By Jackie Demaline
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Linda Gray has graduated from Sue Ellen, the role that brought her international fame on the TV soap Dallas (1978-91), to iconic seductress Mrs. Robinson, a character who helped define an era when she coaxed a nebbish new college grad into an affair to the songs of Simon and Garfunkel.

The Graduate, first a novel then a classic film, is now adapted for the stage. The nonmusical entry in the Fifth Third Bank Broadway in Cincinnati touring series opens Tuesday and continues through Dec. 28.

Is Mrs. Robinson the kind of woman you'd have lunch with?

I love Mrs. Robinson. Some part of me must be a magnet for dysfunctional women.

How is the play different from the movie?

It's funnier, bawdier. I started out in comedy with Norman Lear (All in the Family, Maude), and I take some chances out there. It's playful, broader on stage because you can get away with it.

I figure she's at a stupid, boring party with the same stupid, boring people. So when I walk on stage, I look at (Benjamin's) cute little butt and subconsciously I say to myself, "Isn't this going to be fun?"

I keep him off balance, I keep turning up the volume. She's at the age where we question our sexuality, she's probably thinking, "Am I sexually appealing?" And then I go in the bathroom and drop the towel.

The play isn't about that nude scene, but it gets a lot of attention. You're 61; you have two grandchildren; you're a former model; you look fantastic. But did you have to think twice?

The thing I think about is, yes, it's a youth-obsessed culture but older women have to honor themselves. We have to love ourselves. When I was asked to drop the towel, I thought, "ohmygod, my thighs!" and then I thought, "Wait a minute, stop it, none of us is perfect. A young woman is thinking, "Oh, my knees!"

I had a girlfriend check the show out in London. It's in silhouette, all tasteful and fabulous.

What do you do to keep looking this good?

I watch what I eat, but being chained to a treadmill bores me beyond. In summer I swim and weight-lift - osteoporosis is something we should all think about - and I walk a lot. (On the road) I bundle up and walk around.

You have your own production company. Are you working on anything?

I won't succumb to being a victim in Hollywood, which is pretty much the story for women over 40. I make my own life.

My partner is a writer and we've bought the rights to adapt Terms of Endearment into a stage play. We're interviewing directors and raising money.

And I'm directing my first low budget feature. It's a romantic comedy set in Tuscany. I'm raising money for that, too. It's low budget, but it's still difficult.

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E-mail jdemaline@enquirer.com