Existing comment:
The guide explained that theater has a tradition of performers and crew collecting Elvis Presley-related chatzki that gets put on display.
From https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1993/03/20/at-the-shakespeare-the-king-and-me/1a41377f-5eae-4c9f-a551-bc589e195a46/?utm_term=.4ef32bfa6f0f
AT THE SHAKESPEARE, THE KING AND ME
By Pamela Sommers March 20, 1993
Anybody who reads the tabloids regularly knows that Elvis is still among us. And he seems to turn up in the most unlikely places. For instance, Presley's spirit may very well be hanging out with the ghost of Hamlet's father, Banquo's ghost and other apparitions backstage at the Shakespeare Theatre.
"This could be Graceland II up here," laughs James Latus, one of the theater's stage managers, referring to the kitschy "Elvis shrine" set into a hallway alcove just around the corner from the actors' dressing rooms. Latus, a self-described "keeper of the shrine," stands before this combination display and altar piece beaming like some goofy museum curator, pointing out the highlights.
"Elvis would love it," he says as you take in the black velvet portraits of the King (a gift from business manager Sam Sweet), the "Saint Elvis" poster from the Seattle Rep, the Elvis coloring book, the photo of the "Swiveling Elvis Neon Clock," the commemorative stamps. There are dried roses, and candles. Also a dictionary entry that reads: "Presley, Elvis Aron. Known as 'The King.' " Cartoons and postcards galore. Someone has even pinned a red AIDS ribbon to one likeness of the deity.
So how did this outpouring of adulation come to pass?
"About five years ago, during a performance of 'The Beggar's Opera,' there was a loud noise backstage. Audrey Brown, who was assistant stage manager at the time, said, 'It's Elvis! Better make a shrine!' " That was during the company's tenure at the Folger Shakespeare Library; since then, the shrine has been transplanted to its swanky digs at the Lansburgh, and Brown, a Memphis native, has relocated to Raleigh, N.C., where she's set up her own shrine. But, says Latus, "the tradition continues."
And proliferates. Latus, who divides his time between Washington and Manhattan, keeps a number of prized Elvis-related possessions in his apartment there. The Shakespeare Theatre production office boasts a small display of Elvisana on one of its walls. The company electrician usually turns on a big "Elvis Lives" light during the nightly vocal warm-up. There's even a "mini-shrine" that will be traveling to Princeton's McCarter Theatre for the company's three-week run of "Much Ado About Nothing," and then to Carter Barron Amphitheatre for the summer "Free for All."
"Some people think I'm a little nuts," admits Latus, who, before the shrine's creation, never had much use for Elvis. "But I've grown to appreciate him. Actually, I'm more a lover of Elvis kitsch -- busts of Elvis, holographic lights. At Safeway I go through the tabloids, and my favorite thing so far has been a story about a pygmy tribe in South America whose members are all Elvis impersonators. They've all been airbrushed {in the photos}, with sideburns and guitars pasted on them."
Latus is quick to report that the shrine is not only admired, but used. As various performers pass by before a show, they pause to intone a "Thank ya. Thank ya very much" a la Presley, sometimes in Italian or Spanish. And when "a show is going rough, we do go back and light those candles." As for Artistic Director Michael Kahn, Latus says he's definitely aware of this oddity, but whether he pays homage is another question.
Seeing as how directors are constantly playing fast and loose with Shakespeare, setting his works in the Wild West or Little Italy, might there be room for an Elvis-era interpretation?
"It hasn't come up yet, but what a good idea," exclaims Latus. "How about Elvis in his later years as King Lear, dividing up his record contracts? With Lisa Marie as Regan or Goneril?"
Contributions to the Elvis shrine may be sent to James Latus, care of Elvis Shrine, the Shakespeare Theatre at the Lansburgh, 450 Seventh St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20004. |