At the Geffen Playhouse, Elizabeth McGovern triumphs in the challenging role of an aging Ava Gardner battling with her demons as she recounts her life’s grand, alcohol-soaked story.
By John Lavitt
Los Angeles, CA (The Hollywood Times)
When you realize that Elizabeth McGovern is not only the star of “Ava: The Secret Conversations” at the Geffen Playhouse but also the playwright, you know you are in the presence of a passion project. As an actor, Elizabeth McGovern was best known for her early work in Ordinary People and Racing With The Moon. Despite close to seventy acting credits on her IMDB page, she did not transcend this early success until taking on the role of Cora in the British drama series Downton Abbey (2010–2015). As the Countess of Grantham, she was nominated for an Emmy and Golden Globe awards. She reprised the role in the later films and became beloved internationally.
In most of her films and shows, Elizabeth McGovern played the forward-thinking good girl who fought for what was right. Although she has played darker characters in other films like Once Upon A Time In America and The Handmaid’s Tale, she never truly escaped the shadow of the good girl. Thus, it is not surprising that she chose to play Ava Gardner in her twilight years when abusive relationships and endless decanters of booze had tarnished the magical glow of the most beautiful woman in the world. Directed by Moritz von Stuelpnagel and based on the book The Secret Conversations by Peter Evans & Ava Gardner, the play is an ideal landscape for the actor to thrive and shine at this point in her career.
Bringing Ava Gardner to life, Elizabeth McGovern gives her a bite that is both dangerous and charming. Indeed, the financial constrictions of her later years and her desire for money to pay her expensive London mortgage dominate her perspective. Although she does not want to dig into the past, she has no choice. Although veiled by style and class, desperation simmers below the surface. As she tells the potential ghostwriter of her autobiography, “I either write the book or sell the jewels. I’m kinda sentimental about the jewels.”
As Ava’s ghostwriter Peter Evans, Aaron Costa Ganis proves a capable foil for the many duels. Although the play does not make you care about his character’s woes as a writer or family man, you identify with his fascination with Ava Gardner. Initially, he stumbles and stutters like a schoolboy on his first date, overwhelmed by nervous energy. As he settles down, he realizes Ava is a wealth of information and stories the public wants to hear. Aaron Costa Ganis also plays the various husbands of Ava Gardner, from Mickey Rooney to Frank Sinatra. Although his mimicry is decent, his scenes as these characters fade from memory.
In contrast, Ava shines brightly from beginning to end. Ava Gardner never loses sight of her legend despite her financial need and endless flirting. As a small-town Southern girl who grew up impoverished, she was thrown into the bright lights of Hollywood and the bed of Mickey Rooney as a teenager. She had very little education beyond what she learned on sets and in studios, and she was clay for the men in her life to mold and, ultimately, abuse. The success of “Ava: The Secret Conversations” is Elizabeth McGovern’s portrayal of a true survivor who navigated the egos of incredibly successful, yet abusive men.
From Mickey Rooney and Artie Shaw to Howard Hughes and Frank Sinatra, the men in her life always loved themselves more than they loved her, and she almost drowned in the dark tides of superstar narcissism. The tragedy of Ava Gardner is the lack of love in her life. She hisses like a python when asked about love, “Love is nothing: It’s a power play.” Learning this despicable lesson from those toxic men, one believes that deep inside, she secretly longed for the simplicity of her childhood and the honest love of her family of origin.
Photos by Jeff Lorch
