One of the most fascinating musical marriages of the early 20th century was that of famed musical theater composer Cole Porter and his socialite wife, Linda Lee Thomas, who stayed married for nearly 34 years despite his numerous open affairs with men.
The 2004 feature film “De-Lovely” was based on the couple’s loving but unorthodox marriage, and so is the musical “Love Linda: The Life of Mrs. Cole Porter.”
The cabaret-style show was written and produced off Broadway in 2009 by jazz singer Stevie Holland and her composer husband Gary William Friedman. Holland starred in the show as Linda Lee Thomas, where she talked about her life with Porter and sang several of his most famous songs, including “Night and Day,” “I Love Paris,” “In the Still of the Night,” and “Love for Sale.”
“Love, Linda” is being presented in a limited engagement this month at New Village Arts Theatre in Carlsbad. It will run concurrent with NVA’s recently opened play “The Half-Life of Marie Curie,” but at different times.
“Love, Linda” stars actor and singer Sandra Ochoa Rice, who will be accompanied by a three-piece band. It will play Friday afternoons and Sunday evenings only. Ochoa Rice’s theater credits include multiple shows in San Diego and Los Angeles counties, including cabaret shows for CCAE Theatricals in Escondido.
Rice describes performing in “Love, Linda” as a full-circle moment in her career because the first musical she ever performed in was Cole Porter’s “Anything Goes.”
“That show fueled my love for performing,” Ochoa Rice said. “I’m so honored and excited to share this story that has resonated with me with its depth, wit, and nostalgia to the Great American Songbook of the 1930s and ’40s. I feel that our communities have a strong need of inclusivity, acceptance, and inspiring others to love each other without judgements.”
“This story speaks to how much Linda and Cole Porter embodied these needs, and how they were far ahead of their time, not only with their ion for art and music, but also with their unequivocal embracement of their love for each other, and respect of their own individuality throughout their partnership in life,” Ochoa Rice said.
Thomas and Porter met in Paris in 1918 and married there 18 months later. They lived a lavish lifestyle, moving between Paris, New York and Los Angeles as his fame and success grew. The couple were best friends and deeply devoted to each other, even though he carried on multiple romantic affairs. Although they endured separations and reunions over the years, they were still together when she died of emphysema in 1954. He ed away a decade later in 1964.
“‘Love, Linda’ is a story about a true authentic love between two people who never saw the need to define their love story,” Ochoa Rice said. “The genius of Cole Porter’s music had a deep foundation of undying from his best friend and wife, Linda. She saw in him what the whole world needed to see and hear, and gave her entire life encouraging and ing his art to share with the world.”
‘Love, Linda: The Life of Mrs. Cole Porter’
When: Opens Friday, Feb. 7, and runs through Feb. 23. 2 p.m. Fridays; 7:30 p.m. Sundays
Where: New Village Arts Theatre, 2787 State St., Carlsbad
Tickets: $30-$35
Info: 760-433-2345
Online: newvillagearts.org/events
