Two Elizas

Described by Los Angeles critic Samantha Simmonds-Ronceros as “the personification of all that is perfect and true in a solo theatre play” and hailed by New Jersey critic Allen Neuner as “a one-woman tour-de-force,” the Hermann-Grima House is proud to present TWO ELIZAS by Jenny Mercein. This acclaimed solo show explores the true story of Jenny’s ancestor Eliza Mercein Barry and her landmark 1847 U.S. Supreme Court case, Barry v. Mercein, which established a woman's right to retain custody of her child. In an emotionally gripping intergenerational reflection on resilience and women's rights, Jenny mirrors her ancestor with her own trials and tribulations to motherhood. Don’t miss the show NJ Arts Maven called “a terrific character study of two very interesting women, alike in their feistiness, independence and pride” and “a poignant reminder that women have come a long way…and have a long way to go.”

Two Elizas runs approximately 80 minutes.

*Two Elizas candidly discusses mental illness and miscarriage.

Critical Praise for Two Elizas:

“The best solo shows are personal. They explore ancestry, history, small journeys and epic ones, epiphanies and the tiniest self realisations that blossom into life-changing moments. Two Elizas is really the personification of all that is perfect and true in a solo theatre play.”

(NoHoArtsDistrict.com)

“…a one-woman tour-de-force performance that is a theatrical gift. Two Elizas is a story of passion and feeling, of struggle and triumph — and loss — I strongly recommend you see Two Elizas." (outinjersey.com).

"Two Elizas is very funny at times and moving at others. Co-directed by Lori Elizabeth Parquet and Ryder Thornton, it has the feel of a heart-to-heart conversation…the audience appeared to be hanging on every word… Mercein made it look effortless.” (NJArts.net)

“The result is a terrific character study of two very interesting women, alike in their feistiness, independence and pride. Jenny Mercein gives a master class performance in The Two Elizas... As herself and as her ancestor, Mercein conveys what it means to be a woman expected by society to marry and produce children, and the problems one can encounter along the way. The 1847 landmark Supreme Court decision ruling that a woman and her children are not the property of her husband continues to resonate today and is a poignant reminder that women have come a long way…and have a long way to go.” (NJ Arts Maven)

Collaborator Bios:

JENNY MERCEIN is an actor, teacher, director, producer, and writer currently living in New Orleans, where she is an Associate Professor at Tulane University. She is a proud producer of ROLEPLAY, a live theatre piece and documentary film project exploring student perspectives on love, sex, power, and consent. The documentary recently premiered at SXSW. Along with KJ Sanchez, Jenny co-created X’s and O’s, an acclaimed docudrama about football and traumatic brain injury. Acting credits include Your Honor, NCIS: New Orleans, 30 Rock, Blue Bloods, Unforgettable, Law & Order, and extensive theater credits spanning the country. Member: AEA, SAG-AFTRA, National Alliance of Acting Teachers. For more information, visit www.jennymercein.com.

LORI ELIZABETH PARQUET (Co-Director) is an actor, director, and playwright from New Orleans with a B.A. in Theatre Arts from Cornell University. As a director, Lori recently helmed White on White at JACK alongside Alec Duffy, Roe at LSU, and serves as the Associate Director of SUFFS (Broadway). She was also Associate Director of New York City Center’s Encores production of Promenade and As You Like It at The Public Theater. She has directed Topdog/Underdog at Princeton Summer Theater and many other plays and staged readings at theatre companies and universities across New York City and the country. Her NYC acting credits include Macbeth, Dispatches From (A)mended America (Off-Broadway), The Providence of Neighboring Bodies (Dutch Kills Theater/Ars Nova), The Honeycomb Trilogy: Sovereign (Gideon Productions), Medea (Phoenix Theatre Ensemble), Dog Act, Ajax in Iraq, Honey Fist, Operating Systems (Flux Theatre Ensemble). International acting credits include Pillars of Society at Teater Ibsen in Skien, Norway and The Providence of Neighboring Bodies at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. In 2019 she won the NYIT Award for Best Actress in a Lead Role for her performance in Operating Systems.

RYDER THORNTON (Co-Director) has directed over 50 productions at venues throughout the US and abroad, including devised and site-specific theatre. Recent directing credits include Mr. Burns: A Post-Electric Play (Tulane) Melancholy Play (Loyola University), Antigone translated by Anne Carson, and Machinal at Tulane University, which received A Big Easy Award for Best University Production. He has directed and assisted directors at New City Stage Company, Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival, The Wilma Theater, Pennsylvania Academy of Vocal Arts, NYU, AMDA, The Pearl Theatre Company, Classic Stage Company, The Merlin International Theatre, White Heron Theatre Company, and many others. He is a member of The Stage Directors and Choreographer’s Society, the Dramatist Guild, and an alumnus of Temple University (MFA) and UCSB (PhD). He is currently working on a book for Routledge Press on Eugene O’Neill. Thornton is Professor of Practice at Tulane University where he teaches courses in performance and theatre studies.

DYLAN HUNTER (Sound Design) is a theatre-maker and sound-designer in New Orleans. Dylan is a company member of Goat in the Road Productions and has been seen and heard onstage for the last decade in the various and sundry shacks, bars, and warehouses of the New Orleans devised theatre scene.

MAXIM SAMAROV (Composer) is an award-winning composer with an eclectic style that speaks directly to audiences’ emotions and shared humanity. His compositional voice draws inspiration from such influences as film soundtracks, verismo and Shostakovich. His commitment to storytelling through music has manifested in many of his pieces, particularly opera. His cantata Ars Moriendi was a winner of the American Prize for Orchestral Composition in 2020, garnering much praise. Composer Kevin Scott said the work “grips the soul and mind of the listener and performers alike.” An accomplished conductor, Samarov is the co-founder and music director of the New Orleans Chamber Orchestra. Born in Moscow, Russia, he lives in New Orleans with his wife, Tanya, and their son, Julian, and serves as Orchestra Director for Tulane University.

AMANDA DUFFIN (Cellist) is an artist, composer, and multi-instrumentalist from Boston, MA. She is currently studying music at Loyola University New Orleans. Previously she has played in her high school’s pit band for productions of Les Miserables, Sister Act, and Beauty and the Beast, and most recently played “Jules/Cellist” in Loyola’s production of Melancholy Play where she composed all of the music and performed. She is also a part of Loyola’s Symphony Orchestra and is featured on cello in Josiah Shillow’s upcoming debut EP.

Photo by Stephanie Gamba Photography.

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