Review: THE LADY WITH ALL THE ANSWERS at Order Chaos Theatre Company

As human beings, there is something to be said about the need for human connection. Connection, whether mental, physical, or emotional, is one of the foundational needs of Maslow's triangle; it is no surprise that newspaper advice columnists were revered in their day. The Lady With All the Answers attempts to capture that feeling with a sneak peek into a working session with Esther Pauline Lederer, better known as Ann Landers. As a slice of nostalgia, this play harkens back to a simpler time when big life-changing events could be solved by writing letters to a newspaper and receiving witty responses from a spritely nom de plume. What this rose-colored bioplay lacks in meatier substance, it makes up for as a wonderful palate cleanser. 

Set against the backdrop of Chicago in 1975, Landers welcomes the audience into her home for one of her famous all-night working sessions. The act unfolds with a mix of humor and vulnerability as Landers interacts with her readers through the letters they've sent, each one presenting a unique set of challenges. She grapples with the pressures she faces, both professionally and personally, and offers a glimpse into the woman behind the advice column and the intricacies of the human relationships with which she interacts. As the play progresses, it delves deeper into Landers' struggles and triumphs, shedding light on her relationships and the impact of her career on her sense of self. As Landers wrestles with the consequences of her decisions, the audience sees a more vulnerable side of the iconic advice guru. The act weaves together moments of humor, introspection, and poignant revelations, providing a rich and nuanced portrait of Landers' character. 

As the forward-thinking sage Ann Landers, Kandyce Hughes delivers the effervescence and mischievous twinkle needed to portray the larger-than-life columnist from Sioux City, Iowa. Vocally, she embodies Landers’ Midwestern flourishes while tackling the dialogue with poise and grace.  She also possessed her inimitable positivity and zest for helping people; the audience cannot help but be enamored with her. 

The production staff did a thorough and detailed job of bringing this production to life. They filled the Kax with things representative of Landers (though the postal service boxes in the back weren’t around in ‘75). Everything from the pictures of Esther and her also famous twin sister, Pauline Phillips aka Dear Abby, to the enchanting typewriter and feathered lamp on her writer’s desk exuded Landers’ taste and set the mood for an intimate tête-à-tête. Costumes, sound, and hair and makeup were all on point – perfect for what a go-getter like Landers represented. 

As good as the details were, however, this play shows that while all things can be accounted for, it cannot compensate for a plot that could have been more substantive. The director, Jean-Paoul C. Clemente, writes in the program that the phrase “everything old is new again” applies here in that communication and connection remain constant. While I agree that may be true, even Ann Landers had the foresight and intelligence to evolve and grow, she even says such in many of her interviews. Producing a play steeped in nostalgia while alluding to a present-day social media link is a tenuous connection (at best). The author, David Rambo, has written Landers as a mask, with no real rising action or dimensionality to Esther Lederer, its wearer (probably due in part to her daughter's firm control over content).  

Since her passing in 2002, the Ann Landers column hasn’t continued. Even though Esther Lederer was the second “Ann Landers,” she was the first one to be published in 1200 newspapers with a readership of 90 million. If you want to sit and have a conversation with Ann as she writes one last article, stop by the Kax at the Herberger Theatre and reminence. The takeaway from this show is that through her column, Esther used “her rolodex and her chutzpah” to affect change. It's obvious the world doesn’t have someone like Esther to dole out advice and be the haven that so many people need, but watching the care she gave her readers as an advice columnist, this show does beg the question, maybe it should.  

The Lady With All the Answers runs at the Herberger Theatre in the Kax black box until November 19, 2023. For more information, please go to https://www.orderchaostheater.org/shows.

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