I was so excited when I found out they were doing Looped in New Orleans. I had originally seen the show starring Valerie Harper in Washington DC before it made it’s way to Broadway and it was hysterical. The show eventually opened on Broadway in 2010 starring Harper then Stephanie Powers. Harper was also nominated for the Tony Award.
The show by Matthew Lombardo is based on a real event which takes place in the summer of 1965, when an inebriated Tallulah Bankhead needed eight hours to redub – or loop – one line of dialogue for her last movie, Die, Die My Darling! The day quickly becomes a battle of wills between Bankhead’s egotistical personality and the mild mannered film editor named Danny Miller, who has been selected to work that particular sound editing session.
Playing Bankhead with delicious fury is Elizabeth Bouvier (aka Jeff Mallon) who stars alongside with Gregory Nacozy and Danny Miller, the unfortunate person chosen to work that fateful afternoon. The play is a quick witted tug of war between the two main characters; a third character Steve voiced by director Gary Vandeventer is heard off-screen.
The show is brilliantly funny, stopping briefly for a a few dramatic moments. Bouvier commands the stage the moment show walks through the door. It is amazing to watch her deliver each jab and joke with preciseness. The actors take the audience on a wild ride as both acts keep the laughs constant. Nacozy plays Miller with both tenderness and underlying frustration and anger both at Bankhead and his life in general. But this is Bouvier’s show and she takes the reins bringing Bankhead to vivid life. Watching her character go from a prima donna making outrageous diva commands, to a more caring and compassionate mother figure for Miller is amazing.
Looped is definitely a enjoyable evening of theatre. It is playing at the Valiant Theatre located in Old Arabi at 6621 St. Claude Avenue. This is the last weekend of the show playing Friday, August 18 and Monday August 21 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, August 20 at 6 p.m. For tickets and more information, go to Evenbrite or their Facebook page Looped by Matthew Lambardo.