Pulp. Court-Martial at Fort Devens. Pics by Michael Brosilow________
Plays about women and womyn, plays written by women and womyn, big girls, small girls, bad girls, good girls, real women, drag kings and queens... The winter theater season is dominated by plays concerning female issues, some seriously so and others definitely not serious. Consider the following, all playing between now and April.
Alice in Bed—Susan Sontag's absurdist comedy about Alice James, sister of writers William and Henry James, is highlighted by a recreation of the Mad Hatter's Tea Party from Through the Lookingglass; only in Sontag's version the guests include Emily Dickinson and transcendentalist Margaret Fuller. Talk about a crowded tea table! Directed by Dado, at Trap Door Theatre, through Feb. 17.
The Oldest Profession—We need not tell you to what trade—or is it an art?—the title of this play by lesbian author Paula Vogel refers. One can depend on Ms. Vogel, always a skillful and entertaining theatrical craftsperson, to offer biting social commentary along with her feminine mystique, especially in this tale of five aging hookers facing the Ronald Reagan presidency. Produced by Bailiwick Repertory, through Feb. 25.
Stop Kiss—Two gal pals take it a step further—perhaps many steps further—in this moving play by Diane Son about friendship becoming love and love scuttled by an act of violence. At Raven Theatre through March 3.
Court-Martial at Fort Devens—A world premiere by Jeffrey Sweet based on a little-known incident in World War II history involving Black female privates in a military confrontation with a white colonel; the Black attorney who defended them; and Eleanor Roosevelt. Victory Gardens at the Biograph, Feb. 12-March 11.
Legends—It takes a queen to really love a diva, and the late James Kirkwood certainly was one playwright ( A Chorus Line, P.S. Your Cat is Dead ) who qualified. First time this show came to town, many years back, it starred Carol Channing and Mary Martin. This time, the battling Babes Of a Certain Age are Joan Collins and Linda Evans. Well, yee-ha! From Feb. 20-March 4, the LaSalle Bank Theatre will be the gayest place in town.
Flyin' West—Four African-American women set out on personal journeys of discovery and empowerment in the Wild West in Pearl Cleage's play, set in the 19th-century Post-Reconstruction era. Court Theatre, March 8-April 8.
Mrs. Warren's Profession—George Bernard Shaw was a great early champion of equality for women and in this play—banned when written in the 1890s—he shocked proper society by offering a woman as a model of capitalist enterprise. Vivie Warren, you see, made her boodle operating whorehouses, having worked her way up from the bottom—literally. Now, Mrs. Warren faces grief when her adult daughter discovers the roots of her Upper Middle Class respectability. Remy Bumppo at Victory Gardens Greenhouse, March 11-April 22.
Pulp—Patricia Kane's wonderful Lesbian delight is back, and we say 'Amen to that!' An affectionate parody of 1950s lesbian pulp fiction, this play with drag kings and songs is set in a women's bar in Chicago a half-century ago. Unlike true pulp fiction of the period, Kane allows her loving women to have happy endings. About Face Theatre at Victory Gardens Greenhouse, May 1 -June 10.
She Stoops to Conquer—The men think they are in charge in William Goldsmith's 18th-century English comedy of manners, but they are not. The women not only are clearly superior beings, but they also successfully manipulate things, seemingly at will. Adding spice to the stew, director William Brown ( also a splendid actor ) is setting the whole shebang in the Wild West. Northlight Theatre, March 21-April 24.
Blithe Spirit—There's one man with two wives, one of whom happens to be a ghost—and a jealous bitch of a ghost she is, too! This is Noel Coward's take on what happens when a man lets a woman—or two, as it happens—in his life. It's a witty play, but perhaps a tad jaundiced in its view of the fairer sex. After all, Sir Noel thought HE was the fairest one of all, or at very least the cleverest. Gift Theatre Company, April 12-May 27.
OK, so you're a big, butch guy and you HATE plays by, for and/or about women. Yeah, yeah, and you probably claim that you're 100 percent top, too. Besides being a jerk and a liar, you're going to miss some damn fine theater. But, if you insist, here are a few non-girlie choices.
Sordid Lives—Hey, butch guys, here's one about a sissy boy who returns to his Texas hometown for a family funeral at which all hell breaks loose. Of course it's a comedy, and it's by the very funny gay playwright Del Shores. Easy Street Players at the Athenaeum, through Feb. 11
Saved—A savage satire by Brit author Edward Bond on the underemployed underclass in 1960s London, this play aroused instant controversy when new ( 40 years back ) because of a scene in which a baby is murdered in its carriage. Not produced here in years; will it still pack a wallop? Mary-Arrchie Theatre, through Feb. 25.
Letters Home: The Battlefields of Iraq—This documentary drama will include letters from both male and female service personnel, but statistically there are likely to be more men revealing their tough, tender, angry and alert sides. Anyone up for 21,500 more letters? Griffin Theatre at the Chicago Cultural Center Studio, Jan. 21-Feb. 19.
Lady—The female of the title is a hunting dog as three old friends, one of them a once-liberal Democratic member of Congress, gather for an annual hunting trip. But times have changed; attitudes and opinions become altered; and something goes wrong for the three buddies in intelligent scribe Craig Wright's world premiere. Northlight Theatre, Jan. 31-Feb. 25.
The Teapot Dome Scandals—Fraud, bribery, corruption, sex and Big Oil soil a Republican presidency. No, it's not Georgie Shrub, but Warren G. Harding in the Roaring Twenties. A world premiere musical—obviously with contemporary parallels—by Jon Steinhagen; Porchlight Music Theatre at Theatre Building Chicago, Feb. 4-March 10.
Memphis Soul Stew—This time, the Black Ensemble Theater tackles the R&B output of Stax Records, the great African-American recording firm of the 1950s and beyond. Beginning Feb. 18.
Sueno—The title is Spanish for dream, and this is contemporary playwright Jose Rivera's version of the great 17th-century classic La Vida es Sueno ( Life is a Dream ) , by Calderon de la Barca. A young prince is raised in isolation as a wild animal and then placed on the throne by his father to see if his natural instincts can separate him from the corruptions of the royal court. Hint: stupid father. Greasy Joan & Company at the Athenaeum, April 14-May 20.
Oedipus Complex—The clever and wise writer-director Frank Galati has cobbled together an original work in which the tragic king of Sophocles' plays—you know, the one who sleeps with his mom and marries his sis?—meets Sigmund Freud. No one knows what this work will be like, but with Galati you know it will be intelligent and highly theatrical. Goodman Theatre, April 28-June 3.
