Kandis Chappell plays Eleanor Roosevelt in the Rubicon Theater Company’s production of Eleanor, a one-woman play by Mark St. Germain about this remarkable woman’s dedication to social justice and her influence on 20th-century culture in America. In this present-day story, Eleanor’s spirit speaks to the audience from Rock Creek Cemetery in Washington D.C. — which is not the cemetery where her body is buried next to her husband, President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Instead, she’s drawn to the graves of family and companions buried elsewhere, setting the stage for a biography built on themes of substance over beauty, the disappointments of life as a humanitarian in politics, and finding true love.
Kandis Chappell stars in ‘Eleanor’ running May 13-31 at Rubicon Theatre Company | Photo: Jason Niedle 
Kandis Chappell stars in ‘Eleanor’ running May 13-31 at Rubicon Theatre Company | Photo: Jason Niedle 
Kandis Chappell stars in ‘Eleanor’ running May 13-31 at Rubicon Theatre Company | Photo: Jason Niedle 
Kandis Chappell stars in ‘Eleanor’ running May 13-31 at Rubicon Theatre Company | Photo: Jason Niedle 
Kandis Chappell stars in ‘Eleanor’ running May 13-31 at Rubicon Theatre Company | Photo: Jason Niedle 
Kandis Chappell stars in ‘Eleanor’ running May 13-31 at Rubicon Theatre Company | Photo: Jason Niedle 
Kandis Chappell stars in ‘Eleanor’ running May 13-31 at Rubicon Theatre Company | Photo: Jason Niedle
The narrative is not an exhaustive journey from Eleanor’s birth to death; instead, the story begins at the pivotal moment when Eleanor discovers her husband’s longtime mistress, Lucy Mercer. For most of their lives, Eleanor and Franklin had a professional working relationship more than a traditional marriage, and in death, Eleanor is undecided as to where her spirit should rest. Chappell plays Eleanor as resilient and passionately empathetic, a woman illustrative of her uncle Teddy Roosevelt’s ideology of speaking softly and carrying a big stick. In this case, Eleanor’s stick is the influence she wields, both as a public darling and via her position as the four-term president’s wife. The show is paced steadily and peppered with humor despite the ache Eleanor feels while facing the decision of where to rest her soul.
Eleanor is a personable history about an inspiring role model worth paying attention to, and this show presents the character without diminishing her humanity or underplaying her power. Directed by David Ellenstein, Eleanor runs at the Rubicon Theater in Ventura through May 31. See rubicontheatre.org/events/eleanor
