STAGE STRUCK: Preserving New York's and Women's Forgotten Theatre History

The Society for the Preservation of Theatrical History was established in 2013 by theatre historian Mari Lyn Henry after her observation that even such greats as Helen Hayes and the Barrymores are unknown now even to performers in the younger generation.

In conjunction with the League of Professional Theatre Women, the Society has developed a program, STAGE STRUCK FROM KEMBLE TO KITT, focusing on great women performers including Fanny Kemble, Alla Nazimova, Katherine Hepburn and Eartha Kitt. While the Society and the League plan to cover other women performers in the future, the current STAGE STRUCK was presented this fall to great interest and praise.

The performance at the Metropolitan Playhouse featured (see photo) Romy Nordlinger as Alla Nazimova, Sandhi Santini as Eartha Kitt, Mari Lyn Henry as Clara Morris, and Paula Ewin as Katherine Hepburn. The program, featuring solo turns by each of the historic characters, follows with question-and-answer sessions in which the performers answer as the historic performers themselves.

Henry, a professional theatre educator, also has developed a lab-version production of STAGE STRUCK involving slides and incidental music that is of particular value for theatre history students, which has been presented at BMCC.

The program has received funding from the Manhattan Cultural Affairs Fund for 2015 and is hoping for renewal in 2016.

Of STAGE STRUCK, Judith Binus of the League of Professional Theatre Women says, "I wanted the conversation to continue," while director Peggy Howard Chane salutes its "genius plan to educate and entertain us." This author sees it as a live version of both theatre history and women's history that develops upon filmmakers Kay Weaver's and Martha Wheelock's ONE FINE DAY by taking the material a step further and bringing a live interpretation of each of its women to the audience. Rather than "virtual reality," it is reality, as the audience becomes engaged with the performers they are meeting.

The aim of the Society is to perform historical research and advocacy, especially for forgotten artists, and to combine these with performance to create a living archive of their experience.

The Society's webpage is here. Contact information for the Society is available on the webpage, as is a study guide for STAGE STRUCK which also features biographical and career information on such dwindling luminaries as Eva Le Gallienne and historical timelines of women's contributions to modern theatre. The Society also maintains an active Facebook page, The Society for the Preservation of Theatre History, with additional information and resources.