Notable Women by Ruth Wolff

"Ruth Wolff has written delicious roles of passion, depth and intelligence. Her commitment to the great men and women of history makes these plays a rewarding playground for actors and audiences alike."
Frank Langella

"A playwright of great perception and intelligence, with powerful insights into the human condition. A compelling and unique voice in American theater."
Richard Rose, Producing Artistic Director, Barter Theater, State Theater of Virginia

"Ruth Wolff brings historically significant figures vibrantly to life in thrilling original dramas, giving shape and meaning to the vagaries of existence."
Gerald M Pinciss, Professor Emeritus of English at Hunter College and CUNY, author of Why Shakespeare

* * *

In NOTABLE WOMEN—AND A FEW EQUALLY NOTABLE MEN the biographical plays of Ruth Wolff are, for the first time, collected in one volume.

Seen in major productions around the world, these plays, hailed by critics and audiences alike, are now made available for production at all levels.

Introducing the collection is a detailed essay about the art of dramatizing lives which, in addition to the plays, makes this collection invaluable to students of playwrighting and to anyone interested in the process of writing the biographically-based play.

In the concluding essay, reprinted from the New York Times Magazine, Wolff tells the tale of her hopes and fears leading up to and during one exceptional theatrical adventure.

Actors—both female and male—will find scene after scene offering opportunities for auditions and for practicing their craft.

NOTABLE WOMEN—AND A FEW EQUALLY NOTABLE MEN is highly recommended for Producers, Directors and Literary Managers of Theaters, for English, Theater, History and Women's Studies Departments, and for general readers who wish to enrich their lives through reading plays of great literary and dramatic merit, plays which portray extraordinary women and men from many different centuries and civilizations, whose experiences are particularly illuminating for our own time.

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INTRODUCTORY ESSAY: DRAMATIZING LIVES
The Art of Writing the Biographical Play

From her wide international experience with productions of her plays in many countries and many languages, the playwright lifts the curtain on the mystery of play-creation and shares insights which should prove invaluable to playwrights, readers and play-goers alike. This essay illuminates the process of dramatic writing, not only of biographical, but of all plays, taking you inside a successful playwright's works, mind and heart.

Topics include: How to Choose a Subject, Researching with the Creative Mind, Winnowing Out the Lies and Probing the Silences of Source Material, Dangers of Falling in Love with One's Subject, Structuring the Story, Narration vs. Dramatization, Preserving One's Own Voice, Finding Contemporary Relevance in the Past and many more.

THE ABDICATION

Why, having become Queen in childhood, would Christina of Sweden give up the throne? Confused about her sexual identity and religious beliefs, and thwarted in love, she decides to abdicate, convert to Catholicism, and throw herself, for life, on the hospitality of the Vatican. Once there, this proud but troubled woman is stunned to discover that, before she can be received by the Pope, she must submit to intense questioning by Cardinal Azzolino. At first she sees him as an adversary. But then, against all rules and expectations, Christina finds herself falling in love with her inquisitor. A probing exploration of the Nature of Woman, whether Queen or commoner, is the subject of this highly original play.

Internationally acclaimed and produced, THE ABDICATION premiered at the Bristol Old Vic starring Gemma Jones and David Neal, directed by Val May. Its American premiere was at the Eureka Theater in San Francisco. It has received productions worldwide, including in Italy (in Italian), in Montreal (in French) and in the Netherlands and Belgium (in Dutch). Wolff wrote the Warner Bros. film based on the play. It starred Liv Ullmann and Peter Finch and featured Cyril Cusack.

"Crackles with energy and sexual tension. A modern historical work in the tradition of A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS."
San Francisco Magazine

"... contemporary significance in its protagonist, a woman in search of herself...tremendous present-day impact and heart-touching emotion...for those who want intelligence and wit with their love story."
New York Magazine

6 M 4 F

THE PERFECT MARRIAGE

In this comedy about the nature of marriage, Percy Bysshe Shelley and Mary Shelley battle out their relationship at the gates of Heaven and Hell. Predeceasing Mary by several decades, Shelley can hardly wait for her to come to him in Limbo--but when she does, he is astonished to find that the woman who seemed for all her life to worship him now wants an independent existence. The Archangel/Devil must adjudicate between them and decide whether, in this afterlife, they will enter Heaven or Hell.

THE PERFECT MARRIAGE received enthusiastic receptions at its staged readings which include those at the East Hampton Playwrights Theater, the Roundabout in New York, the Penguin Theater in Stony Point, NY, at Santa Barbara City College (directed by Charles Marowitz) and at New York's New Theater Workshop.

"A 'Perfect' Love Play. ...dialogue is witty and the comedy ranges from subtle to broad...lively and full of nuance...a strong affirmation of marriage."
The Southampton Press

3 M 2 F

HALLIE

Hallie Flanagan Davis headed the Federal Theater in the 1930s and 40s--until the anti-art element in Congress decided that federal support of what they saw as lazy left-wing artists must end. This play, based on the tumultuous hearings before the House UnAmerican Activities Committee, pits artists against philistines and demonstrates that then, as now, politics and art don't mix.

staged readings at Smith College, Vassar College and at the New Theater Workshop

6 M 2 F

EMPRESS OF CHINA

As the 19th century moves into the 20th century, the Dowager Empress Tzu-Hsi struggles to hold together the proud ancient Chinese empire, which is being assaulted by foreign nations and the technological advances of the age. Following the arrest of a Young Actor who is playing her in the streets, she finds herself, powerless at the pinnacle of power, trying to preserve traditional Chinese civilization against overwhelming forces for change.

