Rosemary Gill Performs “The Italian Lesson”

Join us for Rosemary Gill’s performance of “The Italian Lesson,” one of Ruth Draper’s most popular character sketches. Written in 1925 when Draper was 40 years old and at the height of her creative abilities as a great monologue artist, “The Italian Lesson” depicts a morning in the life of a hilariously over-scheduled New York society matron, circa 1925. An artist and actress, Rosemary Gill is a resident of Norfolk and has written and performed one woman shows throughout the course of her career. Please register below for this program.

The great monologue artist Ruth Draper was an exception to many rules. Born in 1884 in New York City, she grew up in the elite society written about by Henry James and Edith Wharton (both family friends). Women of her class and upbringing did not work, especially in the theater. But Draper managed to remain part of her social world while pursuing a career on the stage and, by the mid-1920s, had become the most celebrated solo artist in the business. Solo performers existed before Draper came along, but she reinvented the form, taking the monologue to heights it had never reached before.

Draper composed more than fifty monologues over the course of her career. With great depth and fidelity, she would assume the personality of one of countless characters she had observed as she went through life. She was the theatrical equivalent of a sketch artist. She had always done this on an amateur basis at family gatherings, parties, and benefits. As she grew into adulthood, the demand grew until she was performing for the President and even Royalty. She performed in Norfolk for the benefit of the Norfolk Volunteer Fire Department.

She was in her mid-thirties when she decided to go on the stage professionally. The year was 1920. She booked Aeolian Hall at her own expense with her one woman show, and began to tour the world. She normally did a full-length solo show on her own, but occasionally took vaudeville bookings. The most popular of Draper’s original character sketches, “The Italian Lesson” is both of its time and timeless, qualities essential to the durability of Draper’s art. Draper worked until she had a fatal heart attack, following two performances on December 29, 1956. She was 72 years old.

Thanks to a series of audio recordings, Draper’s career at times has thrived in the years since her death in 1956. Because of the recordings, her audience continues to grow and she has influenced countless professionals. Mike Nichols was such an ardent fan he often played Draper’s recordings for actors and writers with whom he worked; Lily Tomlin always cites Draper’s recordings as a seminal influence on her own career; and David Mamet has called Draper “one of the great dramatists of the 20th century.”