P: Was there anything about her that surprised you?
It’s no exaggeration to say Betty Ford changed the national conversation about addiction.
The former U.S. first lady, who died in 2011, established drug and alcohol treatment centres credited with helping generations of celebrities and ordinary Americans alike overcome addiction. She also was a leading advocate for breast cancer awareness.
Her pioneering work both inside and outside the White House has inspired Boston playwright Lisa Rafferty to create a new documentary play. “SHE DID ALL THAT - Betty Ford: Speaking Out, Saving Lives,” premieres June 28 at the Boston Playwrights’ Theatre.
The Associated Press caught up with Rafferty, a breast cancer survivor whose own goddaughter is battling opioid addiction, about the play and Ford’s fresh relevance today: In this undated photo provided by Birch Tree Productions, actors Richard Snee, left, and Paula Plum portray President Gerald R. Ford and his wife Betty Ford in the documentary play, “SHE DID ALL THAT -- Betty Ford: Speaking Out, Saving Lives.”
words of people who wrote to her.
ARafferty: There were surprises almost every day I spent researching this incredible first lady. She was the only Republican feminist. She was into modern dance. Think about that: the 1930s, modern dance and Betty Ford from Grand Rapids, Michigan. She was an outspoken advocate of gay rights and marriage equality long before anyone else was.
Arts impresario David Mirvish says the Toronto run of “Come From Away” will be extended until next spring after the $5-million production broke even in record time.
Mirvish says the homegrown hit musical recouped its costs following an “unprecedented” 14 weeks of sold-out shows at the Royal Alexandra Theatre.
The show was expected to wrap up next January, but will now be moved to the Ontario Heritage Trust’s Elgin Theatre for an extended run from February to late April.
To accommodate the production shuffle, Opera Atelier’s April performance of Mozart’s Idomeneo was moved from the Elgin to the Ed Mirvish Theatre.
“Come From Away” tells the true story of how the town of Gander, N.L., welcomed more than 7,000 stranded airline passengers after 9/11.
Mirvish says the musical’s success has “befuddled all expectations” both in Toronto and on Broadway, where its feel-good charm managed to win the hearts of jaded New York theatre-goers as well as a Tony Award for best direction.
“This is actually doing something not only for the people of ... Newfoundland, it’s actually doing something for Toronto. It’s making Toronto a destination,” said Mirvish.