''A Single Woman'' is a play based on the life of

Jeannette Rankin Jeannette Pickering Rankin (June 11, 1880 – May 18, 1973) was an American politician and women's rights advocate who became the first woman to hold federal office in the United States in 1917. She was elected to the U.S. House of Representat ...

, the first woman in the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

. First drafted as a one-woman show by Nevada Shakespeare Company founding Artistic Director,

Jeanmarie Simpson Jeanmarie Simpson (born November 20, 1959) is an American theatre artist and peace activist best known for writing and starring in the 2004 play '' A Single Woman'', and its 2008 film adaptation, based on the life of first US Congresswoman, Jea ...

, it developed into a "duet performance work" by the time it premiered at the Oats Park Art Center in

Fallon, Nevada Fallon is a city in Churchill County in the U.S. state of Nevada. The population was 9,327 at time of the 2020 census. Fallon is the county seat of Churchill County and is located in the Lahontan Valley. History The community was first populate ...

on February 7, 2004. The play subsequently toured internationally with hundreds of

grassroots A grassroots movement is one that uses the people in a given district, region or community as the basis for a political or economic movement. Grassroots movements and organizations use collective action from the local level to effect change at t ...

including a 4-week run at The Culture Project

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

in the summer of 2005. The play closed at the Invisible Theatre in Tucson, Arizona on November 5, 2006.

Artists

In addition to being a theatre artist, Simpson, the author and performer of the title role, is a

peace activist A peace movement is a social movement which seeks to achieve ideals, such as the ending of a particular war (or wars) or minimizing inter-human violence in a particular place or situation. They are often linked to the goal of achieving world peac ...

. Many performances of the play have been fundraisers for individual branches and the national office of the

Women's International League for Peace and Freedom The Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) is a non-profit non-governmental organization working "to bring together women of different political views and philosophical and religious backgrounds determined to study and make kno ...

(WILPF), in addition to hundreds of other peace and justice organizations including

United Methodist Church The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelical ...

's Social Justice and Global Ministries, Jews for Peace,

Planned Parenthood The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. (PPFA), or simply Planned Parenthood, is a nonprofit organization that provides reproductive health care in the United States and globally. It is a tax-exempt corporation under Internal Reve ...

American Civil Liberties Union The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". T ...

Veterans for Peace Veterans for Peace is an organization founded in 1985. Initially made up of US military veterans of World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, the War in Afghanistan (2001–present), War in Afghanistan and the Iraq War, and as ...

American Friends Service Committee The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) is a Religious Society of Friends (''Quaker'') founded organization working for peace and social justice in the United States and around the world. AFSC was founded in 1917 as a combined effort by Am ...

and many others. Cameron Crain, who created the role of 'Everyman' in the play, also directed the production that toured the United States. Simpson directed the production in New York, initially with Claudia Schneider and ''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' ( , ) is a French historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. In the English-speaking world, the novel is usually referred to by its original ...

'' veteran, Neal Mayer, in the roles. Midway through, Simpson stepped in and completed the run as Rankin.

References

External links

Sacramento News and Review Hudson Review

Sacramento News and Review Feature 1

Reno News and Review Feature

Reno News and Review Jesch Review
{{DEFAULTSORT:Single Woman, A American plays adapted into films Plays based on actual events 2004 plays Jeannette Rankin

Artists

See also

References

External links