Jane Lowry

Jane Lowry (February 11, 1937  – November 15, 2019)[1] was an American actress primarily known for her theater work on Broadway and regional theater, as well as her singular leading role in Alfred Sole's horror film Alice, Sweet Alice (1976).

Jane Lowry
Lowry in 1970
Born(1937-02-11)February 11, 1937
Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.
DiedNovember 15, 2019(2019-11-15) (aged 82)
New York City, U.S.
OccupationActress
RelativesThomas Lowry (grandfather)

A native of Minnesota, Lowry studied theater at Northwestern University under Alvina Krause. She began her career in experimental off-off-Broadway theater, appearing in numerous Joe Cino-produced plays at New York City's Caffe Cino. She later landed roles on Broadway in Poor Bitos in 1964, and as the understudy in the role of Julia in Tennessee Williams's A Delicate Balance, staged at the Martin Beck Theatre in 1966.

In the 1970s, she starred in several productions for the Circle Repertory Company, and made her feature debut as Annie DeLorenze in Alice, Sweet Alice (1976). In 1981, she appeared in the ABC Afterschool Special My Mother Was Never a Kid opposite Holland Taylor.

Early life

Lowry was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota on February 11, 1937[2] and raised in Wayzata.[3] Her father, Goodrich Lowry, was a banking executive and the son of Thomas Lowry, founder of the Twin City Rapid Transit Company.[1]

She attended the Northrop Collegiate School in Minneapolis before completing her high school education at Miss Hall's School, a boarding school in Pittsfield, Massachusetts.[1] Lowry graduated with a degree in theater from Northwestern University, studying under Alvina Krause.[4] While at Northwestern, she appeared in a production of Cherry Orchard, directed by Krause.[5]

Career

Lowry began her theater career in New York appearing in off-off-Broadway stage productions at Caffe Cino for theater producer Joe Cino, and quickly became a favorite of his.[6] She appeared in And He Made Her, a Biblical-themed play, as Eve in 1961, which was staged at the Cherry Lane Theatre.[7] She next starred in the Caffe Cino's Babel, Babel, Little Tower in June 1961, portraying a waitress,[8] followed by a role as a dancer in Now She Dances! (also 1961), the latter directed by Doric Wilson.[9]

In 1963, she starred in a Michael Kahn-directed production of War, opposite Jerome Dempsey and Gerome Ragni.[10] The following year, she starred in a Broadway production of Poor Bitos at the Cort Theatre.[11] In 1969, she starred as Olga in a Circle Repertory Company production Anton Chekhov's Three Sisters, directed by Marshall W. Mason,[5] followed by the Circle Repertory's A Practical Ritual (1970), in which she co-starred with Spalding Gray.[12]

She made her feature film debut with an unknown role in Believe in Me (1971), originally titled Speed is of Essence.[3] She subsequently had a major supporting role as the aunt of a child suspected in the murder of her sister in Alice, Sweet Alice (1976).[13] Appearing in Cracks at the Theatre de Lys in 1976, Emory Lewis of the Hackensack Record positively compared Lowry to Eve Arden,[14] an actress she was often compared to as they bore similar features.[1] In 1979, Lowry starred as Miss Sophie Gluck in a Hudson Theatre production of Tennessee Williams's A Lovely Sunday for Creve Coeur.[15] In 1981, Lowry co-starred with Holland Taylor in the ABC Afterschool Special My Mother Was Never a Kid.[16]

Death

Lowry died in New York City on November 15, 2019, following a brief illness.[1]

Filmography
Year Title Role Notes Ref.
1971 Believe in Me Unknown role [3]
1976 Alice, Sweet Alice Annie DeLorenze [13]
1981 My Mother Was Never a Kid Esther Drew ABC Afterschool Special [16]

