Are you familiar with Ursula Parrott? Maybe not, but perhaps the better question is should you be familiar with Ursula Parrott. That earns a definitive “yes.”
Ursula Parrott, 1899–1957, was a best-selling novelist, Hollywood screenwriter, and a cultural firebrand whose life mirrored the provocative themes of her writing — divorce, career women, single motherhood, and work-life balance. Her 1929 debut novel “Ex-Wife” was a scandalous bestseller. Ten films were adapted from her writings, including an Academy Award-winning performance by Norma Shearer and Jimmy Stewart’s breakout role. Yet, despite her literary success and cultural influence, she died impoverished and forgotten — almost.
Another virtually forgotten female icon of the Jazz Age, known as “the Girl Gershwin,” Dana Suesse’s first publication in 1929, “Syncopated Love Song,” became an eerie and haunting theme heard by millions, ironically bringing her financial stability as the country entered the Great Depression. In 1932, Suesse was commissioned by bandleader Paul Whiteman — best known today for his 1924 premiere of George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” — to write a jazz concerto for orchestra. Concerto in Three Rhythms was premiered at Whiteman’s fourth “Experiment in Modern Music” concert at Carnegie Hall.
At 4 p.m., on Jan. 18, “Portraits of Ursula: Page, Screen & Song” will be presented at St. Matthews Episcopal Church in Hillsborough as part of the church’s Faith & the Arts series.
Marsha Gordon, N.C. State University Film Studies Professor and Ursula Parrott’s biographer, will be joined by Duke Music Faculty and Soprano Andrea Moore and Pianist Glenn Mehrbach.
Through a fusion of music, text, and archival visuals, 100-years later, this work will illuminate Parrott’s meteoric rise, Hollywood fame, personal scandals, and eventual obscurity — all set against the backdrop of the Jazz Age, when modern womanhood was being redefined. It is a timely story about the life of a woman on the front lines of a culture war still raging today.
Andrea Moore first met Marsha Gordon when Gordon was deep in the making of the documentary “Rendered Small,” about the very large and unique collection of American Folk Art buildings owned by Steven Burke and Randy Campbell in Hillsborough. Gordon’s own fascination and writings on Ursula Parrott prompted Moore to read “The Ex-Wife.”
“I found her very operatic, not because she’s a singer, but because these tales of rise and fall and rise and fall,” Moore said. “It’s sort of tragic in the end, and the unknown figure, especially a forgotten female, I feel like, are things that interest me a lot. Parrott is someone who should be as well-known as F. Scott Fitzgerald. I mean, this book should be taught in tandem with ‘The Great Gatsby.’”
The two began discussing a collaboration that could incorporate music. Moore said she aspires for a larger project that is still in formation, and that the St. Matthews event on Jan. 18 is an experiment that will likely help in the creation of her bigger dream.
“Marsha will present a life look at Ursula Parrott, and she’ll also present some film clips and other details of important arcs in her life,” Moore said. “I and Glenn Mehrbach, who is an amazing pianist, will provide a musical accompaniment to her story.”
It was Moore’s idea to bring in a focus on Dana Suesse, another often-overlooked, but thriving figure of that time. Suesse was a female music composer who was just coming onto the scene at around the same time Parrott was earning attention for her writing.
“We’re using the music of Dana Suesse, some of her piano music to underscore this biographical story of Ursula Parrott, and kind of creating a sort of relationship that they may or may not have ever had,” Moore said. “I think they probably knew each other. We don’t know that documented, but I’m certain that they knew of each other. They both lived in Greenwich Village. They both were published the same year. They ran around in the same circles.”
“Portraits of Ursula: Page, Screen & Song” will be presented at 4 p.m., Jan. 18 at St. Matthews Episcopal Church at 210 St. Mary’s Road in Hillsborough. The event is free. A book signing by Marsha Gordon and reception will follow the presentation.
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