“The Perfect Educational Program for
Women’s Studies, Theatre and Dance Departments”
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LISA BANSAVAGE portrays the
Mother of Modern Dance

* in *

Isadora,
American Legend

by Jerry James and Ann Beigel

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New York actress Lisa Bansavage stars in Isadora, American Legend, the triumphant story of a maverick feminist and visionary artist whose unwavering sense of aesthetics and social justice defied contemporary artistic and political conventions.

Isadora Duncan (1877-1927) revolutionized the world of dance with a creative approach that opened the way for individual expression in this most tradition-bound of the performing arts. Her sexual openness and unabashed reverence for the female body scandalized a puritanical public while establishing her as a heroine to those who recognized the implications of her daring innovations. Isadora, American Legend is a riveting enactment of how one woman overcame family problems, personal tragedy and professional obstacles to win universal acclaim as the Mother of Modern Dance.

Lisa Bansavage is a seasoned interpreter of historical drama. Her career spans Broadway, Off Broadway, regional theatre, film, television and national commercial credits including Master Class, A Man for All Seasons, The Grapes of Wrath, Grace & Glorie, Mastergate, Red Scare on Sunset,The Changeling, The Country Wife, A View from the Bridge, The Beauty Queen of Leenane, The Sisters Rosenweig, Night of the Iguana, Mississippi Burning, Married to the Mob, Three Men and a Baby, The Fisher King, Diary of Anne Frank, Vampire Lesbians of Sodom, The Loman Family Picnic and a third of the full Shakespearean canon as well as a role opposite Sir Anthony Quayle in the BBC-London production of An Exchange of Gifts.

She is a graduate of Carnegie-Mellon University’s theatre conservatory and holds a Masters from The University of Pittsburgh where she was the Merrill Fellow.

Lisa Bansavage in Isadora, American Legend

“She brought Isadora so palpably alive that the theatre pulsed with the three-dimensional life of her performance. Funny, sad,  informative, sexy, heartbreaking — a wonderful ninety minutes of theatre!”
    — Sean O’Sullivan, A! Magazine

“The springboard for other women today to listen to the voice within them, daring to do something different.”
    — C. Robert Weisfeld, Abingdon Virginian

"What can I say about the Isadora show except that town and campus are still buzzing about it. I was certain all along that Lisa Bansavage would bring a powerful piece of theater, well delivered and with lasting impact. Lisa will definitely be back with more performance work." — Susan Lachmann, Women on Air, WETS-FM

Other Critics Comment on Lisa Bansavage. . .

“Bansavage brings so much genuine emotion to Glorie, she’s guaranteed to give you a lumpy throat, even if you don’t end up flat-out crying.” — Lancaster Sunday News, Grace and Glorie, Fulton Opera House

“Lisa Bansavage is magnificent as Portia. Ms. Bansavage is a striking-looking woman with a rich, fascinating voice. It is a performance that makes you want to head to the box office after the curtain to buy seats for the next show.” — Time Off, The Merchant of Venice, New Jersey Shakespeare Festival

“Lisa Bansavage is an astounding Emilia, dropping pearls of wisdom and a path of presence all across the Bowne Theatre stage.” — Newark Star-Ledger, Othello, New Jersey Shakespeare Festival

Among all the fine performances, the charisma of Bansavage’s knowing turn as Bea deserves special note. By the end of dinner, Bea’s eyes reveal her recognition that a disaster looms over her home.”
      — Salt Lake Tribune, A View from a Bridge, Pioneer Theatre Company

“As the neurotic, luxury-loving Mrs. Van Daan, Lisa Bansavage is the production’s fulcrum, going from vain, giddy matron to shell-shocked scarecrow; her Bette Davis bitch-on-a-tightrope number makes for a bracing brew, even out-trumping the frayed nobility and desperate unwinding of her fellow inmates.”
     — Scene, The Diary of Anne Frank, Cleveland Play House

"Cellini's cast is magnificent. Most of the actors are called upon to play several challenging roles, often with different regional accents and each does this flawlessly. Lisa Bansavage can be duchess or serving maid without the audience realizing she plays both roles.”
      — Theatre Reviews Unlimited, Cellini, Second Stage Theatre, New York City

“Lisa Bansavage makes an impressive Rep debut as Maureen, delivering slashing one-liners to her mom and provocative endearments to Pato with telling force.”
     — Charlotte News-Observer, The Beauty Queen of Leenane, Charlotte Repertory Theatre

~ About the Playwrights ~

Jerry James has directed and co-authored Isadora:  American Legend, You Can’t Always Get What You Want, Rege & Marge and Commie Lesbos from Outer Space. His regional directing credits include And Miss Reardon Drinks a Little, The Diary of Anne Frank, Mame, Promises, Promises, Night Watch, The Irregular Verb to Love and Barefoot in the Park. Mr. James is also the author of Virgins & Dynamos, Sea Change, Hasta Cuando? and Spirit of the Dream, variously produced in New York City, Toronto, Munich, Denver, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Baltimore and on tour in Great Britain.

Ann Beigel is a veteran actress, author and director who has performed with the New York Repertory Company, Loeb Drama Center, Wings Theatre Company, Iron Clad Agreement, Utah Shakespeare Company; she has derived much inspiration from Isadora Duncan’s autobiography My Life.

Some Quotations from . . Isadora Duncan
     
"Virtuous people are simply those who have not been tempted sufficiently, because they live in a vegetative state, or because their purposes are so concentrated in one direction that they have not had the leisure to glance around them."

"All my life I have struggled to make one authentic gesture."

"Most human beings today waste some 25 to 30 years of their lives before they break through the actual and conventional lies which surround them."

"I do not teach children, I give them joy."
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