25Jun

When We Were Young and Unafraid: Empowering

When We Were Young and Unafraid

I adore the Manhattan Theater Club. Cherry Jones is my favorite stage actress.  The combination is just beyond. So when I heard they were joining forces for a new production called When We Were Young and Unafraid by a young feminist playwright named Sarah Treem, I was elated. So much so that I left my suburban home on a Sunday night and ventured to the show on my own. I just knew this show would be worth it. I was born in 1970 right before the women’s movement heated up, and the play takes place during that time. It was the age of Betty Freidan, Gloria Steinem, Ann Margaret (you’ll get her inclusion if you see the show). The characters are on the verge of major changes. They’re frustrated, they’re tired, they’re confused, they’re motivated.

When We Were Young and Afraid

Directed by Pam MacKinnon,When We Were Young and Unafraid is a well told story about this time period.  It revolves around Agnes, played by Jones, who owns a bed and breakfast near Seattle. It’s a haven for quiet guests looking for refuge or a place to think. By day she delivers muffins to her guests and prepares casseroles for their evening meal.

But by night, she and her teenage daughter cater to a very different clientele. They welcome abused women into their home and allow them to stay until they are safe to leave and run to a better life. In this case, she and her very smart daughter, Penny, who dreams of attending Yale only years after girls were allowed to apply, welcome Mary Anne. She arrives in the middle of the night with a black eye and a bruised heart, still very much in love with her abusive husband (who thankfully, Treem never introduces to).

Mary Ann has bought into the traditional role of the domestic, submissive wife and has a very hard time maintaining her husband’s guilt. She also rubs off the wrong way on Penny and leads her in the wrong direction, further abusing her relationship with Agnes. Along the way of this very dramatic play we meet other interesting characters. Hannah is a radical lesbian with a fro  and bell bottoms who comes to the b&b in search of work and food. She’s on her way to a commune to live a life free of men and develops an unusual, free-speaking relationship with Agnes. Paul is a songwriter looking for peace and love. He can’t stay away from Mary Anne, who is desperate for help. A lot of secrets are revealed in the process about Agnes’ past. She’s a single mom with a story, and what a good one it is. We find out she used to be a nurse but lost her license for giving abortions. She’s a feminist with a history and there’s much more to it.T

The cast is phenomenal. Cherry Jones, as always, delivers an accurate portrayal of a feminist who’s stuck in the pre-Roe versus Wade movement. Zoe Kazan as the inflicted Mary Ann is believable as a distraught, confused girl in the age before women really went to work and became independent. I always look forward to seeing her on stage. Women never left their abusive men in the 1970s. There was nowhere to turn, and she portrayed the angst and confusion perfectly. Morgan Saylor is believable as a 16 year old who’s determined to be different but wants to keep up with the Joneses. As Hannah, Cherise Boothe is terrific.She’s funny, strong and a breath of fresh air, particularly to someone like Agnes who clearly has strong beliefs but lives on an island with no one to share them with. I loved their conversations.Patch Darragh as the lonely songwriter served his purpose as the sole male in the play. Clearly Treem couldn’t make him too interesting in her feminist play.

When We Were Young And Unafraid is powerful, historical and a breath of fresh air for a feminist like me.  I highly recommend it. Check for tickets here.

Disclosure: I was not given tickets to compensate this review and all opinions are my own.

 

 

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