Select stage credits
Year Title Role Notes Ref.
1961 And He Made Her Eve Cherry Lane Theatre [7]
1961 Now She Dances! Gladys Caffe Cino [17]
1961 Babel, Babel, Little Tower Eppie Caffe Cino [8]
1963 War Lady Vandam Theatre, New York [10]
1964 Poor Bitos Lila Cort Theatre [11]
1966–1967 A Delicate Balance Julia (understudy) Martin Beck Theatre [11]
1967 The Time of Your Life Kitty Duval Loretto-Hilton Center, St. Louis [18]
1969 Three Sisters Olga Circle Repertory Company [5]
1970 A Practical Ritual Circle Repertory Company [12]
1970 Toys in the Attic Albertine Prine Meadow Brook Theater, Oakland University [19]
1975 The Hot l Baltimore Suzy Circle in the Square Theatre [20]
1975 Ah, Wilderness! Lily Stage/West, Springfield, Massachusetts [21]
1976 Cracks Irene Theatre de Lys [14]
1977 The Hostage Miss Gilchrist Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park [22]
1979 A Lovely Sunday for Creve Coeur Miss Sophie Gluck Hudson Theatre [15]
1979 The Dodge Boys Vicky Hudson Theatre [23]
1982 The Summer People Ellen Adamson Coconut Grove Playhouse, Miami [24]

References
  1. "Jane Lowry (1937 – 2019)". WestView News. February 2, 2020. Archived from the original on October 18, 2020.
  2. "Jane Lowry". AllMovie. Retrieved August 17, 2019.
  3. "Jane Lowry". Town & Country. Vol. 125, no. 4582. Hearst Corporation. 1971. p. 88. ISSN 0040-9952. Blue-eyed brunette actress Jane Lowry, who has just finished her first film, MGM's Speed Is of the Essence, hails from Minneapolis suburb Wayzata.
  4. Bottoms 2008, p. 52.
  5. Susoyev 2007, p. 18.
  6. Stone 2005, pp. 52–53.
  7. Stone 2005, p. 52.
  8. Bottoms 2008, p. 50.
  9. Susoyev 2007, pp. 405–406.
  10. Plunka 1999, p. 40.
  11. "Jane Lowry". Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved August 18, 2019.
  12. Bottoms 2008, p. 297.
  13. Muir 2007, p. 443.
  14. Lewis, Emory (February 11, 1976). "'Cracks' a flawed gem". The Record. Hackensack, New Jersey. p. 74 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. The Theatre of Tennessee Williams. Vol. 8. New York: New Directions Publishing. 1971. p. 118. ISBN 978-0-811-21201-4.
  16. Terrace 2013, p. 6.
  17. Susoyev 2007, p. 406.
  18. "St. Louis Loretto-Hilton Center Sets Pace In Efficiency". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Cincinnati, Ohio. December 10, 1967. p. 12-F – via Newspapers.com.
  19. "Publicity still of Jane Lowry and Priscilla Morrill for Toys in the Attic". Meadow Brook Theater. Rochester Hills, Michigan. Archived from the original on August 18, 2019.
  20. Kronenberger 1975, p. 407.
  21. Johnson, Malcolm L. (November 23, 1975). "West's 'Ah, Wilderness'". Hartford Courant. Hartford, Connecticut. p. 13F – via Newspapers.com.
  22. "'The Hostage' set at Playhouse". The Journal News. Hamilton, Ohio. May 5, 1977. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.
  23. Willis, John (ed.). John Willis' Theatre World. Vol. 34. New York: Crown Publishers. p. 1979. OCLC 14638116.
  24. Zink, Jack (January 11, 1982). "Players' 'Summer People' glows warmly, never shines". Fort Lauderdale News. Fort Lauderdale, Florida. p. 33 – via Newspapers.com.

Sources
  • Bottoms, Stephen J. (2008). Playing Underground: A Critical History of the 1960s Off-Off-Broadway Movement. Ann Arbor, Michigan: University of Michigan Press.
  • Kronenberger, Louis (1975). The Best Plays. New York: Dodd, Mead & Co. ISBN 978-0-396-07220-1.
  • Muir, John Kenneth (2007). Horror Films of the 1970s. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland. ISBN 978-0-786-43104-5.
  • Plunka, Gene A. (1999). Jean-Claude Van Itallie and the Off-Broadway Theater. Wilmington, Delaware: University of Delaware Press. ISBN 978-0-874-13664-7.
  • Stone, Wendell C. (2005). Caffe Cino: The Birthplace of Off-Off-Broadway. Carbondale, Illinois: Southern Illinois University Press. ISBN 978-0-809-38831-8.
  • Susoyev, Steve (2007). Return to the Caffe Cino: A Collection of Plays and Memoirs. San Francisco, California: Moving Finger Press. ISBN 978-0-977-42141-1.
  • Terrace, Vincent (June 19, 2013). Television Specials: 5,336 Entertainment Programs, 1936-2012 (2nd ed.). Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland. ISBN 978-0-786-47444-8.
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