Jill Eikenberry and Michael Tucker are both known for their acting work on L.A. Law. They have been married for over 45 years. “If you are lucky enough to get with a partner that is supportive of your dreams and vice versa, then you can have a wonderful time in life,” Tucker said. “What we have learned over the years is that we have to allow each other to change, and grow. It is still really exciting to be married to each other at this point,” Eikenberry said.
On the idea for Fern Hill, Tucker said, “It has been a three-year process. I started writing it when we were in the middle of the run of my first play down in New Jersey three years ago. Then, it went through a couple of different drafts. Last summer, it was accepted into the Eugene O’Neill Playwrights Conference, which was a real thrill, and we did it up there as a stage reading.”
Eikenberry also co-stars in the play Fern Hill. “It is wonderful. I am actually having the time of my life, to tell you the truth,” she admitted. “Mike has written me an incredible role. Great roles for women my age don’t come along that often. The fact that he wrote it, over the last three years, and he has honed it and it has become an extraordinary role. We got this extraordinary cast of actors, most of which are Tony winners, together. It is a dream to have this wonderful ensemble. It is a beautiful set, and we are selling out. They are adding performances, and it’s really good.”
In September of 2018, one of Tucker’s 10-minute plays will be featured in the annual “A Festival of the Arts” event at the New Jersey Repertory Company.
One week after the play, they will be in Los Angeles partaking in an L.A. Law reunion on CBS’ The Talk. “We have all been back in touch with each other quite a bit,” she said, referring to her former cast-mates. “We had nothing but good experiences with them,” they acknowledged.
They defined the word success as “finding more and more about who you are.” “There is a good chance that you will have more meaningful relationships that way, and that’s where the success is, as opposed to the money and the fame,” Eikenberry said.
Digital transformation of the entertainment business
Regarding the impact of technology on the entertainment business, Tucker said, “It is great for actors because there is more product, and there are more opportunities for jobs. Like it was before, there are some great shows and some shows that are not so good. It is always going to be like that. Some of the shows that are streaming are fantastic.”
“Right when we were finishing L.A. Law was when cable was coming in. That’s how long it was. We thought cable was going to be sort of a temporary thing. If we had any idea what was going to happen, we would have invested in it,” Eikenberry said. “But no, we didn’t do that,” Tucker added.
For their fans, they concluded, “Hopefully, we will continue after September 9. There are no seats left in New Jersey. This is a play about relationship. It’s about men and women, and what happens in a long-term marriage, and it’s very relevant to the #MeToo movement, in a way. It is a comedy and it’s very funny.”
Fern Hill runs through September 9 at the New Jersey Repertory Company in Long Branch, New Jersey. To learn more about their play Fern Hill, check out the New Jersey Repertory Company website.
