Kathleen Turner’s Company: Ginsburg, Congressional Theater-Lovers

Published January 17, 2014 at 10:30 a.m.

By Stephanie Green from Bloomberg

Kathleen Turner and Rep. Marcia Fudge made an unlikely pair last night at Arena Stage.

The husky-voiced actress and the Ohio Democrat united for their mutual passion: Theater, and its role as an agent of change.

They were honored at a dinner where Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and members of Congress came to celebrate their contributions to the arts.

“I understand as a person who sets policy that it is the arts and culture that make communities,” said Fudge, who also serves as the chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus.

She recalled her youth spent in Cleveland’s Karamu House, the oldest black theater in the country.

“It’s the place I learned to read and write, to express myself, to speak, ” she said. “You listen to young people today and they don’t know how to project.”

Fudge received Arena’s American Voice Award for her support of arts education programs, like the Congressional Art Competition for high school students.

“Who can forget ’Body Heat’?” asked Arena’s artistic director, Molly Smith, before presenting Turner with the American Artist Award.

In addition to her film work, Turner has dipped her toes into politics, as a vocal advocate for Planned Parenthood, and Amnesty International.
In 2012, she portrayed the late firebrand Molly Ivins in the play “Red Hot Patriot.”

“We need theater,” she said. “You walk into this place and you get closer to anyone in your own home. You share an armrest with someone of who knows what beliefs or education. You sit there and breathe together, you laugh together, and as the story goes on, you start to become something bigger than yourself.”

Before the three-course meal, Turner made the rounds, greeting guests such as Rep. Jim Moran, a Virginia Democrat who announced his retirement this week.

He said he’s looking forward to having more time for theater and cultural outings. He raved about the last movie he saw, “August: Osage County.”

Would Turner ever consider returning to the big screen with her old friend and co-star Michael Douglas?

“We joke about it,” she said. “I told him he’s too old.”

Other guests included Rep. Maxine Waters, California Democrat, and Linda Baumann, a partner with Arent Fox, the evening’s sponsor.

After the meal, the crowd saw Arena’s “The Tallest Tree in the Forest,” a one-man show about the artist and activist Paul Robeson.