Broadway

The Man Who Came to Dinner - American Airlines Theatre, 7/27 - 10/08/00
In this Broadway revival of Kaufman and Hart's comedy, Nathan Lane is a pompous writer and critic forced to stay with a Midwestern family during the winter and thoroughly disrupts their well-ordered lives. Jean received a Tony Nomination for her run as sexpot actress Lorraine Sheldon.

Piaf - Plymouth Theatre (NY), 2/05 - 6/28/81
The story of one of the 2Oth century’s great icons, Edith Piaf, whose unforgettable voice seemed to throb with all the struggle and heartache of her extraordinary and passionate life. Jean played German actress Marlene Dietrich and reprised the role in a PBS adaption of the play in 1982.

Off Broadway & Regional Theater

Love Letters - Visalia Fox Theater, 2/10 - 2/11/07
A.R. Gurney's acclaimed Love Letters chronicles one couple's poignantly funny friendship and ill-fated romance from second grade through adolescence and then into maturity and middle age -- solely through written correspondence. Jean stars opposite her husband, Richard Gilliland under the direction of Ted Weiant to benefit the Visalia Fox Theater restoration fund.

Lady Windermere's Fan - Williamstown Theatre Festival, 7/6 - 7/17/05
Oscar Wilde’s first success on stage is a lively, clever farce that chronicles a series of misunderstandings and deceptions in the high society world of Victorian London. As the mysterious Mrs. Erlynne, Jean entrances the men of London's society while hiding her true identity.

Glen Mary Glen Rose - Women Do Men - Royce Hall, UCLA - 6/13/01
A benefit involving high-powered actresses performing readings of scenes from movies that were written for and played by men -- now performed by a celebrity cast of women as if the scenes were written for women.

Promises, Promises - Freud Playhouse, May & August, 1997
A musical comedy that featured Jason Alexander as a schlep accountant who loans his Manhattan flat to his bosses for their extramarital romps. Jean appears as an overly aggressive woman who confronts the woeful Alexander in a bar.

Fit to be Tied - Playwrights Horizon (NY) - 1996
This play by Nicky Silver is the story of Arloc Simpson, a single man whose father (to spite his hard-drinking, promiscuous mother- Nessa) has left him the family fortune. Consequently, Nessa (Smart) has been financially and emotionally dependent on Arloc for most of his life … but now, she may have to learn some motherly concern. A handsome stranger who claims he’s an Angel is being restrained in Arloc’s apartment.

Marvin's Room - The Tiffany Theater (LA), 1994
In this tender and hysterical play, gentle and good-hearted Bessie has been taking care of her bed-ridden, dying father Marvin and her semi-senile Aunt Ruth for about almost 20 years. She's happy in this calling until leukemia leads to a reunion with her estranged sister Lee (Smart), who has to be tested to see if she's a match to donate bone marrow. She comes down to Florida with her two sons, the mildly sociopathic Hank, and the bookwormy Charlie.

End of the Day - Playwrights Horizons (NYC), 1992
Raised in a rich family in London where, according to his now dead father "everything's gone dark," Graydon Massey's weakness has landed him in a last-ditch job at a California mental hospital where "nothing works." A drug-addicted patient in "this little franchise of hell" typifies the pervasive hopelessness and foreshadows Massey's own doomed future. Jean is delicious as Graydon's British betrothed, Lady Stoat, her love "fueled" by his contempt for her.

It Had to Be You - Marines' Memorial Theatre (SF), 12/21/90 - 1/6/91
Written by Renee Taylor and Joseph Bologna, this delightful comedy is about Theda Blau, a failed actress, health-food nut and would-be playwright who wants to find love and success in New York. Enter unsuspecting Vito Pignoli, a hugely successful TV commercial director. At last Theda has the chance at true happiness, that is if she can keep him hostage in her apartment long enough to fall for her and agree to be her partner in both love and business. Jean starred opposite her husband, Richard Gilliland, and received the 1990 Bay Area Critics Award for Best Actress in a touring company for her performance. The production also played in other venues nationwide.

Laughing Wild - The Tiffany Theatre (LA), 1990
A provocative and funny study about the perils and stresses of modern life in urban America. Unique in form, the play consists of two monologues (one for each performer) plus an hilarious playlet which brings the two together, where they turn out to be having overlapping dreams.

Last Summer at Bluefish Cove - The Shandol Theatre & West Side Mainstage (NYC), 1980
Jane Chambers' award winning play tells the story of Eva, who rents a cabin at Bluefish Cove for the summer without knowing it is populated exclusively by lesbians and finds herself drawn to Lil -- not knowing that she has cancer. Jean originated the role of Lil and received a Drama Desk Nomination for her performance.

Much Ado About Nothing - Oregon Shakespeare Festival, 1975
Young lovers Hero and Claudio are to be married in one week. To pass the time, they conspire with Don Pedro to set a "lover's trap" for Benedick, an arrogant confirmed bachelor, and Beatrice, his favorite sparring partner. Meanwhile, the evil Don Jon conspires to break up the wedding by accusing Hero of infidelity. In the end, though, it all turns out to be "much ado about nothing."

Long Day's Journey Into Night - Oregon Shakespeare Festival, 1975
Author Eugene O'Neill gives an autobiographical account of his explosive homelife, fused by a drug-addicted mother, a father who wallows in drink after realizing he is no longer a famous actor and an older brother who is emotionally unstable and a misfit. The family is reflected by the youngest son, who is a sensitive and aspiring writer.

A Moon for the Misbegotten - Oregon Shakespeare Festival, 1975
A beautiful play about two lost souls and a chance encounter under the full moon Eugene O’Neill’s last play is a warm, wise and infectious blend of comedy, tragedy, autobiography and imagination.