DEAD BLONDES TELL NO TALES —
EXCEPT THIS ONE

Conspiracy theories have surrounded the death of actress and restaurateur Thelma Todd since 1935, when her lifeless body was discovered in a garage slumped behind the wheel of her parked Lincoln Phaeton convertible. Alexandra Kopko, as the actress’s ghost, presents a bio of Todd’s life to the audience, informing them how she reluctantly came to Hollywood at the insistence of her mother, where she would appear in over a hundred films, including those of Buster Keaton and the Marx Brothers. Then, through a slick slide show projected on the wall of the Actors Company Little Theatre, Kopko introduces the men in Todd’s life, a mixture of married men and mobsters, all of them her potential murderers. What follows is an interactive game of “Clue” with the audience.

In all of this, Kopko’s performance is flawless. She not only captures Todd’s breezy charm, but succeeds in incorporating into her characterization that rapid-fire tempo so distinctive a part of the 1930s.

Director Caroline Sweet deftly structures the staging to conceal from the audience the actual constraints of the small venue under a sense of intimacy with Kopko.

In the easy confluence of their skills and talents, Kopko and Sweet have succeeded in presenting Ice Cream Blonde as one of the best one-woman shows of the Hollywood Fringe.

Ice Cream Blonde
part of the Hollywood Fringe Festival
Actors Company (Little Theatre) 916 N. Formosa Ave
for show info, visit Ice Cream Blonde
encore performances August 1 & 3, 2025
for tickets, visit Actors Company