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| Christine Jordan reflects faces of women in history | |
| By Patricia Proven of The Times of Northport | September 04, 2004 |
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Through the art of acting, Greenlawn resident Christine Jordan challenges people's preconceptions about women — whether they are historical characters or modern-day celebrities. Jordan, who has depicted famous personalities across Long Island for the past eight years, excels at reflecting the faces of turn-of-the-century women. She stars in "The Vanderbilt Cup" brunch series scheduled to run through October at the Vanderbilt Museum. And on Thursday, Sept. 9, she headlined a performance for the Asharoken Garden Club's 80th anniversary as Mrs. John Wood Stewart, who founded the club in the women's-suffrage era. Stewart previously founded the National Flower and Plant Guild and the Needlework Guild. "This is [a] woman that says, 'We're not just going to sit at home and raise children. We can get out there and help.'" Jordan said of Stewart. "She wanted to help her community." Many people know Jordan as Mrs. Augusta Gaynor, a role she originated in 1996 as part of the cast that has performed at the historic Deepwells mansion in St. James. Jordan brought Mrs. Gaynor — the wife of a former New York City mayor — out of people's imaginations and in front of their tea tables. The drama unfolded as audience sampled finger sandwiches in the parlor of the Gaynors' restored mansion, where they lived from 1905 to 1919. "It was more like an interactive audience where you are on the same level and [Gaynor] would talk like she knew you for years," Jordan said of her character. "What I try to bring to these women is that they were approachable and friendly." To do that, she connected with the character. "There wasn't much written about Mrs. Gaynor," Jordan said. "What we shared in common is that she studied opera, which worked out perfectly for these shows because we incorporated music." In the Deepwells shows, Jordan — who studied theater and voice at SUNY Oneonta — revived Gaynor's voice through the arias of Carmen and The Marriage of Figaro. Over time, the role became so personal that after Jordan became pregnant with her second son, Deepwells producer and Medford resident Sal St. George wrote it into the August 1999 script. Three months later, Jordan surprised the audience by wheeling in an antique bassinet holding her newborn Jeremy to portray the role of Norman Gaynor. With her melodious yet strong voice and statuesque figure, Jordan is often cast as the "hostess with the mostest." But after leaving the role of Mrs. Gaynor in 2003, she's expanded her repertoire to include other dramatic celebrity personas like Faye Emerson, Judy Garland, and Eleanor Roosevelt. "I like playing women that are challenged in some way and overcome adversity," she said. The actress certainly found that in Judy Garland, whom she played during the 2003 holiday season at the Stony Brook Cultural Center. Her portrait showed Garland in her pivotal year, 1949, after she split from Vince Minelli and lost her contract with MGM. Jordan also had the chance to work alongside an entire cast of triumphant women during the last episode of HBO's Sex and the City. She played an extra among a crowd of breast cancer survivors who follow Kim Catrall's lead in throwing off their wigs in a show of pride, courage and solidarity. Those women, Jordan said, were actual members of the breast cancer group called Gilda's Club. "It was a very emotional set," she recalled. The role that moved Jordan most was Eleanor Roosevelt, whom she played in May for the Deepwells performance of "First Ladies: The War Wives" at Georgian Court College in Lakewood, New Jersey. "I empathized with Eleanor," she said. "She didn't want to be First Lady, but it turned out to be the perfect role for her because she accomplished so much. She was such an advocate for women and children." To learn the role, Jordan watched old footage of the First Lady's speeches. Jordan's work in film also brought her view of celebrities, fame and success down to earth. When she played an attorney on the set of The Stepford Wives, she met Nicole Kidman, who was "just as nervous as the rest of us," Jordan observed. "You know that they're all going through the same thing." Still, there's one difference that makes her think twice about getting too far into the Hollywood limelight, and that's the sacrifice of time with family — husband Philip and sons Jeremy, 5, and Alexander, 8. "Our society puts celebrities at such a level, they lose their privacy," she said. Jordan's husband, a decorative muralist, encourages her career, and keeping up with two boys gives her a good workout alongside her yoga and aerobics regimen. And her parents, German immigrants Anne and Wolfgang Thoma, have been on hand with props and applause. Some items on the Deepwells set, such as a music stand with candles, came from their shop, International Antiques of Huntington. Jordan said of her parents, "They've seen just about every show I've been in." Community is also important to Jordan, a first-generation American who's seen her parents' homeland but also stayed close to her Long Island roots. She has appeared in local commercials and training videos and sung with the Centerport Methodist Church choir and Huntington Chorale Society. She said, "As an actor, if you're just there and performing and entertaining people, that's success." | |