Amherst Glebe Arts Response will present the premiere run of “Eleanor, the First Lady of Radio,” a play about the life, experiences and opinions of Eleanor Roosevelt, written and directed by Dr. James (Jim) Zabloski, PhD. featuring his wife Linda Zabloski in the title role of Eleanor Roosevelt. The play will be presented on April 10 at 7 pm, on April 11th at 2 pm and 7 pm, and on Sunday April 12, at 4 pm at the Amherst Glebe, 156 Patrick Henry Highway, Amherst, VA 24521. Tickets are $10 for adults and $2 for children and students and are available through LynchburgTickets.com. Seating is limited, and reservations are strongly advised. Further information can be obtained at 434-989-3215.
Dr. Jim Zabloski says, “Linda and I were looking for a strong woman character, and we came across material about Eleanor Roosevelt that caught our interest – and then, as we read more of her writings, lectures, radio broadcasts, that interest snowballed. Eighty percent of the script is made up of Eleanor’s words. I want people to enjoy her words,-- I’d like people to walk away thinking they have to go learn more about this woman.”
Linda Zabloski says: “The many layers of her personality surprised me. I think Eleanor Roosevelt was a strong person. She had really a lot of powerful convictions that are relevant today. She said she was shy, but she stood up for what she believed. She went down in a coal mine because she wanted to relate to the lives of working people. During World War II, she went on the battlefield with the Red Cross. She touched the untouchables of that day. Politicians, and Presidents’ wives didn’t do that sort of thing then…. I think she was the first “First Lady” to take up causes.
Jim Jablonski continues: “She was First Lady, but she had compassion for the poor and the underprivileged. I began to get some insights about her – her childhood abuse – that was really what it was. I had known she was a political force, but none of her personal issues. I want the audience to understand that things and people are not always what they seem. We look at someone like Eleanor and we think, ‘She was rich and she was popular and she had no needs.’ However, she was very lonely; she carried a lot of baggage.”
Linda Zabloski concludes, “I want us to share with people a complete picture of the time period -- to give them a way to make history come alive! I would hope that after they see the play they will want to go and read about Eleanor Roosevelt. I am a teacher and that what I care about."
