Palo Alto Players Announces Outdoor In-Person Production TEA FOR THREE: Lady Bird, Pat & Betty

Palo Alto Players, currently in its 90th season, returns to in-person theater for the first time since being shuttered in March 2020 with an outdoor staged production of TEA FOR THREE: Lady Bird, Pat & Betty.

This whimsical and deeply moving look at life in the White House for three First Ladies: Lady Bird Johnson, Pat Nixon, and Betty Ford, will be staged outdoors in the Lucie Stern Community Center's Patio - combining in-person performances with online video access. Palo Alto Players' Artistic Director Patrick Klein directs three local Bay Area actresses making their return to Palo Alto Players, Gwendolyne Wagner (Lady Bird Johnson), Gabriella Goldstein (Pat Nixon), and Patricia Tyler (Betty Ford).

TEA FOR THREE: Lady Bird, Pat & Betty runs for 12 in-person performances May 12-23, 2021, with a recording of the performance available to stream on-demand May 19-23. In-person seating is very limited and current season subscribers have priority access through Sunday, May 2. Any remaining in-person tickets ($40) and on-demand access ($20) will go on sale to the general public Monday, May 3 at paplayers.org or by phone at 650.329.0891.

TEA FOR THREE: Lady Bird, Pat & Betty asks the question - "What is it like for a woman when her husband becomes the president of the United States-and she is suddenly thrust into the spotlight?" This witty, sly and deeply moving play explores the hopes, fears and loves of Lady Bird Johnson, Pat Nixon and Betty Ford. In three scenes taking place on the grounds of the White House just prior to the end of living there as the wife of a president, each of the women confides alone to the audience. Secrets are spilled about their early years, their husbands' rise to power, their romances with the men, their unique paths as wives in the White House, and their feelings about imminent retirement. Each of the three portraits becomes intimate, by degrees, as the women wrestle with what Pat Nixon called "the hardest unpaid job in the world."

"We couldn't be more thrilled to be safely bringing back live, in-person theater to Palo Alto with TEA FOR THREE: Lady Bird, Pat and Betty," said Artistic Director Patrick Klein. "This smart, insightful show will be the first Palo Alto Players has presented outdoors in recent history, produced following all county and state COVID guidelines, and will feature three absolutely brilliant actresses our audiences know and love from shows in the last couple of seasons. And is there a more beautiful space to enjoy a show al fresco than the Lucie Stern Community Center patio?"

Palo Alto Players' production of TEA FOR THREE: Lady Bird, Pat & Betty stars local Bay Area actresses Gwendolyne Wagner as Lady Bird Johnson, Gabriella Goldstein as Pat Nixon, and Patricia Tyler as Betty Ford. After performing in two of Palo Alto Players Homebound Cabarets, Gwendolyne Wagner returns in-person to play her favorite First Lady again, having performed the role of Lady Bird Johnson in Players' 2018 production of All The Way. Gabriella Goldstein was previously seen on the Palo Alto Players' stage in A Doll's House, Part 2. Other recent credits include King Lear at San Francisco Shakespeare Festival; Roe at Foothill Theatre Arts; and A Month in the Country, Democratically Speaking, and Voices of the Earth at Stanford Rep. Patricia Tyler last appeared on the Palo Alto Players stage in Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike. Other credits include Calendar Girls (City Lights Theater Company); August: Osage County (Coastal Repertory Theater); and Kimberly Akimbo (Pear Theater). Tyler is also a prop and costume designer having won a Theater Bay Area (TBA) award for costume design in 2014.

TEA FOR THREE: Lady Bird, Pat & Betty is directed by Palo Alto Players' Artistic Director Patrick Klein. Klein began his tenure at Palo Alto Players in 2009 as Technical Director and in 2013 became the company's Artistic Director. He has worked as a scenic designer, stage manager, and actor across the Bay Area, New York City, and the Eastern Seaboard. His Palo Alto Players directing credits include Miss Saigon, Young Frankenstein, Big Fish, Into the Woods, A Day in Hollywood/A Night in the Ukraine, The Man Who Came To Dinner, Disney's Tarzan, One Man, Two Guvnors, Bright Star and most recently, the fully-staged streaming production of The Last Five Years.

The production team includes set and lighting design by Scott Ludwig and videography by Grant Huberty.

TEA FOR THREE: Lady Bird, Pat & Betty will be staged outdoors in the Lucie Stern Community Center's Patio to a live in-person audience, in accordance with the State of California guidelines for outdoor live performance. Audience members must follow all local and state health and safety requirements, including mandatory mask-wearing and social distancing. In-person seating is extremely limited to allow for social distancing. Current season subscribers have priority access from April 22 through May 2. Single ticket sales for in-person tickets ($40) and on-demand streaming access ($20) open online Monday, May 3 at paplayers.org, or by phone at 650.329.0891 (Tuesday through Friday, 11am - 4pm).

Every ticket purchase directly supports the actors, creative team, and staff for this production, and ensures that Palo Alto Players can remain a vital part of this community. For more information about tickets and Palo Alto Players' COVID health and safety protocol, visit paplayers.org/event/tea-for-three.

In cooperation with The City of Palo Alto, Palo Alto Players' indoor staged productions are produced at the Lucie Stern Theater, located at 1305 Middlefield Road in Palo Alto, California. Use of this facility is made possible through support from The City of Palo Alto, Community Services Department, Division of Arts and Sciences, and from our patrons.

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