspiring reminder that we, as a University, must be doing something right.