By By JOHN EBY / Niles Daily Star
SKOKIE, Ill. – Ann Landers' daughter, Margo, 68, came to Judith Ivey's opening night of "The Lady with all the Answers" back on May 21 and praised the former Dowagiac resident's acting as "channeling" her advice columnist mother, Eppie Lederer.
Soni Smith, one of 14 classmates, friends and fans who filled two vans to be part of a packed Wednesday afternoon matinee at Northlight Theatre, wholeheartedly agreed.
"It was absolutely fabulous," pronounced Smith.
Also attending were 1970 classmates Carol Springsteen and Vicary Blackmond of Niles, along with Gary Weaver, Nancy Pallas, Natalie Springsteen, Herb and Eve Phillipson, Linda Lorenz, Franklin and Gail Ward, Polly Judd and Marion Weaver.
"It's so great you guys came," Judy said, graciously joining the group for a late lunch between shows.
The Chicago Tribune also gave Ivey's one-woman show about the Chicago icon a good review ("This highly entertaining, frequently moving play (is) destined for Chicago and beyond!" wrote Chris Jones; "No question about it – this 'Lady' is marvelous," agreed the Sun-Times.)
In fact, Ivey is meeting this week for talks to see about taking the show to New York after it closes in Chicagoland June 29.
Ivey lived on Orchard Street in Dowagiac from 1965 to 1968 when her father, Nathan, was Southwestern Michigan College's first president and her mother, Dorothy, taught English at Central Junior High School.
Had the Iveys not moved to Illinois, Judy would have graduated with the Union High School Class of 1970.
She might never have left art for acting, which she did as a way to fit in at her new high school.
She ended up attending Illinois State University. But she does watercolors to pass the time between shows.
The excursion was organized by Marion Weaver, who keeps in touch with both Judy, 56, and her parents, who live in Texas.
Ivey, nibbling at a salad with the Dowagiac delegation before her second show at 7:30, said David Rambo's play is "easy to do because it's so well-written."
Landers, of course, was a Chicago icon who knew everybody, from "Kup" to Hugh Hefner.
With millions of loyal readers, her life seemed an open book, but "The Lady with all the Answers" deftly tugs the audience into uncharted waters, like visiting the troops in Vietnam, that she left out of her column.
In fact, the whole play is built around the writing of her most heartbreaking column, published with Margo's approval on July 1, 1975, about the disintegration of her own 3 1/2-decade marriage, which could be career death to a newspaper columnist dispensing wit and wisdom to confused couples.
Ivey, her mane of curly blonde hair concealed beneath that "helmet" of a dark 'do, becomes Landers as she sorts papers in a replica of her Lake Shore Drive apartment, putting on and taking off pair after pair of glasses while rationalizing sneaking chocolates.
For intermission, the actress retires offstage to "take a bath," since soaking is how Landers plowed through her hefty mailbag.
"The Lady with all the Answers" is filled with snappy one-liners from classic columns about doing housework in the nude, the man who wore his motorcycle helmet during intimate moments in bed with his wife and, of course, the thousands who weighed in on the proper way to hang toilet paper.
Ironically, Ivey said, one of her mom's former students came to the play the same night Dorothy was in the audience, and Mrs. Ivey had assigned those students to write to Landers – why she devoted so many columns to toilet paper.
Esther Pauline Friedman – "Eppie" – was born July 4, 1918, in Sioux City, Iowa, third of four daughters born to Abraham and Rebecca; the fourth was her twin sister, Pauline Esther – "Popo" – who came 17 minutes later.
As "Landers" acknowledges about her and "Dear Abby," their mother encouraged them to dress alike and constantly reminded them they were "each half of one egg."
The twins attended Morningside College in Sioux City, dropping out in 1939 to get married, walking down the aisle at a double wedding two days before they turned 21.
Eppie and husband Jules moved around the country as his career dictated, eventually ending up in Eau Claire, Wis. She got involved in politics, determined to prevent the re-election of Sen. Joseph McCarthy.
The Republican survived, however, and she had to settle for Democratic Party chair, through which she made her first influential connection in Sen. Hubert Humphrey.
In 1955, Jules' new job landed the couple in Chicago. The Sun-Times already had an Ann Landers. Eppie asked if she needed any help opening her mail. It turned out the columnist had quit and the newspaper was actively seeking her replacement.
When she appeared for her interview without any writing samples, Eppie informed the editor she won a high school essay contest and wrote almost daily letters to her parents, who thought they were wonderful, including poetry she called "Eppie-grams."
The editor gave each of the 30 job contenders sample letters to answer.
What she lacked in journalism experience she made up for with chutzpa and expert friends she could consult, such as legal advice from Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas and University of Notre Dame President Theodore Hesburgh.
Her first column appeared Oct. 16, 1955. As Ann Landers, Eppie quickly won a following with her no-nonsense responses, like "Time wounds all heels" to a cheating husband.
Though a self-described "square," Landers did not shy away from controversial issues, from abortion and cancer to the Vietnam war.
Ivey draw audible laughter from the Dowagiac rows in the intimate theater with Lander's line about her first column about homosexuality, which only the Herald in St. Joseph balked at running.
In 1987, Landers' column moved from the Sun-Times to the Chicago Tribune.
By then, Ann Landers was one of the most widely syndicated features in the United States.
Reflecting on her popularity, Eppie mused, "The mail represents every conceivable segment of society. Why do they write to Ann Landers? They write to me for a variety of reasons. Some of (them) are ashamed to go to anyone they know … others write because a letter to Ann Landers costs only the price of postage. A visit to a counselor means an appointment and bus fare."
Her connection with readers meant more to her than anything, and she dutifully answered every letter she received.
She once remarked, "I would rather have my column on a thousand refrigerator doors than win a Pulitzer."
She continued writing until she died June 22, 2002, of a blood cancer.
Her final column appeared July 27, 2002, with her last printed words, "Thanks for writing."
Ivey, who won two Tony Awards on Broadway ("Steaming" in 1983 and "Hurlyburly" in 1985), has a longstanding relationship with Northlight, known as the Evanston Theatre Company when she was a resident actress in 1977-1978.
Though she prefers the immediate reaction of live theatre to the tedious process of making movies, Ivey's films include "The Lonely Guy," "Devil's Advocate," "Washington Square," "Brighton Beach Memoirs," "Love Hurts," "What Alice Found" and Clint Eastwood's "Flags of Our Fathers."
She starred in four television series, including "Designing Women's" final season, "Down Home" and "The Five Mrs. Buchanan's," created by Marc Cherry, who later created "Desperate Housewives."
She was nominated for an Emmy in Hallmark's "What the Deaf Man Heard."