Elizabeth Franz is a civilized force of nature.
She has a voice that vibrates with class, elegance and a touch of vulnerability. But somewhere beneath the porcelain tones are the wisdom of age, the clarity of experience and the confidence of will.
They are characteristics that fit nicely in her role as Isabelle Hastings Hoyt, a spectacular figure from the 1920s, in A.R. Gurney's "The Golden Age," which opened Friday at TheaterWorks in downtown Hartford.
"It's about a romantic era, and she exposes it," says Franz of her character during lunch at Pierpont's in the Goodwin Hotel, a tony restaurant where Isabelle would feel right at home.
In the work, she plays "a rare bird" of a woman, now elderly, who was rumored to have been the model for Daisy in F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby."
An ambitious young writer, who is enchanted with that romanticized era, seeks out the reclusive woman whom he believes to have an unpublished chapter from the literary classic.
But her character is not to be wooed with nostalgia. She knows it was an era of self-absorption and recklessness that destroyed lives, says Franz.
" `Shall I tell you what Fitzgerald never wrote about?' she asks the young man. And she exposes the selfishness of her generation."
Gurney's play, suggested by Henry James' novella "The Aspern Papers," "is quite juicy," says Franz. "There's something about this play that speaks to me to the depth of my toes. When I first read the play, I almost missed my train stop."
Getting Franz is a coup for the small regional theater. Franz came to Hartford because of the power of the play and her association with Rob Ruggiero, associate artistic director at TheaterWorks, who is staging the piece.
Franz, who has lived in Warren for nearly 20 years, is a highly regarded actress of the American stage and has been in several famous productions: Andrei Serban's "The Cherry Orchard," which starred Irene Worth and featured newcomer Meryl Streep; "Brighton Beach Memoirs," Neil Simon's first major excursion into his past, and a role for which she received her Tony nomination; and Christopher Durang's controversial comedy "Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All for You," in which she played the title role, as outrageous nun with the bad habit of reinterpreting her catechism.
She's also made many films and has had a busy cinematic year, performing in five movies in the past 12 months: "Sabrina," "The Pallbearer," "Stephen King's Thinner" and the yet-to-be released "The Substance of Fire" and "Twisted."
Despite her years on stage and film, many still remember Franz for her one season on "Roseanne," when she played the owner of a beauty parlor where Roseanne got a job sweeping floors.
"We thought we would all come back for another season," she says. "But Roseanne was very tough on her producers, and they left. She then brought in all new people who wanted their own story line, which happens. The producers I worked with took a full-page ad in Variety that read: `Instead of returning to `Roseanne,' we're going on a nice quiet vacation with our families to Beirut.' "
Still, Franz says diplomatically that, as difficult as Roseanne may appear, she wouldn't be who she is without that bold and abrasive edge.
"I tell you, she knew what was right for her, and she fought for it," says Franz.
Regarding her own wide range of roles, Franz responds with genuine glee.
"Isn't it wonderful?"
But she also understands that versatility has its drawbacks.
"It can work against you because [producers] just don't know who you are, and you just confuse them, especially for television."
That's why Franz continually returns to the stage, which she has loved since she was a young girl in Akron, Ohio, and felt the spark of the theater.
When she began her career in her late teens, her acting teachers told her she probably would not work much until she reached the age of Mildred Dunnock, a widely regarded -- though older -- character actress.
"I looked in the mirror and understood what they meant," says Franz. "They meant I wasn't the pretty ingenue, and I would have to grow into my roles."
And that's what happened.
As it turns out, Franz recently played the role of Linda Loman, made famous by Dunnock in the original production of "Death of a Salesman." In the national tour of the Arthur Miller play, Franz starred opposite Hal Holbrook.
"Hal loves the theater as much as I do," she says. "And he gave an extraordinary piece of acting. The whole production was brilliant. I would love to do `Long Day's Journey Into Night' with him someday."
In "The Golden Age," Franz plays opposite Eve Holbrook, daughter of her "Salesman" co-star. Also cast in the Gurney play is David Alan Basche, who was in the Hartford Stage production of "Romeo and Juliet" last year.
"The Golden Age" production seems to be a lovefest, with Franz enthusiastically giving nurturing words about her colleagues.
"Eve is really a theater person," she says. "Not that she couldn't do films, and probably will, but I think her heart and her love is in the theater. It's amazing when you see what she brings forth."
"And David. Hollywood and TV could pick him up in an instant, but he's very serious about the theater and very serious-minded. He's worked so hard, and watching him go deeper into his character was really awesome."
And as for her director: "It's so exciting to work with Rob, who is a young man whom I know is going to be a very important director. I can feel it."