Wednesday, July 25, 6:30 p.m.
Western District Library, 1111 Fourth Street, Orion IL
On July 25, the public and private personas of one of the 20th Century's most famous individuals will be explored when Orion's Western District Library hosts a one-woman performance with Leslie Goddard, the acclaimed, Chicago-based actor/writer whose touring impersonations include Eleanor Roosevelt, Amelia Earhart, Georgia O'Keeffe, Louisa May Alcott, and – in her library presentation – Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy.
An international icon and the wife of the 35th President of the United States, Kennedy was featured 27 times on the annual Gallup list of the top 10 most admired people of the second half of the 20th Century, a number superseded by only Billy Graham and Queen Elizabeth II, and higher than that of any U.S. President. In Goddard's solo presentation, it is 1964, and the former first lady – besieged by tourists and cameramen weeks after after husband's death – is struggling to cope. Attempting to determine her next steps after leaving Washington D.C., Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy reviews her life, sharing stories about her marriage, her fight for privacy amidst intense media scrutiny, her work to restore the White House, and her attempts to showcase the arts. As the initially reticent Jackie gradually opens up about her past and futue, portrayer Goddard allows you to meet the private woman behind the public myth.
A legendary figure played on film and television by award-winning actresses including Natalie Portman, Jacqueline Bisset, and Blair Brown, Jacqueline Kennedy is an instantly recognizable presence, and as she explained to the Chicago Reader, Goddard consequently strives for pitch-perfect accuracy when assuming the role. “Every time I do Jackie Kennedy,” Goddard explained, “I have to make sure there are no runs in the stockings; everything has to be perfectly pressed and perfectly clean. We have the same shoe size – size 10. She had really big feet. I listened to recordings of her over and over, trying to get that sort of breathy voice. I looked into seeing if I could find her actual lipstick. She wore Adrien Arpel Perfect Pink. I don't think they make it anymore.”
Leslie Goddard's Jacqueline Kennedy presentation begins at 6:30 p.m., admission to the July 25 event is free, and more information is available by calling (309)526-8375 or visiting WesternDistrictLibrary.org.
