I would like to share my delight at seeing a play about Victoria Woodhull, America’s first female stockbroker and the first woman to run for President. Victoria Woodhull: The Rise and Fall of America’s First Feminist,written by Claude Solnik and directed by Robert Previto, premiered at the Playhouse @ St. Pauls, in Northport, Long Island, New York for a run April 10-20, 2014. It has finished its brief run, but I hope the cast will gather together again, and take the play on tour. I think it is a deeply engaging play that helps us think about history, politics, equality and being American.
I found the play, performed in a church in Northport, NY, to be the best kind of education. The set was ingenious — the front part was the living room of Victoria’s family, the rear a public space for speeches, congressional hearings, and meetings/confrontations with friends, colleagues and enemies. Vivian Wyrick’s portrayal makes clear that Victoria threw her full life energy into both her private and her public life, caring deeply about her family but just as deeply about liberating women everywhere from their bondage.
Watching Wyrick is like being on the bank of a river after a storm—full, rushing and turbulent. She kisses her husband long — and not for the cameras — goes toe to toe with a Congressman demanding women’s suffrage as a constitutional right, gleefully collects her first commissions at her popular brokerage, and passionately argues with leaders of the women’s movement about strategy and vision.
It is a tribute to the excellent cast that they don’t let this fine actress steal the show — they create an effective and moving ensemble of characters, each with a strong sense of self and an important role in the story. It speaks well for Victoria Woodhull that she surrounded herself not with yes-men or sycophants but strong people with strong opinions. Her husband was James Harvey Blood, a civil war veteran, played by Rob Nassir. Nassir captures Blood’s dignity and his bewilderment at his wife’s whirlwind of a life. I should note hear that although this play is entirely realistic, it also has a certain Shavian symbolic quality — Blood represents the new man, perhaps not entirely ready for the full journey to equality that Victoria insists on, but willing to get ready. Victoria’s sister, Tennesee “Tennie” Claflin, played with energy and grace by Lisa Rozza-Haft, helps anchor Victoria in her past and her family. “Tennie” and Victoria’s father Buck Claflin, played by Richie Applebaum, create a vivid portrait of a family willing to play with the world to get what it needs. One of my favorite moments in the play is when an important political conflict is going on, Tennie gaily plays cards with a relative. The family is rounded out by Victoria’s ex-husband, Dr. Canning Woodhull, whose performance by James Bradley conjures up the oldest traditions of the court jester. Even modern presidents need one, and this flawed man’s very failings act as a moral compass for Victoria. Outside this strong-willed family, Victoria finds strong people to contend with and befriend. She struggles to ally herself with the Big Three of the women’s movement: Harriet Beecher Stowe, Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Stowe, played by Staci Rosenberg-Simons, comes across as the most driven and unforgiving of the three, with Anthony, played by Stephanie Sultana, acting often as mediator, and Stanton, played by Kate Madigan, seeming to feel most warmly towards Victoria. The excellent costumes in the play reach their peak with these three women, helping the actresses to come alive in a different time with the special carriage that marked the women leaders of that era. In this play of ideas, the conflict between “fight just for suffrage” and “fight for all women’s rights” is the most intriguing. Woodhull’s life and work raise deep questions about the best way to do politics. Should one hide one’s light under a bushel so as not to scare away possible voters? Or should you just be yourself, and let people figure it out? I find myself admiring Victoria and disliking the narrow focus of these women, but a bit of review after the play reminded me that these narrow, focused women succeeded in getting the 19th amendment passed in 1920, and the rights Victoria wanted — abolition of biased marriage rules, getting the state out of people’s married lives, economic equality for women — have been much longer in coming.
Victoria’s longtime friend Cornelius Vanderbilt, played with conviction and humor by Alex Edwards-Bourdrez, confounds one’s biases and prejudices about aggressive capitalists and emphasizes that it takes a village to make a President. He is matched, almost like a counterweight, by Congressman John Armor Bingham, played with manly, pig-headed vigor by Mike McKenna, who captures perfectly the politician who will not change his world view, and is willing to use vast resources to maintain it, whether it makes sense or not. His debate with Victoria over what the word “person” means in the constitution captures the true absurdity of the political world men had created and Victoria was determined to transform.
I urge the cast, director and playwright to look for new venues for this wonderful piece. I will take issue with the subtitle—“The Rise and Fall of America’s First Feminist” — I din’t feel that Victoria Woodhull “fell” in her life. Her feet were too firmly planted. Instead, this play documents her walk in the direction we all need to go — towards full rights for all people, including ambitious people with complicated pasts.
Previews:
March 14, 2014
Ended:
March 23, 2014
Country:
USA
State:
New York
City:
Northport
Theater Type:
Regional
Theater:
Playhouse at St. Paul's
Genre:
Drama
Director:
Robert Previto
Review:
Cast:
Lisa Rozza-Haft (Tennie), Alex Edwards-Bourdrez (Vanderbilt), Vivian Wyrick (Victoria).
Technical:
Costumes: Cheryl Manniello. Set: Philip Jordan. Lighting: Fred Sprauer.
Critic:
Adam Frost
Date Reviewed:
April 2014
