Lysistrata Have Used Laughter to Critique Sex, War, and Feminism for Nearly a Century

Sex and War on the American Stage American adaptations of Aristophanes’ enduring comedy Lysistrata have used laughter to critique sex, war, and feminism for nearly a century. Unlike almost any other play circulating in contemporary theatres, Lysistrata has outlived its classical origins in 411 BCE and continues to shock and delight audiences to this day. The play’s “make love not war” message and bawdy humor render it endlessly appealing to college campuses, activist groups, and community theaters— plays are performed in the West as frequently as Lysistrata. Starting with the play’s first mainstream production in the US in 1930, Emily B. Klein explores the varied iterations of Lysistrata that have graced the American stage, page, and screen since the Great Depression. These include the Federal Theatre’s 1936 Negro Repertory production, the 1955 movie musical The Second Greatest Sex, and Spiderwoman Theater’s openly political Lysis- trata Numbah!, as well as Douglas Carter Beane’s Broadway musical, Lysistrata Jones, and the international Lysistrata Project protests, which updated the classic in the contemporary context of the Iraq War. Although Aristophanes’ oeuvre has been the subject of much classical scholar- ship, Lysistrata has received little attention from feminist theatre scholars or performance theorists. In response, this book maps current debates over Lysis- trata’s dubious feminist underpinnings and uses performance theory, cultural studies, and gender studies to investigate how new adaptations reveal the socio-political climates of their origins. Emily B. Klein is Assistant Professor of English and Modern Drama at Birmingham-Southern College. Her work has appeared in Women and Perfor- mance and Frontiers as well as Political and Protest Theater After 9/11: Patriotic Dissent (Routledge, 2012). This page intentionally left blank Sex and War on the American Stage Lysistrata in performance 1930–2012 Emily B. Klein ROUTLEDGE Routledge Taylor & Francis Group LONDON AND NEW YORK First published 2014 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business Text © 2014 Emily B. Klein The right of Emily B. Klein to be identified as author of this work has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication Data Klein, Emily B. Sex and war on the American stage : Lysistrata in performance, 1930-2012 / by Emily B. Klein. Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Aristophanes. Lysistrata. 2. Aristophanes--Adaptations--History and criticism. 3. Aristophanes--Stage history--United States. 4. Theater--United States--History--20th century. 5. Sex in literature. 6. Women in literature. 7. War in literature I. Title. PA3875.L8K64 2014 792.9’5--dc23 2013039819 ISBN: 978-0-415-81215-3 (hbk) ISBN: 978-0-203-06963-9 (ebk) Typeset in Sabon by Taylor & Francis Books For Dan and Julian This page intentionally left blank Contents List of illustrations viii Acknowledgements x Introduction – Power play: History, theory, and adaptation 1 1 Sophisticated or seditious? Broadway, Gilbert Seldes, and Pablo Picasso (1930) 23 2 Raced bodies/erased bodies: The Federal Theatre Project’s Negro Repertory Lysistrata (1936) 43 3 Cold War cowboys at home on the range: The Second Greatest Sex (1955) 63 4 Spinning yarns: Spiderwoman Theater’s Lysistrata Numbah! (1977) 87 5 Staging strikes and trafficking in trauma: The Lysistrata Project (2003) 108 6 Opting out and giving (it) up: The Uncoupling and Lysistrata Jones (2011–12) 127 Bibliography 146 Index 156 Illustrations 1.1 Set model for Lysistrata. Photograph by Maurice Goldberg. Image courtesy of the Edith Lutyens and Norman Bel Geddes Foundation. Harry Ransom Center, The University of Texas at Austin 28 1.2 Myrrhina. Pencil drawing by Mildred Orrick. Courtesy of the Mildred Orrick fashion and costume collection. Kellen Design Archives, New School Archives & Special Collections 29 1.3 Spartan Herald. Pencil drawing by Mildred Orrick. Courtesy of the Mildred Orrick fashion and costume collection. Kellen Design Archives, New School Archives & Special Collections 29 1.4 Production photograph of Lysistrata. Photograph by Maurice Goldberg. Image courtesy of the Edith Lutyens and Norman Bel Geddes Foundation. Harry Ransom Center, The University of Texas at Austin 30 1.5 Picasso’s “Kinesias and Myrrhina from Lysistrata” published in Gilbert