‘Lifers’

If Sandi Sodolski ever wins the lottery, she says, she’s heading off to Italy to see the real Il Vittoriale.

Until then, the ultimate “Tamara” fan has accumulated 36 visits to her favorite play. A health researcher at USC Medical School, the 46-year-old Sodolski has written fan letters to the show’s producers, sent flowers to its actors and been photographed chained to Il Vittoriale’s front door (to promote the play). She organized an evening for “lifers”--”Tamara” fans of four visits or more who are allowed in free on weeknights when they bring a paying friend. The event included stylish “lifer” buttons and a 62-question “Tamara” quiz.

Close to 300 people have become “lifers”--lifetime members of the D’Annunzio household. Producers offer discounts on the second, third and fourth visits as well and estimate that at least 10% of audience members are there on repeat visits.

But, within the cult of “Tamara,” few fans rival Sodolski. When she heard in June, 1987, that the show was closing--another false alarm--she rushed petitions in the mail to fellow “lifers” in an attempt to dissuade the show’s producers. Her effort was, in fact, the inspiration for 18-year-old UCLA student Samantha Fein, who has seen the show 32 times. Fein and three friends have recently accumulated nearly 1,000 signatures on a petition to stop the latest closure threat.

“I don’t know if (the show’s producers) know how important ‘Tamara’ is to us and the city of Los Angeles,” Fein said just before the latest extension was announced. “It’s part of the excitement and uniqueness of Los Angeles.”

For Fein, it’s the staging. For systems analyst Linda Butrick, who has seen the show four times to her daughter Laurie’s five times, it’s discovering new subplots and visiting with the cast after the show. And for Russ Silberman, a 29-year-old restaurant manager who’s seen the show about eight times, it’s the challenge of 10 visits so he can follow each of the 10 characters. Admitting his addiction to books like Frank Herbert’s “Dune” series or Piers Anthony’s “Xanth” series, Silberman says simply, “ I’m a nut for completeness.”

Artist Teresa Romeu saw it 13 times before her friendships with cast members resulted in her hearing about, then getting, a job as a champagne server or “wench.” Made head wench three months later, she went on to become the show’s food and beverage manager and, eventually, to paint reproductions of de Lempicka paintings that today hang in producer Znaimer’s New York apartment.

And the ordinary first-timer? Despite the pretty-average-looking cars in the parking lot, random chats one recent Friday evening found nobody regretting the $70 expenditure. There were some criticisms--Youngstown, Ohio, gastroenterologist Dr. David Brown felt he couldn’t get emotionally involved, while his wife, Judy, called it “a little on the gimmicky side.” But CPA Richard Kaufman, whose wife, Barbara, gave him two tickets for Christmas, felt it was well worth the money. “You’re right there. You have to pick up the story yourself. It’s not fed to you.”

Lifer Sodolski says the show still transports her: “I am always amazed that I’m still in Los Angeles (after seeing the play). I will be so disappointed if I ever see Il Vittoriale and it doesn’t look like this place.”