Preview: 'Full Gallop'
Run, don't gallop, to Mason Street Warehouse to see soap star Jill Larson in delicious comedy
Don't be shocked, soap opera fans, if you run into Opal Gardner Purdy Cortlandt wandering the streets of Saugatuck this summer. That's because Jill Larson, the actress who plays the wild and wacky character on ABC-TV's "All My Children," is in town to star in "Full Gallop" at Mason Street Warehouse.
"I'm very happy to be here in Michigan," Larson told BTL following a rehearsal last week. "I was in Mackinac for a soap opera event about nine or 10 years ago that was just a thrill, so it's fun to be down at the other end of the state now."
In "Full Gallop," the twice-Emmy nominated actress portrays Diane Vreeland, the eccentric one-time editor of Vogue magazine. Vreeland's approach to fashion became legendary, but in 1971 – after 10 years at the helm – she was abruptly fired. The delightfully delicious comedy addresses the flamboyant editor's final days at the magazine.
"I love the play," Larson said. "I saw it in New York some years ago and was very impressed by it."
Larson – who modeled for a time while living in Paris and appeared in numerous American and European fashion magazines – feels a connection to not only Vreeland, but also to the times in which the comedy takes place.
"She's a woman of tremendous vision, imagination and tenacity, and she never really let anything get in her path. She had a very strong sense of who she was and what her vision was, and she just went ahead and did it. That's so inspiring to me," Larson said.
It was also what Vreeland accomplished that Larson admires.
"She really changed the face of fashion magazines. She was very instrumental in making them something of more substance than they had been previously. She was a trendsetter and a trailblazer, and I like that."
Portraying Vreeland, however, will be a daunting challenge for the actress: "Full Gallop" is a one-woman show – a first for Larson.
"It's really exciting and frightening, too," she said. "When you're working with other actors and you have a moment where your concentration leaves you or you get a little disoriented, there are other people there to help bring you back to wherever you're supposed to be."
Plus, unlike working on television, "They can't yell, 'Take two,'" she laughed.
"Full Gallop" is Larson's first stage credit in seven years. But with good reason!
"Eight years ago I became a mother, and it just seemed like I didn't want to miss out on that experience by being away at night every night. But now I'm excited to be back [in front of] a live audience – and all the thrill and terror that that entails!"
A native of Minneapolis, Larson began acting in the city's community and professional theaters at the age of nine. Her Broadway credits include "Death and the King's Horseman," and "Dancing in the End Zone." Off-Broadway she starred in "Agnes of God," "Private Lives" and "The Tempest."
After appearances in such films as "Deadly Trap" and "Wise Guys," Larson found her way to television. In 1989 she was offered the role of Opal on "All My Children" – and almost turned it down!
"A friend said, 'Gee, you might as well take itÉit's only a little two-year prison term,' and now it's 15 years later, and I'm hoping to be on for another 15 or 20," Larson laughed.
But for now, Larson is on a one-month break from the rigors of television – and she's impressed by what she's experienced in Saugatuck.
"I'm truly amazed by the quality of work that happens in this theater," she said. "I've been involved in enough summer theaters and start-up companies to know and appreciate the enormity of this accomplishment."
"Full Gallop" Presented Tuesday through Sunday at Mason Street Warehouse, 400 Culver St., Saugatuck, July 21 – Aug. 1. Tickets: $27.50 – $30. 269-857-4898. www.masonstreetwarehouse.org.
