‘46 Plays for America’s First Ladies‘ – Written by Genevra Gallo-Bayiates, Sharon Greene, Chloe Johnston, Bilal Dardai, and Andy Bayiates; Directed by Ilyse Robbins; Set Design by Justin Lahue; Lighting Design by Emily Bearce;Sound Design by Gage Baker; and Costumes by E. Rosser. Presented by Hub Theatre Company at Club Cafe, 209 Columbus Ave., Boston, MA.
By Mike Hoban
If you’re going to Hub Theater’s 46 Plays for America’s First Ladies expecting a fawning third-grade history treatment of the women who “stood behind their men,” you’re in for a surprise. That premise is obliterated in the opening vignette when Martha Washington tells the audience, “I loved slavery” and describes her time as First Lady as akin to being a “state prisoner” – which is an actual quote from the wife of the “Father of Our Country.” Wow.
“46 Plays” was written by Chloe Johnston, Sharon Greene, Genevra Gallo-Bayiates, Bilal Dardal, and Andy Bayiates of the Chicago-based theater collective Neo-Futurist. It debuted in 2022 and is a logical follow-up to an earlier play by the troupe, 44 Plays for 44 Presidents. Equal parts history lesson (or, more appropriately, herstory) and vaudeville-style revue, First Ladies includes short plays, song and dance numbers, puppetry, standup comedy, some audience participation, and even haiku. This surprisingly dark but thoroughly entertaining show gives us a glimpse into the lives of 46 First Ladies at breakneck speed, so if one piece doesn’t work for you, don’t fret; you won’t have to wait long for one that will. Each vignette is introduced via two large video screens, which announce the First Ladies, the years they served in the White House, and the title of the mini-play. The screens also let the audience know when a line of dialogue is an actual “DIRECT QUOTE” from the First Lady portrayed in the piece.
The title of First Lady is not an official one, and the role has steadily evolved from White House hostess and decorator to that of advocate for social causes. Some of those advocacies have been laughable (Melania’s “Be Best” anti-bullying initiative and Nancy Reagan’s “Just Say No” campaigns top the list), but Eleanor Roosevelt and others before her slowly transformed the position and laid the groundwork for stalwarts like Betty Ford (support of the Equal Rights Amendment, breast cancer and substance abuse awareness) and Michelle Obama (“Let’s Move” Task Force on Childhood Obesity) to effect societal change.
One interesting historical note from First Ladies is that the title does not imply “wife of the president.” Nine other women filled the role, including Harriet Lane, the adopted daughter of “lifelong bachelor” James Buchanan, the only president who never married. (The play also asserts that Buchanan and his “best friend” William King were America’s “queer first family” and includes a direct quote from Andrew Jackson derisively referring to the pair as “Aunt Nancy and Miss Fancy.”) Thomas Jefferson’s official “First Lady” was his daughter, Martha Jefferson Randolph, although Sally Hemings, an enslaved woman that Jefferson owned, bore him six children and was probably more influential. Their vignette, “Sisters Under The Skin,” is alternately painful and funny, as exemplified by an exchange where Hemings tells Martha that Jefferson impregnated her when she was 14, and Martha’s weak response is, “But the age of consent was only 10 in 1776!” To which Martha replies, “I don’t think that factoid is doing what you think it’s doing.” The vignette is one of the best of the mini-plays and one that most effectively explodes the American myth of equality for all.
The production, which uses a bare-bones set and minimal costuming in the cozy confines of Club Café, is buoyed by solid performances from the cast, anchored by Boston theater veterans Hub Theater producing artistic director Lauren Elias and Katie Pickett. The cast also includes three impressive relative newcomers, Yasmeen Duncan, Eleni Kontzamany, and Sophia Muharram, who recently completed or are finishing up theater programs at Emerson (Duncan) and the Boston Conservatory. The production is directed by multiple IRNE and Norton Award winner Ilyse Robbins, who keeps the action moving and coherent, which is no easy trick considering the number of scene changes (45). Robbins also brings her considerable musical theater and choreographic skills to the production’s musical numbers, especially Abigail Adams’ “Remember the Ladies” and Julia Grant’s (Ulysses’ daughter) “Blue and Gray Blues.”
Some pieces are a little too much “inside baseball,” so if you don’t have a background in American history or know much about the First Lady being portrayed/skewered, it can be a little confusing. But as previously stated, you won’t have to wait long for the next comic or musical gem. If you’re planning a visit, you might want to leave your Fox-watching uncle at home for this one, but it’s a good evening’s entertainment for most of us. It also serves as a reminder during this roller-coaster election season that politics has always been pretty crazy. Let’s hope that by next year, the play will have to be re-named 46 Plays for America’s First Ladies (and one First Gentleman).
Tickets to all performances are “Pay-What-You-Can. In addition, a voter registration drive will be held in conjunction with the production, and voter registration forms will be available at all performances. For tickets and more information, visit www.hubtheatreboston.org
