Phoenix New Times
Best Actress - 2012
Susan Claassen in A Conversation with Edith Head
Susan Claassen's performance in A Conversation with Edith Head,
Actors Theatre's one-woman show about the world's most famous Hollywood
costume designer, was the one to beat last season. In this pleasant,
quietly entertaining homage to Head, which Claassen co-wrote with Head's
biographer, Paddy Calisto, Claassen-as-Head dished about Bette Davis,
Audrey Hepburn ("She was awful, with that long, skinny neck!"), Hedy
Lamarr (who ate constantly, even during fittings), and Bing Crosby (who
hated clothes that made him look silly) and allowed us to forget that
the renowned designer died in 1981. She prompted the audience with
trivia questions and struck poses Edith Head was known for, placing a
manicured hand on a hip she repeatedly jutted out into the audience.
Claassen moved effortlessly from scripted storytelling to ad libs aimed
at her audience, and even those of us not obsessed with the Late Late Show were able to enjoy this warm, witty performance by a fine actress.
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