Set in March 1948, in Highland Hospital, in Asheville, North Carolina, The Last Flapper depicts the life of Zelda Fitzgerald (wife of F. Scott Fitzgerald) a few days before her death in a fire. It is essentially, a one-act, an extended monologue along the lines of The Belle of Amherst and Gertrude Stein, Getrude Stein, Gertrude Stein. Zelda grabs the opportunity to dig into her psychiatrist’s desk when he cancels their appointment. She invites us in, takes us into her confidence, making eye-contact and speaking directly to audience members. She is friendly, forthcoming, playful, frank.
Before she met Scott Fitzgerald, Zelda was well known in Montgomery, Alabama. A daughter of the wealthy Sayre family, she defied notions of appropriate behavior for young ladies, and payed little attention to the admonitions of her conservative parents. She married Scott Fitzgerald not long after the success of This Side of Paradise. A novelist, playwright and painter herself, she and Scott became the glamorous, notorious couple of the Roaring Twenties, drinking freely, pranking at parties, ignoring social conventions.
As career authors do, they hobnobbed with other artists, visiting Europe, flaunting the sybaritic life of intellect and disdain for convention. Scott discovers an intense connection with Ernest Hemingway. Zelda’s mental health deteriorates, and she is sent to Johns Hopkins for treatment. Over the years of being institutionalized (and ostracized) Zelda is subjected to Electro and insulin shock therapy. It’s not clear how much malpractice occurred, due to negligence, incompetence or the primitive days of early psychotherapy, but clearly Zelda lacked zealous treatment and advocacy.
If we consider her predicament and the times, Flappers asserted their right to dress seductively, drink like fish, be promiscuous; perhaps very adult and very childlike at the same time. This was the essence of Zelda. It was marvelously charming until she asked for desperately needed attention. Not like: look at me, attention, but to salvage a soul in jeopardy. In the context of male ego and the patriarchy, it’s very possible she was gaslit by her husband (among others) and her career and talents diminished and dismissed.
Catherine DuBord’s performance as Zelda is astonishing, intuitive and quietly dazzling. When she shares an anecdote from her past, summoning an exchange with her mama (pinning up her wedding gown) a first dinner with Scott and her parents (It’s nobody’s God Damned business) we are immediately submerged in the moment, a mixture of effusive girlishness and unapologetic defiance. DuBord creates Zelda with something of a kaleidoscope: her intelligence, her insouciance, her anger, her despair. One moment she’s lighter than a fairy, the next she’s sunken in despondence. It’s truly a privilege to witness an actor of DuBord’s caliber play Zelda with authenticity, depth, and something far beyond the sum of Zelda’s parts.
This is not to be missed.
Belle Sauvage and Theatre Too (@ Theatre Three) presents Catherine DuBord in The Last Flapper, playing June 1st-11th, 2023. 2688 Laclede Street, Dallas, Texas 75201. 214-871-3300 www.bellesauvage.us