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Compleat Female
Stage Beauty

by Jeffrey Hatcher
Directed by Connie Crawford

Thursdays through Sundays
March 10-19, 2005 at 8 pm
March 20 matinee at 3 pm

Stuart Theatre

Review: Providence Phoenix

Is she or isn't he? Only his stage director knows for sure!

Ladies and Gentlemen! I give you your host for Jeffrey Hatcher's the Compleat Female Stage Beauty -- Samuel Pepys!

" December 8, 1661 . To the Theater this afternoon to see a play. It is.quite a show of splendor and glitter after eighteen years of Puritan gruel. Six months into his restoration.King Charles has made good to bring light back to London .The player is (Ned) Kynaston. And surely he is the most beautiful woman in the house!"

The City of London celebrated her release from Puritan repression. Under the reign of newly-instated King Charles II, the theatre arts flourished. Comme toujours, men portrayed women onstage. "Women on the stage beget disquiet," Hyde advised Charles. However, King Charles II had spent the interregnum abroad and had seen women on stage. In 1661, he decreed that only women should play women on the London stages. This idea was wild and revolutionary! People flocked to the theatres to see the New. The times they were a-changin'.

So what is a guy/girl to do? Observe Ned Kynaston. In 1661, Ned is a fabulous actor (renowned for playing women), fabulously popular, with a fabulous lover, (the gorgeous Edward Villiars). His Dedemona is a triumph. Ned is riding high until women hit the boards. As Ned's fortunes fail, Britain 's raucous celebration continues. Ned struggles to create a place for himself in this new world.

Jeffrey Hatcher makes his characters redefine their own roles. What identified Ned as a great actor is no longer acceptable, both socially and artistically. As Ned progresses, the women must define their new roles as well. They fight to gain access to the stage. They must rapidly learn and refine their acting skills. All must be rethought but change is difficult.

This is a tale of deep personal and professional struggle and victory. This is a time of great celebration, hilarity and chaos. Compleat Female Stage Beauty is a delightful romp over a profound pilgrimage.

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