"Sweeping historical drama...a villainess of epic proportions."
The New York Times

"Compelling theater."
The Cincinnati Enquirer

"Alive with dialogue that is at the same time lofty and logical...plenty of clever humor."
Lexington Herald-Leader

"An informative and meaningful work...theatrically exciting."
Oxford Press

premiered at the Pan Asian Repertory Theater in New York

5 M 3 F

SARAH IN AMERICA

Sarah Bernhardt made her lasting fame in America. This tour de force for one actress takes Bernhardt from her first American tour, in her thirties, to her last, when, with leg amputated, she toured the country at age seventy-two. Her indomitable spirit, summarized by her motto "Quand Même", is abundantly displayed as she travels from coast-to-coast experiencing triumphs and tragedies.

"... a colorful and classy evening of theater."
The Hollywood Reporter

"Richly written."
Pasadena Star News

"Ruth Wolff's SARAH IN AMERICA beautifully captures the arc of the actress's obsessive lifestyle...all her petulance, vanity, narcissism and dogged resolve...a fascinating portrait."
Herald Examiner

world premiere at the Kennedy Center

1 F

ELEANOR OF AQUITAINE

The sweep of Eleanor's entire life--from her early marriage to Louis VII, King of France, through her marriage to Henry II of England, to her imprisonment, reign and death--is encompassed in this drama. Through every challenge, Eleanor, with her grace and independence--in a world which expected women to stay in their place--triumphs, as wife, soldier, mother, queen and patron of the Courts of Love.

staged readings at the O'Neill Theater Center and Playwrights Horizons

11 M 5 F, extras (some roles may be doubled)

GEORGE AND FREDERIC

George Sand had many lovers--but the one to whom she was most attached, and who almost ruined her life, was Frederic Chopin. His illness and dependency, the rivalries of two artists living under the same roof, the conflicting demands of two careers, all these batter the relationship. But most damaging is what the affair does to her family. Sand is hailed as an icon of female liberation. In GEORGE AND FREDERIC we see what can be the consequences of that liberation. Her rebellious daughter Solange embraces the tenets of feminism as an excuse for wild behavior, eventually causing the final rift between her mother and her mother's lover. To assert his own creativity in this maelstrom, Maurice, George's doting and doted-upon son, creates puppets of each member of this explosive ménage, puppets who, throughout the play, comment wryly on all the heated goings-on with humor, irony and wit.

first produced at the University of Utah

4 M 2 F

JOSHUA SLOCUM SAILING ALONE AROUND THE WORLD

As he is making preparations to set out on what will become his final sea journey, Joshua Slocum (hounded by an unsympathetic off-stage second wife), tells us about his previous Great Adventure when, in 1895, he set out on a three-year journey in his 34-foot sloop the Spray to prove that a man could sail around the world alone. In vivid anecdotes, he shares the tale of his unprecedented 46,000 mile journey, when (years before radio or G P S systems), he sailed through sun and storm, blazing heat and relentless cold, through hunger and delirium, across the world's great oceans and seas, battled wind and waves to traverse the world's two great capes, fought pirates and savages, and put into port in some of the wildest, weirdest and most inhospitable lands around the world. Slocum takes us with him on his epic adventure, told with humor and originality through the eyes of a weather-beaten sea salt who, against all expectation, did what no one had ever done before.

JOSHUA SLOCUM SAILING ALONE AROUND THE WORLD is based on Slocum's own account of his epic journey.

"[The play] transfixes us...a gripping tale of the sea. ...Whether you enjoy sailing or just like a good yarn, JOSHUA SLOCUM is likely to shiver your timbers."
Newport Daily News,

"For everyone who's ever entertained the wish to explore uncharted territory of any kind, this play will prove an evening well spent."
Newport This Week.

premiered The Rhode Island Shakespeare Theater, Newport

1 M

THE SECOND MRS WILSON

This play depicts the dramatic final year of the Woodrow Wilson White House when, on her husband's urging, his new second wife Edith (sometimes criticized as being "America's First Female President") hides the gravity of his illness from his Cabinet and the entire country, hoping to keep him in office long enough to achieve his goal: US entry into the League of Nations--in his view the only possible guarantor of future world peace. A pivotal moment in the play is the Woodrow Wilson/Henry Cabot Lodge confrontation over isolationism vs. internationalism--a topic as fraught with conflict then as it is today.

"The Second Mrs. Wilson has it all. ...Skillfully written... Exciting...timely subject matter...solid dramatic writing... brilliant re-imagining of a critical and intriguing moment in American history...characters richly nuanced and engrossing."
Washington County News

"Fascinating...highly entertaining."
Bristol Herald Courier

first produced at the Barter Theater, the State Theater of Virginia

6 M 2 F

We Open In Florence
An Anxious Playwright Flies to Italy for the Italian Premiere of her Play
(Reprinted from the New York Times Magazine)

With the title changed, the cast size seemingly changed, and all other variety of problems, the playwright flies to Italy and tries, alone, in a country whose language she doesn't know, to deal with events leading up to what turns out to be the triumphant premiere of the Italian language production of THE ABDICATION. Her hopes and fears highlight the gripping tale of this not-quite-typical theatrical adventure.

Notable Women—And A Few Equally Notable Men

I S B N: 978-0-88145-449-9

$34.95

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