by Max Marbut
Staff Writer
Sunny Thompson is a veteran of the live entertainment business. She’s played Las Vegas, Lake Tahoe and Reno. Thompson even spent four years on stage in Branson, Mo.
All that changed three years ago when “Marilyn: Forever Blonde” debuted at the Stella Adler School of Acting in Hollywood. Since then Thompson and her husband, Greg, who wrote the one-woman play, have been traveling throughout the United States, Canada and London’s West End bringing Hollywood’s most renowned blonde bombshell to life. Lately the play has been touring in conjunction with the art exhibit “Life as a Legend: Marilyn Monroe.”
Thompson said her husband was inspired to create the homage to Monroe years before they were married for two reasons.
“He always had a special place in his heart for Marilyn Monroe – I think most men do – and he saw a one-man show about Groucho Marx. He was amazed at how much he didn’t know about Groucho,” she said.
Combining some of Monroe’s most famous quotations with some of the songs she sang in her movies provided the outline for the production, but it wasn’t until the couple married that they decided to take the show on the road.
Thompson was starring in a casino show she described as “Mitzi Gaynor meets Gwen Stefani” that also included some impersonations of Hollywood’s most famous blonde celebrities.
“Every time I impersonated Marilyn, the audience really responded. Greg showed me the play but I really wasn’t looking for another project. Then we got married and the nagging ensued,” she said with a smile. “I realized the play was brilliant so we found a director who was working at the Seattle Shakespeare Company. It was wonderful to work with a director who was familiar with William Shakespeare’s work because it’s so gritty and earthy and sexy. Having that background meant we didn’t have to take anything away from Marilyn’s personality.”
Thompson said studying the celebrity’s life, loves and tragedies has led to many revelations about Monroe’s life.
“People identified so much with her that it got to the point all they wanted was the celebrity and that took over her life. There was no appreciation for her as a person.”
Thompson performs 17 songs Monroe made famous in her films during the show as well as a series of monologues. The premise is that Monroe is at her last photo shoot and begins to reminisce with the photographer and then the audience about her life and what it would be like to do it all over again.
“Parts of the show are funny and parts of it are very sad, just like her life. It’s a dream of a role for an actress, an hour and 20 minute roller coaster of emotions,” said Thompson, who devotes more than two hours before each performance for makeup and hairstyling. “I just put on some Frank Sinatra music in my dressing room. I really enjoy getting ready to go on stage.”
The show isn’t what everyone who sees it expects, Thompson added.
“I don’t really portray the iconic character. I play the Marilyn Monroe you’d find at home in her living room. This show is about the real girl and who she really was as a person. I think even people who know a lot about her before they see the show learn some things about Marilyn Monroe before they leave the theater.”
You can see Sunny Thompson in “Marilyn: Forever Blonde” through March 7 at the Museum of Contemporary Art Theatre. Performances are Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings at 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday there are also matinees at 2 p.m. Tickets are $24-$34 and may be reserved by calling 366-6911, ext. 209 or by visiting www.mocajacksonville.org.
When Sunny Thompson is on stage and in character, “It’s like being in Marilyn’s living room,” she said. The show also showcases Monroe’s songs and her costumes.
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