JANE ANGER at the New Ohio Theatre

 

Back in 1589, one Jane Anger published the earliest known feminist pamphlet in English, Jane Anger, her Protection for Women. Pretty much all we know about Jane (assuming she was indeed a she) is in those pages, of which only one copy survives.  

But playwright Talene Monahon has huge fun envisioning a history for Jane involving William Shakespeare in Jane Anger: The Lamentable Comedie of Jane Anger, that Cunning Woman, and also of Willy Shakefpeare and his Peasant Companion, Francis, Yes and Also of Anne Hathaway (also a Woman) Who Tried Very Hard.

As you might assume from the title, this is no deep dive into feminist history, but it is deeply hilarious, providing many a welcome belly-laugh. 

Played with over-the-top verve and gusto by Amelia Workman as Jane, Michael Urie as Shakespeare, Ryan Spahn as Francis, and Monahon as Anne Hathaway, and directed by Jess Chayes, it's at the New Ohio Theatre through March 26.

https://newohiotheatre.org/

Pyramid Schemes and Roast Corn

Two essays of mine have just been posted on literary websites.  At The Smart Set, a journal published by Drexel University that features a wide variety of excellent work, you can read "The Price of a Friendship."

https://thesmartset.com/the-price-of-friendship/

And my essay "A Feast Day of Roast Corn Up in Michigan" (first published years ago by the New York Times)  was a finalist in the semiannual travel writing contest run by the literary travel journal Nowhere, and may be read  on their website (with copy restored that the Times had dropped):
 
https://nowheremag.com/