Almost everyone has a story or two about that guest who just wouldn’t leave.
But what if that guest was a much-admired Hollywood legend?
That’s exactly what happened to playwright Elizabeth Fuller in 1985 when she found her family hosting Bette Davis.
Based on the true story, Fuller’s play “Me and Jezebel” tells how Davis turned her household upside down for one month. The play runs March 4-20 at Steel Beam Theatre in St. Charles.
Performances are at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and at 3 p.m. Sundays. Proof of COVID-19 vaccination and masks are required.
When Fuller invited a friend to dinner one night, the friend brought a Davis as a guest. Fuller had met the screen legend years before in Maine and was a big fan.
“(Davis) comes to dinner and she stays and goes home the next day. There was a hotel strike in New York City at the same time, so she called Elizabeth Fuller and said ‘can I stay for a night or two?'” Director Marge Uhlarik-Boller said. “And she stayed for 30 days.
“Much to the chagrin of Liz’s husband,” she said. “And her little boy started talking like Bette.”
The 90-minute play stars Julie Bayer as Bette Davis and Heidi Swarthout as Liz, as well as the voices of other characters.
“She’s narrator and walks us through this,” Uhlarik-Boller said. “It’s very much a memory play.”
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The director and cast spent a lot of time researching the feisty Davis, who starred in such classics as “All About Eve,” “Jezebel,” “Of Human Bondage,” “What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?” and “The Man Who Came to Dinner,” which ironically is about a dinner guest that injures himself at the host’s house and stays while he recuperates.
Along with watching her films and old interviews, they also gained insight from the book “Miss D and Me: Life with the Invincible Bette Davis” by Kathryn Sermak, who worked as personal assistant to Davis on and off for more than a decade.
“It taught us a lot about how Bette was,” Uhlarik-Boller said. “For example, when her personal assistant started, she insisted that a butler come in and teach her how to eat properly at a formal dinner with the right knives and forks and all that stuff. She was very proper. She was a proper lady.”
In an interview with Johnny Carson, Davis came onstage dressed in a skirt and jacket, completing her outfit with a hat, gloves and handbag.
“It really taught us a lot about how to approach her,” Uhlarik-Boller said.
While Davis, a force to be reckoned with, caused commotion at the Fuller’s home, Elizabeth “was and remains a huge Bette Davis fan,” Uhlarik-Boller said.
“She had grown up with her grandmother adoring Bette Davis,” she said. “So it’s about this sort of fascination with celebrity, but also the reality of who a human being is and sort of realizing who you are in the process though. It’s very funny though.”
While there are some touching moments in the play, “it’s much more about the Bette Davis we kind of imagine she was,” Uhlarik-Boller said. “Even though she would always say, ‘I’m not Margo Channing. I’m not Jezebel.’ She would always make a point of saying ‘I’m not the characters I play.’ She prided herself on being a good actress.”
The comedy in two acts is most suitable for mature audiences.
“There is a little bit of language,” Uhlarik-Boller said. “Bette was well known for her filthy mouth.”
Audience members can expect a lot of laughs though as they learn what happened when a fan got an up close and personal encounter with a star.
“To this day — I have to say as a director this doesn’t happen often — it still cracks me up,” Uhlarik-Boller said. “Some of the lines still make me laugh. And that’s so unusual. It’s this great humor of this great lady that just charms me. It’s a very charming play. It charms you and makes you feel good.”
‘Me and Jezebel’
When: March 4-20
Where: Steel Beam Theatre, 111 W. Main St. 2nd Floor, St. Charles
Tickets: $28 adult; $25 senior; $23 student
Information: 630-587-8521; steelbeamtheatre.com
Kathy Cichon is a freelance reporter for the Beacon-News.