Hawaii Actor Stars in The Lady With All the Answers at the BAC

The Beverly Arts Center’s 2022-2023 Theatre Season, BOLD VOICES! officially launches Thursday, October 6th with the hit play The Lady With All the Answers, a tour-de-force one-woman show about iconic Chicago writer, Ann Landers. Set in the study of a posh Lakeshore Drive penthouse over the span of 24 hours, The Lady With All the Answers treats patrons to an intimate audience with Landers as she recounts some of her most unforgettable advice columns.

The Beverly Arts Center show is a re-staging of a 2020 production of The Lady With All the Answers presented by Diamond Head Theater in Honolulu which starred Hawaii-based actor
Lisa Konove in the iconic role of Ann Landers. Konove reprises the role in the Beverly Arts Center production. Konove has won multiple awards of excellence from the Hawaii State Theatre Council for her dramatic and musical work, and this production marks her Chicago debut. Among her many credits are roles including Ouiser in Steel Magnolias, Helen Hubbard in Murder on the Orient Express, Emma Goldman in Ragtime, and Marie in Calendar Girls.

"This production is a wonderful surprise. I didn't think I would ever get the opportunity to play this character again as the Hawaii production was mounted during the pandemic. For me, getting to do the show again feels like a full circle moment. It's wonderful getting to step back into Ann's shoes and I see this as an opportunity to share her with the city that she so completely embraced as her own. Ann Landers is part of the history of Chicago, and it feels special to not only reintroduce her to her fans, but to introduce her to a new generation." Konove shared.

The Lady With All the Answers marks a reunion for Konove and Beverly Arts Center Artistic Director Kevin Pease. Just this past May, Konove played the role of Jo in the regional premiere of the musical Waitress in Honolulu, for which Pease was guest director. When programming the BOLD VOICES! season, the choice to open with The Lady With All the Answers was an easy one for Pease, “Lisa is a singular talent. She is truly the full-package: she’s both incredibly well-researched but at the same time is present and instinctual. In preparing for this role, she's put-in the time to really understand who Ann Landers was and what she meant to her readers. Audiences are going to feel like they’re in the room with Ann and that she’s talking directly to them. The way Lisa inhabits this character is really remarkable and we can’t wait for people to experience this show.”

Konove continued, "My favorite part of playing Ann is getting to have fun with her wry sense of humor. She had a razor-sharp wit and was not afraid to use it. She was unabashedly confident in her strong opinions, yet she was never afraid to admit when she made a mistake. Whether you agreed with her or not, her views on the social issues of the day sparked lively conversation and sometimes action by her readers. However, for all that fame brought her, she remained grounded in the tenets of decency, honesty, and compassion for her fellow human beings."

When asked about the target audience for the play, Pease said, "This is a really charming piece of theatre that will appeal to a broad audience. Lisa's performance as Ann is so real and so charismatic, I just know people are going to love it. Beyond the performance itself, there's a lot of nostalgia in this play. Many of us remember our parents and grandparents reading her column, but much of what Ann Landers wrote still connects with the issues of today. It makes for a really enlightening, funny, touching night of theatre."

The Lady With All the Answers opens Thursday, October 6th and runs on the following schedule:

Thursday, October 6, 2022 | 7:30PM

Friday, October 7, 2022 | 7:30PM

Saturday, October 8, 2022 | 2PM & 7:30PM

Sunday, October 9, 2022 | 2PM

Tickets are $40 and are available online at www.beverlyartcenter.org, by telephone at (773) 445-3838 or by visiting the Beverly Arts Center Box Office during daily business hours, 2pm - 7pm, Monday - Thursday, 12pm - 5pm Fridays, and 9am -5pm on Saturdays.