by Tony Annicone
Trinity Rep’s season continues with the new production of “The Inferior Sex” by Jaqueline E. Lawton. The play takes place back in the summer of 1972 and is centered on congresswoman Shirley Chisholm and her decision to run for president. The Equal Rights Amendment is front and center as the fervor to pass it builds throughout the country. A group of women in midtown who support this amendment have created a magazine for feminists who love fashion. Meanwhile, the war in Vietnam rages on and the scandal of Watergate bursts President Nixon’s ruling of the country without consequences from either side of the aisle. The women involved with this magazine have differing opinions about the social and political dealings of the day, and it challenges their friendships and the very unsure future of their beloved magazine. Lawton creates comic and poignant moments with her brand-new play and makes the audience aware of the struggles to attain Equal Rights in a very real and up-close look at the past. Director Tatyana-Marie Carlo casts some powerful actresses to portray these roles as she brings the audience back to 1972. There’s an amazing set by Sara Brown and authentic and breathtaking 1970’s vintage costumes by Amanda Downing Carney. The costumes worn by the character of Shirley Chisholm were handmade by Amanda after looking at the outfits the real congresswoman wore back then. Tatyana and her talented nine-member cast’s reward is the spontaneous standing ovation they receive at the curtain call.
Tatyana blocks her cast wonderfully and elicits strong performances from each of them. She opens the show with some of the women, clad in cutesy outfits, dancing to “Thank Heaven for Little Girls” which shows how women were thought of in the past before the Equal Rights Amendment was drawn up. The show continues with the introduction of each of the diverse women in the cast that the audience can identify with. Tatyana’s last show at Trinity was the brilliant “Sueno”, which tackled events like it was a telenovela. In this show, she uses film clips of Shirley Chisholm campaigning in 1972 as well as footage of Nixon from that era. Act 1 ends with the women marching out of the theatre, dancing with mops and singing how they aren’t going to take it anymore.
The main action takes place at a fashion magazine office called Caposhi Rev. Shirley Chisholm (played splendidly by Jackie Davis) comes down the aisle, espousing her views on the United States in the 70s. She is the first black woman to run for president and leads the way for equality for women, especially for women of color. Jackie’s dynamic performance captures your heart all night long with her denunciation of the Vietnam War, the impending Watergate scandal, and the strength that women possess that needed to be channeled into a major way to bring change to this country. Some of the other matters discussed include sexism, sexual assault, sexual harassment, racism, and microaggressions.
The first character the audience meets is Connie, a member of the janitor’s union who has just returned to work after a nine-week strike. Played fabulously by Angelique M. C-Dina, she cleans up the mess left by the other women and insists on calling her boss, Miss Sandra. Connie’s worked for Sandra’s rich family for many years like her mother did before her. Her convivial conversation belies a hidden secret about Sandra’s father that comes to light in the second act in an explosive confrontational scene with her boss. This revelation has a domino effect on the Nixon scandal about to erupt around the country. It also shows the bigotry the white women feel for Connie by mistaking another black woman employee for her. Angelique wins the day by telling Sandra what happened years ago and brings forth the ugly truth about inequality and chauvinistic behavior by her father. She wins thunderous applause after this confrontation.
Sandra, the hard-working owner of the magazine, is wonderfully played by Rachel Dulude. Sandra has hired other women that haven’t been accepted by any other magazines and tries to meld them into a harmonious unit. She is in a quandary about whether she should marry her boyfriend, Jimmy, or continue working on her magazine. The problem is that her father controls the purse strings and is a staunch supporter of Nixon. When money matters crop up, Sandra uses her own trust fund money to keep the magazine afloat. Eventually, hard-nosed Joan convinces her to hire her black college roommate Gwen to write a political column for the magazine. Rachel deals with these problems and has to deal with the different personalities around her. She delivers a well-rounded performance in this pivotal role.
Rachael Warren brings high energy to the role of Joan as she tries to broaden the scope of the fashion magazine by bringing Gwen (played excellently by Geri-Nikole Love) into the office. Gwen is a marvelous and edgy writer who wants to cover Shirley Chisholm and educate white women on how to accept a black woman in their midst. The women also mention that the biggest question asked by men of women applying for a job was “Do you know how to type? and other degrading questions thrust on them.
Tatyana gives each of her actresses their moment to shine in the show. The bossy overbearing but comical publisher, Vera is marvelously played by veteran actress, Anne Scurria. She runs roughshod over the others and speaks her mind freely whether they like it or not. In a dance segment near the end of the show, Anne, dressed in a raggedy Ann outfit, flirts with men in the audience, winning many laughs. The biggest scene stealer is Madeleine Russell, the bubble-headed blonde who is always cooking for the magazine with disastrous results. Her character Madeleine can’t understand why the others aren’t eating her goodies until she’s finally set straight in a very hilarious manner. The hard-working photographer, Alice is beautifully played by Shura Baryshnikov who continually goes on photo shoots in unusual locations and Madeleine Barker is wonderful as Penny who is blunt and outspoken as well as a little bigoted at first when she mistakes Gwen for Connie. All the women learn truths about each other and the plight of the country in this show. The important thing is for us to learn from the mistakes of the past and improve things in the present for the future. This new show proves the more things change, the more they stay the same. This time by people who want to go back to the archaic practices of the past like the repealing of Roe vs Wade last June. It is vital that we learn that Richard Nixon had to be stopped for abusing the power of the Presidency from this show and make sure that it doesn’t happen again. So, for a brilliant new show that is well-written, well-directed, and well-acted, be sure to catch “The Inferior Sex” at Trinity Repertory Company. It is one of the must-see shows this season. To get tickets, go to www.trinityrep.com
THE INFERIOR SEX (16 March to 16 April)
Trinity Repertory Company, 201 Washington Street, Providence, RI
1(401)351-4242
