| ESTELLE PARSONS AND LOIS SMITH HONORED WITH THEIR OWN ROSES | |
| Posted by: Official_Press_Release 11:40 am EST 01/21/25 | |
|
|
|
| ESTELLE PARSONS AND LOIS SMITH HONORED WITH THEIR OWN ROSES Following the long tradition of roses being named for actors of note, Estelle Parsons and Lois Smith are being honored with their own official rose in 2025 through the American Rose Society. The actresses received the first plant from the breeder early last Autumn. Estelle picked a yellow and red rose, and Lois chose a lavender rose with a golden center. Both were bred to be highly fragrant. The roses will first be available in limited quantities in the Spring of 2025 when they go on sale online from a premiere rose grower. (Orders are not yet being accepted. From just rumor, the rose breeder has been inundated with calls and has asked their name not yet be released.) In following years, as more are able to be grown, they will be more widely available. The ReGroup Theatre has spent many years to get these distinguished actresses "their flowers," not just in slang but in the literal sense, as it had long been tradition naming roses in honor of noted actresses of the Stage and Screen. They join Helen Hayes, Judy Garland, Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly, Elizabeth Taylor, Marilyn Monroe, Ingrid Bergman, Greta Garbo, and Betty White as famous actresses with their own rose. With their monumental number of awards, including a combined OSCAR and TONY, having an official rose is a new honor ReGroup is pleased to announce as their own award. With over a combined century of performances between them, Ms Parsons and Ms Smith now join this distinguished group. They both have been vital to ReGroup's success by sharing their knowledge as members of the advisory board. Lois appeared in their Group Theatre 80th anniversary tribute at Symphony Space and a Tennessee Williams' reading as a ReGroup fundraiser and to launch James Grissom's book Follies of God, and Estelle directed a production of the rare Paul Green and Kurt Weill musical Johnny Johnson. As if they need introduction, and it is impossible to sum up their extensive careers in a paragraph, but for the non-theatre rose growers, here is a minor attempt to introduce them: Estelle Parsons won the 'Best Supporting Actress' Academy Award for her first film, Bonnie and Clyde. She was nominated again the following year for the same award for her performance in the Paul Newman & Joanne Woodward film Rachel, Rachel. She's continued in countless plays and helped establish The Public Theatre's Shakespeare in the Park. An early member of the Actors Studio, she later served as Artistic Director and still conducts sessions there. Besides her infamous turns in Miss Margarida's Way to marvelous acclaim she was brilliant as the first Broadway replacement lead in Tracey Letts' August: Osage County. To the general public, she is known for Bonnie and Clyde and her recurring television characters, Blanche Heffner, neighbor to the Bunkers on All in the Family/Archie Bunker's Place, and as Bev, the titular character's mother on the sitcom Roseanne and its spin-off The Conners. Earlier in 2024, she directed a new play, American Rot, at LaMama. Lois Smith, another early member of the Actor Studio, had her first film role in Elia Kazan's film adaptation of John Steinbeck's brilliant East of Eden. Along with Julie Harris and, in her Academy Award winning role, Jo VanFleet, the brilliantly cast film is likely most known as it was James Dean's first film as well. (She again was lauded for her other Steinbeck turn in the stage version of The Grapes of Wrath from Steppenwolf Theatre, of which she is a member.) Ms Smith has also gone on working nearly non-stop to the current day, winning almost every award possible, to be capped off with the TONY award in 2021 for The Inheritance by Matthew Lopez. Again, the general population will know her from her film roles, including Twister, Five Easy Pieces, and Lady Bird to name just a few. Recently, she appeared in a 3-episode arc on Law and Order: Organized Crime. Again, the career overviews are just a mere slice of their work and awards. ReGroup Theatre, a 501(c)3, was formed in 2010 in hopes of making the theatre more powerful and has caused a great deal of meaningful friction. Like most every theatre company, they modeled themselves after the Group Theatre. Unlike others, they were able to collect all the Group plays, including many that were un-printed and considered lost to time. With the playwright's family's' permission, they've led the plays to print and production. The most esteemed American actors who became the founding teachers trained with these great plays. ReGroup has made it a goal to make them all available to the public. Currently, they have produced 4 volumes of these rare plays (many for the first time ever). Future volumes of plays are in the works in hopes of getting all the Group's play out there. ReGroup has produced dozens of staged readings and many productions, including the first revival of Group Theatre plays and a benefit featuring samples of all 23 Group Plays. Like the Group and its members, ReGroup believes that being in the theatre includes knowing fine art, nature, and other art forms. Besides COVID, and the lack of resources and theatre space, ReGroup has been relatively quiet in recent years, but it has never stopped working. ReGroup artistic director, Allie Mulholland, who has been unable to fully serve due to Chiari and Ehlers Danlos, says they will return in the near future with more surprises. The company decided to await his return than proceed in his absence. To see photos of the roses, please visit www.regrouptheatre.org Sale info will be posted there as soon as it is available. |
|
| reply | |
|
|
|
| Previous: | JUST IN TIME Casting Complete: ERIKA HENNINGSEN Rounds Out Broadway Cast - Official_Press_Release 11:41 am EST 01/21/25 |
| Next: | “CALIFORNIA LOVE”: AN EVENING OF CALIFORNIA SONGS BE NEFITING CALIFORNIA WILDFIRE RELIEF ANNOUNCED - Official_Press_Release 11:39 am EST 01/21/25 |
| Thread: | |
Time to render: 0.008921 seconds.