Theater review: Before rock, there was Tallulah

Today Tallulah Bankhead may be remembered more for her outsized personality than for her acting skills, but in "Looped," Valerie Harper's brilliant performance reflects both Bankhead's outrageous behavior and prodigious talent.

Hollywood's bad girl before it became a competition event, Bankhead was known for boozing, sex and drugs before there was rock 'n' roll. In "Looped," playwright Matthew Lombardo introduces us to the legendary actress in her 60s, in poor health and with career in tatters because of her reputation for being difficult and unreliable. Rob Ruggiero directs the production, now at Arena Stage's Lincoln Theatre, en route to Broadway,

It's 1965 and Bankhead has just finished shooting her final film, a thriller called "Die, Die, My Darling." Film editor Danny Miller (Jay Goede) and sound technician Steve (Michael Orenstein) are waiting at a Los Angeles studio for Bankhead to come in to re-record -- or loop -- a single line of dialogue that was muffled during filming.

When Harper sways in, swathed in mink, and complaining about the August heat, she immediately commands the attention of those on stage and in the audience. Dressed by costume designer William Ivey Long in a midnight satin dress, she is every inch the Hollywood star. Harper may be best remembered as the fast-talking, wise-cracking New Yorker Rhoda Morgenstern of '70s television, but here she delivers witticisms in a smoky drawl, with impeccable timing.

The only one who's not amused as Harper's Bankhead regales him with riotous tales of her sexual conquests and amusing stories of her troubled childhood -- including the imaginary friend who didn't like her -- is the stuffy Miller. He's already told us he prefers to work in a room by himself where he doesn't have to deal with the talent, and he clearly has more than he bargained for here.

Bankhead's bawdy jokes make him squirm, which only encourages her. After a few futile and hilarious stabs at delivering the line, the actress demands liquor, and then a break, during which she begins snorting cocaine -- further discomfiting Miller. His objections are met with practiced comments such as "A drinking problem? Of course, I have a drinking problem. Whenever I'm not drinking, oh honey, it's a problem."

But when Bankhead turns the conversation to playing Blanche in "A Streetcar Named Desire," a role Tennessee Williams wrote with her in mind, Miller catches her in a lie. She played Blanche at a Florida theater, not on Broadway, he reminds her, revealing that he is more well-versed in her career than he let on. And the recollection of that performance unnerves the star.

As the day wears on, with a passable reading of the flubbed line seeming more and more remote, Bankhead and Miller challenge each other, revealing vulnerabilities and unexpected common ground. As the stiff-necked Miller, Goede proves an able foil for Harper's self-absorbed, demanding diva. And Orenstein's deadpan comments from the elevated sound booth provide an amusing counterpoint to the battle of wills taking place below.

Lombardo based his play on an actual event; the tape of the hours-long recording session still exists.

But he has given us much more than an amusing instance of a difficult actress frustrating those around her. He provides a back story for Danny Miller, making him a more interesting adversary for Bankhead as he also offers insights into the actress' life, talent and disappointments. The result is a production that is as riveting as it is hilarious.

WANT TO GO?

WHAT'S UP: "Looped" hits Washington, D.C., en route to Broadway

WHEN: Through June 28

WHERE: Arena Stage at Lincoln Theatre, 1215 U St., NW, Washington, D.C.

TICKETS: $25 to $74

CALL: 202-488-3300

VISIT: www.arenastage.org