There’s a scandal in the executive office, and a young West Windsor resident, working as the events coordinator for Governor James McGreevey at Drumthwacket, is caught up in it!
It’s all true, but it’s not what you might first think. This scandal has nothing to do with the recent political bombshell dropped by the New Jersey governor. It’s the storyline of Kelsey Theater’s “”Of Thee I Sing,”” the 1930s George S. Kaufman-Morrie Ryskind-Gershwin brothers musical satire focused on the election campaign of President John P. Wintergreen. Without a viable platform, his party slogan is “”Put Love in the White House,”” promising that if elected he will marry the winner of an Atlantic City beauty pageant. When he falls for Mary Turner, a campaign secretary, instead of Diana Devereaux, a Southern belle and winner of the pageant – trouble begins.
That’s how Jennifer Housell Kellogg of West Windsor gets involved. By day she is events coordinator of the Office of the Governor. At night – through Sunday, October 24 – Kellogg puts on an entirely different political persona, portraying Diana Devereaux, the character causing the scandal in the White House.
Ruth Markoe, the show’s director, writes in her director’s note in the program: “”This Pulitzer Prize winning show was written in 1931 as a spoof of the then-contemporary American political system. I have chosen to present it in the context of the 2004 election to show that nothing much has changed in 73 years.””
Housell Kellogg says her appearance in “”A Christmas Carol”” at McCarter Theater, her first professional theater experience at age 10 locked in her love of the theater, “”but in high school and college I focused more on school as I was concerned that there was no money in acting.””
This is Kellogg’s fourth performance at Kelsey – she has also appeared in productions of “”Crazy for You”” and “”Kiss Me Kate.”” “”Community theater has to be a family,”” she says. “”It’s very strenuous, and there are many long nights.””
Born in Somerville, her family moved to Plainsboro in 1985, when Kellogg was in middle school, and then to West Windsor in 1989. While in high school she declined a part in the school’s production of “”A Chorus Line”” in order to pursue track and field. She graduated in 1995 and received a bachelors in communications from Boston University in 1999.
Kellogg never aspired to a political career of her own. “”I got into the political field somewhat by accident, but I love its intense, fast-paced atmosphere,”” she says. “”When I was a freshman at Boston University and a member of College Democrats, I participated in an intense three-day training for President Clinton’s trip to Boston. I learned all the facets of putting together an event and to this day I still employ those tactics. It was this experience that made me want to plan events as a career.””
After interning twice at the Clinton White House, she was offered a job in the Gore campaign. “”I managed all of the election field offices, as well as the convention office in Los Angeles, and assisted in the production of the Election Night event.””
After the campaign, she worked in the White House for the few remaining months of the Clinton administration, and then took a job with a special events company in the Washington, D.C., area.
“”Nine months later, September 11th hit and resulted in the loss of millions for the company due to security restrictions at various venues, and I was laid off,”” she says. “”It came at a time when I was already struggling with whether to move back home since my father was sick with cancer. Being laid off was a blessing in disguise. I went home and was able to spend three months with my dad, uninterrupted by work or travel, before he passed away in February, 2002.””
While home, she heard about the opening for event staff in the Governor’s office. “”Losing my dad was, and will remain, the most difficult part of my life, but I am comforted that he knew I had a good job and was going to be OK because that was so important to him. It also didn’t hurt that he knew I had just started dating the man that he always said he wanted me to marry – he is now my husband.””
On July 3, Housell married Russell Kellogg at Drumthwacket, the Governor’s residence. Her husband has recently been promoted to branch manager at AmeriQuest Mortgage, and the couple will be moving to Chicago in November. Apparently the recent turmoil at Drumthwacket has not dampened Kellogg’s enthusiasm for working in goverment. Looking forward to the Chicago move, she says that “”after settling in, I hope to acquire a job with an events company and continue to pursue my love of theater.”” As for the position with the McGreevey administration, she maintains that “”this is the most fulfilling job that I’ve ever had.””
– Lynn Miller
Of Thee I Sing, Kelsey Theater, Mercer County Community College, 1200 Old Trenton Road, 609-584-9444. Through October 24. $15.
