SOMEONE MUST WASH THE DISHES Tours Throughout Women's History Month

One hundred years ago, a now-forgotten Progressive named Marie Jenney Howe penned a no-longer-forgotten playlet for the drama group of the New York City Woman Suffrage Party. A century later-in this fraught election year-Howe's "An Anti-Suffrage Monologue" celebrates its 200th performance. Revived as Someone Must Wash the Dishes: An Anti-Suffrage Satire, the "Monologue" has been performed from Texas to Connecticut, Delaware to Wisconsin-exclusively by Michèle LaRue, a professional actress who specializes in earlier American works.

Someone Must Wash the Dishes: An Anti-Suffrage Satire was conceived and directed by the late Warren Kliewer. Dishes began touring in celebration of the 75th anniversary of the passage of the 19th amendment for Woman Suffrage, under the banner of The East Lynne Company, founded by Kliewer to revive earlier American plays and literature. LaRue continues to tour Dishes under the aegis of the Cape May – based East Lynne Theater Company. 

In 1912-eight years before Woman Suffrage finally was achieved-many females still opposed getting the vote. They cited obstacles ranging from unsavory polling places to their own small brains and "delicate nervous organization." In her "Monologue," Howe gleefully deflated these arguments, exposing the the Antis' illogic. Today most of those arguments sound ludicrous, but LaRue's own post-performance lecture puts them in historical context, inviting lively audience discussion. 

"It's so hard to choose a favorite line," says LaRue, clearly still enchanted by the material and her character. "I think of her as a cheerleader for The Cause; she can't imagine anyone not being Anti. She dotes on her husband and reveres his every word: his opinions go in one ear … and out her mouth, without stumbling over gray matter. She proudly puts opposite arguments in couplets, helpfully explaining to her audience that 'If you don't like one, you can take the other!' "

LaRue tours Someone Must Wash the Dishes: An Anti-Suffrage Satire throughout Women's History Month-in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Illinois. Subsequent  bookings include Massachusetts and Texas.

 

 Photo Credit: Ken Smith at Quiet Heart Images

 

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE

Wednesday, February 29, 6 p.m.

EVE'S DIARY

Elmwood Park Library

210 Lee Street

Elmwood Park, New Jersey 07407

Reservations: 201-796-8888

 

Monday, March 5, 3:30 p.m.

SOMEONE MUST WASH THE DISHES: AN ANTI-SUFFRAGE SATIRE

College of Staten Island/CUNY (cosponsored by the Campus Activities Board & the Pluralism and Diversity Dept.)

New York

Reservations: mlrprods@aol.com

Tuesday, March 6, 7:00 P.M.

SOMEONE MUST WASH THE DISHES: AN ANTI-SUFFRAGE SATIRE

Wilton Public Library (cosponsored by Wilton League of Women Voters)

137 Old Ridgefield Road

Wilton, Connecticut 06897

Reservations: 203-762-3950

 

Sunday, March 11, 3 p.m.

TALES WELL TOLD: WOMEN BREAKING LOOSE

Fanwood Memorial Library

14 Tillotson Road

Fanwood, New Jersey 07023
Reservations: 908-322-6400

Saturday, March 17, 1:00 p.m.

SOMEONE MUST WASH THE DISHES: AN ANTI-SUFFRAGE SATIRE

Somers Library

82 Primrose Street Katonah, New York 10536
Reservations: 914-232-5717

 

Thursday, March 22, 7:00 p.m.

SOMEONE MUST WASH THE DISHES: AN ANTI-SUFFRAGE SATIRE

Poplar Creek Library

1405 Park Avenue

Streamwood, IL 60107

Reservations: 630-837-6800

 

Saturday, March 24, 2:00 p.m.

SOMEONE MUST WASH THE DISHES: AN ANTI-SUFFRAGE SATIRE

Bloomingdale Public Library (cosponsored by Bloomingdale Historical Society)

101 Fairfield Way

Bloomingdale, IL 60108

Reservations: 630-924-2735

 

Sunday, March 25, 2:00 p.m.

SOMEONE MUST WASH THE DISHES: AN ANTI-SUFFRAGE SATIRE

Wauconda Area Library

801 N. Main Street

Wauconda, IL  60084

Reservations: 847-526-6225

Thursday, March 29, 7:00 p.m.

SOMEONE MUST WASH THE DISHES: AN ANTI-SUFFRAGE SATIRE

Orland Park Public Library

14921 Ravinia Ave. Orland Park IL 60462

Reservations: 708-428-5114

Thursday, April 19, 7:30 p.m.

SOMEONE MUST WASH THE DISHES: AN ANTI-SUFFRAGE SATIRE

The Brookfield Library (cosponsored by the League of Women Voters)

182 Whisconier Road
Brookfield, Connecticut 06804
Reservations: 203-775-6241

Thursday, April 12, 4:45 pm

TALES WELL TOLD: FISH OUT OF WATER

Popular/American Culture Associations-annual conference

Boston Marriott Copley Place

110 Huntington Avenue

Boston, Massachussetts 02116

Reservations: mlrprods@aol.com

 

Sunday, April 22, 2:00 p.m.

SOMEONE MUST WASH THE DISHES: AN ANTI-SUFFRAGE SATIRE

John C. Hart Memorial Library

1130 East Main Street

Shrub Oak, New York 10588

Reservations: 914-245-5262

 

Wednesday, May 16, 7 p.m.

TALES WELL TOLD: ACCIDENTAL HOLIDAYS

Randolph Township Free Public Library
28 Calais Road
Randolph, New Jersey 07869
Reservations: 973-895-3556

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