League of Women Voters of Bartlesville reschedules AMERICAN WOMAN staged play reading for Thursday, Mar. 28

In celebration of National Women’s History Month, the League of Women Voters of Bartlesville invites the public to a free staged reading of a one-act play entitled: “AMERICAN WOMAN: A brief history and exciting true story of the Women Suffragists.”

The play had to be rescheduled from earlier this month because of covid, and the new date is Thursday, March 28.

This hour-long production will take place at Theater Bartlesville, 312 S. Dewey Avenue in downtown Bartlesville, and will be followed by a brief reception in the theater lobby.

Admission is free. Doors open at 6:30, performance begins at 7:00. Seating is by general admission.

 AMERICAN WOMAN charts the course of the decades-long struggle of American women to push for the passage and ratification of the 19th Amendment, which gave American women the right to vote, by stating that “the right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.”

The remarkable history of that struggle for suffrage (the right to vote in elections) is full of unforgettable characters, such as Lucretia Mott, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, Sojourner Truth, Alice Paul, Lucy Burns, Olympia Brown, Ida B. Wells, and others. Their struggle was marked by steadfast friendships between extraordinary women leaders, and enormous fortitude in the face of hardship among the rank and file suffragists (such as beatings in jail and forced feedings during hunger strikes). Their struggle continued throughout the Civil War and World War I. President Woodrow Wilson became both enemy and ally to the Suffragists, until he finally, near the end of his life, supported passage of the 19th Amendment. The final push by the Suffragists to convince enough state legislatures to ratify the 19th Amendment is both dramatic and moving.

The script has been adapted by Shelby Brammer from a full-length play written in 2020 by Jan Dreiling and the late Joan Dreisker (Celebrate! 100 Years of Woman Suffrage) for the Bartlesville Women’s Network.

The adaptation is co-directed by Shelby and Sidney Brammer, and features actors Shelly Holdman, Eric Jaekel, and Shelby Brammer.

The League of Women Voters of Bartlesville is a non-partisan political organization that encourages informed and active participation in government, and influences public policy through education and advocacy. Membership is open to men and women of all ages. For more information visit lwvbartlesville.org, call or text (918) 440-6387, or email
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