“The story you are about to see is true…except for the parts that aren’t.” So reads a disclaimer flashed on the curtain before the start of Ava: The Secret Conversations, an intoxicating brew of Hollywood gossip and bedroom talk written by and starring Elizabeth McGovern as Ava Gardner, perhaps the most magnetic star to emerge from the studio system. We start from a point of unreliability but the veracity of information conveyed is not the point of the play, it’s capturing Gardner as she attempts to make sense of her chaotic life and earn enough money to pay her mortgage by publishing a memoir. 
Elizabeth McGovern in
Ava: The Secret Conversations.
Credit: Jeff Lorch
McGovern is charismatic and stunning as the eccentric and glamorous Gardner. Clad by Toni-Leslie James in tasteful gowns and dresses subtly suggesting the pizzazz of old Hollywood, McGovern captures the ineffable “it” quality which made this woman a goddess on the screen. Simultaneously, she conveys her tender vulnerability as the star tries to analyze the impulsive choices which led her to being alone while being the most desired woman on the planet. She is raucously funny, punctuating nearly every sentence with the “f” word and then complaining “I hate foul-mouthed women!” Her Gardner is also frustratingly elusive as she dismisses the possibility of suffering abuse from the like of mysterious millionaire Howard Hughes. McGovern shows us all the facets of Gardner from the wide-eyed North Carolina girl who rides to Tinseltown on the strength of a photograph in a Manhattan storefront to the cynical veteran of three marriages and numerous love affairs. “Love is nothing,” she spits out with venom, “it’s all a power play.” You can feel every twist and turn of a life’s roller-coaster ride in how McGovern delivers that line.
McGovern’s script is fast and fun and Moritz von Stuelpnagel’s staging flows brilliantly with the aide of David Meyer’s elegant, fluid scenery, Amith Chandrashaker’s subtle lighting and Alex Basco Koch’s cinematic projections which feature numerous clips of Gardner and her various husbands. At 80 intermissionless minutes, the author-star does not go very deeply into her subject’s motives and psychology. We get the greatest hits of Gardner’s dazzling life and career, much like the star’s own autobiography Ava: My Story.
Aaron Costa Ganis and
Elizabeth McGovern in
Ava: The Secret Conversations.
Credit: Jeff Lorch
The play is based on another Gardner tome, The Secret Conversations which consisted of taped talks between the star and writer Peter Evans who was contracted to co-author a book with her. Eventually, Gardner broke off the collaboration and published her own bio. Gardner put out the transcripts of their dialogues after her death.
The action is seen from Evans’ point of view as he meets with Gardner in her London home and together they retrace her tumultuous life. In addition to playing Evans and masterfully narrating the action, Ganis does a credible job of impersonating the star’s three spouses—the hyperactive adolescent Mickey Rooney, the overbearing intellectual jazz musician Artie Shaw, and the blustering, rough-edged Frank Sinatra. Ganis is particularly impressive with his singing Sinatra. He sounded so much like the voice of America’s greatest pop male vocalist, I actually thought he might be lip-synching when he began to croon “I’ve Got You Under My Skin.” (Gardner’s love affairs with George C. Scott and bull-fighter Luis Miguel Dominguin are not included.)
Aaron Costa Ganis in
Ava: The Secret Conversations.
Credit: Jeff Lorch
Gardner calls Evans at odd hours, shamelessly flirts with him, pulls back when Sinatra expresses displeasure at her revealing their secrets, and finally pulls the plug. McGovern writes the breakup in metaphoric fashion with stagehands disassembling Meyer’s set and a director (Chris Thorn who also provides the voice of Evans’ agent) calling the shots for a final scene. McGovern enters as Gardner in a stunning red-carpet gown claiming “Someday everyone will get a chance to be famous” (a little too on the nose as a comparison to our social-media-saturated world) and disappears. Evans is finally left with projected images of the movie star and the sense he didn’t really get to know his subject at all. The audience might feel similarly short-changed.
Aug. 7—Sept. 14. New York City Center Stage I, 131 W. 55th St., NYC. Running time: 80 mins. with no intermission. nycitycenter.org.
