Despite the social and political progress that occurred in the period between the two World Wars, the 1930s in America was still very much a time when it was assumed a woman’s primary satisfaction was marriage to a successful man. Gender roles were, for the most part, clearly marked out, and it would be decades before what was known as the feminist movement would gain momentum.
During this time, one American playwright was bringing the role of women in society into the public consciousness, and forcing theater-goers to question what they knew about divisions in society along the lines of gender, wealth and privilege.
Her name was Clare Boothe Luce, and in 1936 she wrote ‘The Women’. Despite cool critical reviews when it opened on Broadway, it went on to become one of the most famous plays of the century. And now it is being revived here in Issaquah.
Issaquah High School’s Performing Arts Department will present their production of The Women, March 18 – 20 at Skyline High School’s Lyceum Theatre.
Reflecting the attitudes of the day, the play is as much drama as comedy, moving at a fast clip and taking pot shots at virtually every female stereotype imaginable. Although wickedly funny, The Women is also a surprisingly effective argument for feminism in its portrait of a distinctly anti-feministic society.
The action centers around Mary Haines, a wealthy and happily married socialite who is friends with Sylvia Fowler, a poisonous gossip who delights in the misfortune of others.
Sylvia discovers that Mary’s husband is having a torrid affair with sexy shop girl Crystal Allen. Mary takes her mother’s advice and ignores the affair, hoping it will blow over, but Sylvia explodes it into a front-page scandal, and divorce is the result. Along the way the audience is presented with portraits of the women of the era: wealthy women, titled women, clerks, secretaries, models, maids, cooks, and wives — some happy, some unhappy. One divorce follows another, and one scandal erupts after another.
Behind the scenes, the IHS Performing Arts Department has performed a series of miracles in getting the play ready amidst the upheaval of renovations at the school.
When the stage and storage areas were torn down as part of the rebuild, many of the department’s props and supplies were mistakenly thrown away.
Rehearsals were held in small portable buildings, sets and props were rebuilt and costumes redesigned, with no place to store them. Luckily, Skyline High School was generous enough to supply the performance space, but the fact the play will go ahead at all is tribute to the creativity and perseverance of IHS Drama Director Holly Whiting and the staff and students involved.
One of the stars off the stage is costume designer Sheryl Cope. Having worked with professional theatre companies in the past, Cope was able to provide the perfect touches of the decade, bringing the play’s era to life with the 1930s silhouette, and undergarments, fabric textures, shoes, and hats of the time.
All performances are at 7 p.m. Tickets will be available at the door only. Prices are $8 for students with ASB, children, and senior citizens and $10 for adults.
For more information regarding the production, please contact Holly Whiting at whitingh@issaquah.wednet.edu., or Karin Allen at kallen@allen-marketing.com.
