A one-person play can be a daunting task. The success of the project depends on the acting chops and charisma of the star, and the quality of the material.
Thankfully, The Bent’s current production of I’ll Eat You Last: A Chat With Sue Mengers has both. Hollywood veteran Cathy Moriarty is perfectly cast as the feisty Mengers, a real-life agent to the stars in the 1960s and ’70s who fought her way to the top in a male-dominated business.
John Logan‘s script is full of juicy Hollywood stories—85-minutes of name-dropping, with a liberal dose of profanity. The truth is, most of us love hearing dirt about celebrities. It makes them seem more human, and makes us feel so much better about our own less-than-perfect lives.
Mengers was born in Hamburg, Germany. Her Jewish parents, George and Ruth Mengers, who spoke no English at the time, took their 5-year-old daughter and moved to Utica, N.Y., in 1938. George, who was a traveling salesman, later committed suicide. Sue and her mother relocated to the Bronx, where Ruth began working as a bookkeeper.
Sue began her talent-agency career at the age of 17 when she was hired as a receptionist at MCA. She later got a job as a secretary at the prestigious William Morris Agency. An astute observer of the inner workings of the agency, Sue decided she had what it took to be an agent herself. Hard work and late hours paid off when stage actress Julie Harris became her first client.
In the play, Mengers recounts explaining to Harris why she didn’t get the role of Mary Todd Lincoln in a TV movie, because she wasn’t “young and sexy enough.” Moriarty’s delivery is perfect when she notes that Mary Todd Lincoln wasn’t exactly known for being a sex bomb herself.
Mengers’ client list reads like a who’s-who of Hollywood, including Joan Collins, Ali MacGraw, Steve McQueen, Cher, Gene Hackman, Ryan O’Neal, Burt Reynolds, Gore Vidal, Faye Dunaway, Michael Caine and Nick Nolte. Those professional relationships would occasionally blossom into true friendships, as was the case with Barbra Streisand. Streisand was Menger’s maid of honor when she married Belgian writer-director Jean-Claude Tramont in 1973. After their major falling out over the movie Yentl (Mengers thought it was a bad career move), Streisand fired her.
The play is set in Mengers’ living room shortly before one of her exclusive Hollywood dinner parties. She’s awaiting what she assumes will be a conciliatory phone call from Babs.
Known for her acerbic New York charm and raspy voice, Moriarty is very likable onstage. Her own personal connection to her subject brings an important authenticity to the role.
As with many Hollywood agents, diplomacy was not Menger’s strong suit. She’s quite clear about who she liked and who she did not. Ali MacGraw was a favorite—“beautiful and classy”—while Steve McQueen, MacGraw’s husband, was “misogynistic and just plain mean.”
Moriarty does an excellent job of engaging the audience and making us each feel like a good friend invited over for coffee or a glass of wine. Moriarty herself had a particularly auspicious start in Hollywood. Cast as Jake LaMotta’s wife, Vickie, opposite Robert De Niro in Raging Bull while she was still a teen, she earned an Academy Award nomination for the role. Sue Mengers took notice and helped Moriarty build a solid movie career, with appearances in Soapdish, The Mambo Kings, Cop Land and Kindergarten Cop, among others.
Known for her acerbic New York charm and raspy voice, Moriarty is very likable onstage. Her own personal connection to her subject brings an important authenticity to the role. Dressed in a flowing caftan and smoking a cigarette (occasionally a joint), Moriarty remains seated on her living room couch throughout the production. An audience member is called upon to briefly step onstage to fetch her more wine, etc.
Moriarty is warm and funny, and she always keeps the play moving. After each tale of the ins and outs of how a certain star did or did not get a coveted film role, we’re eager to hear the next one. As an actor, it can be very challenging to command the stage alone for nearly an hour and a half, but Moriarty nails it, with the excellent guidance of director Steve Rosenbaum.
Jason Reale’s lovely, welcoming set with a holiday flair is perfect. Mariah Pryor adds just the right touch, bathing the stage with beautiful golden light.
When the hustle and bustle of the holiday season becomes a bit too much, taking a break to see a fun, relaxing play can be just what the doctor ordered. The Bent’s I’ll Eat You Last with the iconic Cathy Moriarty is an excellent choice.
The Bent’s production of I’ll Eat You at Last: A Chat With Sue Mengers will be performed at 7 p.m., Friday and Saturday; and 2 p.m., Sunday, through Sunday, Dec. 22, at the Palm Springs Cultural Center, 2300 E. Baristo Road, in Palm Springs. Tickets are $75. For tickets or more information, visit thebent.org.