Seldes’ Lysistrata, courtesy of MBI, Inc. 36 1.6 Picasso’s “two lovers” published in Gilbert Seldes’ Lysistrata, courtesy of MBI, Inc. 36 2.1 Flyer for Lysistrata at Moore Theatre. Florence Bean James Papers. University of Washington Libraries. Special Collections UW 35781 46 2.2 A scene from Lysistrata at Moore Theatre. University of Washington Theaters Photograph Collection. University of Washington Libraries. Special Collections UW 35783 47 2.3 The cast of Lysistrata at Moore Theatre. University of Washington Theaters Photograph Collection. University of Washington Libraries. Special Collections UW 35782 55 3.1 The Second Greatest Sex poster, Universal Picture Company, Inc. (1955) 67 3.2 Opening scene. Universal Pictures Company, Inc. (1955) 71 3.3 Kathleen Case. Universal Pictures Company, Inc. (1955) 71 3.4 Jeanne Craine and George Nader. Universal Pictures Company, Inc. (1955) 74 3.5 The wedding night barn dance. Universal Pictures Company, Inc. (1955) 77 Illustrations ix 3.6 Telling the story of Lysistrata. Universal Pictures Company, Inc. (1955) 80 3.7 Universal Pictures Company, Inc. (1955) 81 3.8 Bert Lahr. Universal Pictures Company, Inc. (1955) 82 3.9 At the old Indian fort. Universal Pictures Company, Inc. (1955) 83 4.1 The original cast of Lysistrata Numbah!:Lisa Mayo, Lois Weaver, Gloria Miguel, Pam Verge, Naya Beye, and Muriel Miguel. Photograph by Antonio Sferlazzo/Françoise Lucchese. From the Native American Women Playwrights Archive, Walter Havighurst Special Collections, Miami University Libraries, Oxford, Ohio 92 4.2 Lysistrata Numbah! poster. From the Native American Women Playwrights Archive, Walter Havighurst Special Collections, Miami University Libraries, Oxford, Ohio 95 4.3 Photograph by Antonio Sferlazzo/Françoise Lucchese, From the Native American Women Playwrights Archive, Walter Havighurst Special Collections, Miami University Libraries, Oxford, Ohio 96 4.4 Photograph by Antonio Sferlazzo/Françoise Lucchese. From the Native American Women Playwrights Archive, Walter Havighurst Special Collections, Miami University Libraries, Oxford, Ohio 99 4.5 Lysistrata Numbah! restaging with Sylvia Robinson and Kashaka Snipe 104 4.6 Photograph by Martin S. Selway. From the Native American Women Playwrights Archive, Walter Havighurst Special Collections, Miami University Libraries, Oxford, Ohio 104 4.7 From the Native American Women Playwrights Archive, Walter Havighurst Special Collections, Miami University Libraries, Oxford, Ohio 106 4.8 From the Native American Women Playwrights Archive, Walter Havighurst Special Collections, Miami University Libraries, Oxford, Ohio 106 5.1 Lysistrata Project poster. Image courtesy of Kathryn Blume. Poster design by Mark Greene 112 5.2 Accidental Activist poster. Image courtesy of Kathryn Blume/ Tamzina Films and Mighty Ruckus 113 6.1 The cast of Lysistrata Jones. Photograph courtesy of Joan Marcus 130 6.2 Patti Murin and Jason Tam as Lysistrata and Xander. Photograph courtesy of Joan Marcus 131 6.3 The women swear their oath. Photograph courtesy of Joan Marcus 132 6.4 The men of Athens University. Photograph courtesy of Joan Marcus 135 6.5 The boycott. Photograph courtesy of Joan Marcus 139 6.6 The players. Photograph courtesy of Joan Marcus 139 6.7 Hetaira presides over the Eros Motor Lodge. Photograph courtesy of Joan Marcus 140 6.8 Liz Mikel as Hetaira. Photograph courtesy of Joan Marcus 141 Acknowledgements In my long list of thank yous, it seems only right to begin with this project’s true starting point, at Theatre Bay Area in San Francisco, 2003. I am grateful to my friend and then-boss, Dale Albright, for sympathetically looking the other way more than once while I quietly slipped out of the office to watch the anti-war rallies on Market Street. January, February, and March of that year were rife with downtown protests and street theatre as the US’s invasion of Iraq grew increasingly imminent. In those months, between running in and out of the Flood Building among police officers in riot gear and groups of chanting picketers, I heard artists excitedly plan for the Lysistrata Project. The whole world seemed to be thinking about public performance and acts of resistance. For the first time, I could feel theatre’s danger and its power. Since then, I have been fortunate to find inspiring mentors, colleagues, students, and friends who have shared my enthusiasm for political performance and enriched

Load more