Allison Janney I, Tonya 2018

Velvet Elvis was a play written by Matthew Carnahan and directed by Joanne Woodward at the River Arts’ Bearsville Theatre in 1990. The plot centers around the reincarnation of the Elvis Presley phenomenon. Allison plays the protagonist, Eelie, the town’s stripper. Her character is adamant that she has encountered Elvis in the neighborhood ice cream parlor. Nothing will convince her otherwise. When she tells her story to her friends, who are also strippers, it ultimately leads them to discuss how they got started in the world of stripping. Sharing their own personal anecdotes, as there is an issue the three women have in common: they all have spouses who are worthless. Then, all of a sudden, Elvis appears, and he is resolute in his mission to assist these women in escaping their husbands.

Allison Janney in Velvet Elvis 1990

To read more about other Oscar-winning actresses playing characters working in the sex trade industry, please continue perusing Oscar Hookers