Playwright: Elizabeth Robins . At: ShawChicago at Ruth Page Theater, 1016 N. Dearborn. Phone: 312-587-7390; $22 . Runs through Nov. 9
There are many fascinating things surrounding Elizabeth Robins' 1907 drama Votes for Women!, now receiving a professional staged reading courtesy of ShawChicago. Unfortunately, the play's characters and plotting aren't nearly as interesting as the historical context behind the play.
American by birth, Robins ( 1862-1952 ) would go on to fame in Great Britain as a leading actress, author and a dedicated activist in the Women's Social and Political Union ( a women's rights organization founded by the suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst ) .
Other historical footnotes about Robins include premiering the title role of Hedda Gabbler in Britain ( along with helping to adapt Ibsen's drama into English ) and also penning progressive feminist plays and novels.
Just by looking at the title and premiere date of Votes for Women!, you can tell how politically incendiary it was as a suffragette movement protest play ( British women didn't officially get the vote until after World War I ended ) . The entirety of the play's second act ( a suffragette rally in Trafalgar Square ) sounds just like a transcript of real-life protest speeches and spectator interjections, while the issue of abortion is also hinted at.
But the problem with Votes for Women! is that it comes off more as a museum artifact than a drama that can emotionally connect with audiences of today ( something that can't be said of plays like Ibsen's A Doll's House or Strindberg's Miss Julie ) . The characters in Votes for Women! also come off more as ideological mouthpieces instead of real people.
Casual theatergoers might find Votes for Women! to be a far too creaky. But for fans of women's history ( or anyone who wants to be more active in political activism ) ShawChicago's production is highly recommended.
Since the play calls for a large cast and some scenic grandeur, it's unlikely that Votes for Women! will receive a full-scale production anytime soon. So be glad that ShawChicago's largely Equity cast under director/adaptor Robert Scogin is mostly effective at illustrating characters ( especially through good dialects ) while reading the script on music stands.
Matt Penn shows off a very actorly voice as the Tory politician Geoffrey Stoner, while Melinda Moonahan is great as a spitfire working woman speaker at a protest rally. Christian Gray's misogynist male heckling is also amusing.
Votes for Women! is a protest play of its day, plain and simple. ( Just imagine how audiences a century from now would react to the copious protest plays attacking the presidential administration of George W. Bush. )
So if the dramatic plotting is belabored and characterizations are lacking, Votes for Women! remains compelling as a historical snapshot of women's emancipation since it was taken by an artist who was there herself in the political trenches.