''Women Behind Bars'' is a

camp Camp may refer to: Outdoor accommodation and recreation * Campsite or campground, a recreational outdoor sleeping and eating site * a temporary settlement for nomads * Camp, a term used in New England, Northern Ontario and New Brunswick to descri ...

black comedy Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to discus ...

play by

Tom Eyen Tom Eyen (August 14, 1940 – May 26, 1991) was an American playwright, lyricist, television writer and director. He received a Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical for ''Dreamgirls'' in 1981. Eyen is best known for works at opposite ends ...

, parodying the prison exploitation films produced by

Universal Universal is the adjective for universe. Universal may also refer to: Companies * NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company ** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of NBCUniversal ** Universal TV, a t ...

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Di ...

and

Republic Pictures Republic Pictures Corporation (currently held under Melange Pictures, LLC) was an American motion picture production-distribution corporation in operation from 1935 to 1967, that was based in Los Angeles. It had studio facilities in Studio City an ...

during the 1950s.

Plot

Set in the Women's House of Detention in

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...

, there is, among the range of women, an innocent young woman, a

chain-smoking Chain smoking is the practice of smoking several cigarettes in succession, sometimes using the ember of a finished cigarette to light the next. The term chain smoker often also refers to a person who smokes relatively constantly, though not ne ...

street-wise tough girl, and a delicate

Southern belle Southern belle () is a colloquialism for a debutante in the planter class of the Antebellum South. Characteristics The image of a Southern belle is often characterized by fashion elements such as a hoop skirt, a corset, pantalettes, a wide-b ...

reminiscent of

Blanche DuBois Blanche DuBois (married name Grey) is a fictional character in Tennessee Williams' 1947 Pulitzer Prize-winning play ''A Streetcar Named Desire''. The character was written for Tallulah Bankhead and made popular to later audiences with Elia Kaza ...

. The innocent was framed by her husband on a charge of armed robbery, and is brutalized, betrayed and

sexually assaulted Sexual assault is an act in which one intentionally sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their will. It is a form of sexual violence, which ...

throughout her eight-year sentence. She is ultimately broken by the system and leaves jail as a hard-edged, gum-chomping drug dealer. These women are overseen by the prison's sadistic matron and her henchman.

Productions

Original 1975 production

The original production at the

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 ...

Astor Place Theatre opened on May 1, 1975, featuring Pat Ast,

Helen Hanft Helen may refer to: People * Helen of Troy, in Greek mythology, the most beautiful woman in the world * Helen (actress) (born 1938), Indian actress * Helen (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) Places * Helen, G ...

, Mary-Jennifer Mitchell and Sharon Barr. Alan Eichler was co-producer and press representative..

1976 revival

The play was revived in 1976 at the Truck and Warehouse Theatre in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

with '' Pink Flamingos'' star

Divine Divinity or the divine are things that are either related to, devoted to, or proceeding from a deity.divine

as the matron. It quickly developed a

cult following A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic. ...

and became a success.

1977 London production

In 1977 the play, again starring

Divine Divinity or the divine are things that are either related to, devoted to, or proceeding from a deity.divine

as the matron, had a successful run at the

Whitehall Theatre Trafalgar Theatre is a new West End theatre in Whitehall, near Trafalgar Square, in the City of Westminster, London. It is set to open in spring 2021 following a major multi-million pound restoration project aiming to reinstate it back to its ...

in the West End of

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. Fiona Richmond co-starred.

1983 revival

The play was revived once again in Los Angeles in 1983, directed by Ron Link and featuring Lu Leonard, Adrienne Barbeau and Sharon Barr. The LA production ran for almost a year, first at the Cast Theater and then moving to the

Roxy Theatre Roxy Theatre or Roxy Theater may refer to: Australia *Roxy Theatre (Warner Bros. Movie World), a movie theatre within Warner Bros. Movie World, Queensland *Roxy Community Theatre in Leeton, New South Wales, originally called the Roxy Theatre *Roxy ...

Sally Kellerman Sally Clare Kellerman (June 2, 1937 – February 24, 2022) was an American actress and singer whose acting career spanned 60 years. Her role as Major Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan in Robert Altman's film ''M*A*S*H'' (1970) earned her an Oscar no ...

and

Linda Blair Linda Denise Blair (born January 22, 1959) is an American actress and activist. She played Regan MacNeil in the horror film ''The Exorcist'' (1973), for which she won a Golden Globe Award and received a nomination for an Academy Award. The film ...

later joined the cast.

2012 live reading

On May 7, 2012, The New Group presented a reading of the play, directed by Scott Elliott. ;Cast * Charles Busch as the matron * Halley Feiffer as Mary-Eleanor *

Janeane Garofalo Janeane Marie Garofalo ( ; born September 28, 1964) is an American comedian, actress, and former co-host on the now-defunct Air America Radio's ''The Majority Report''. Garofalo began her career as a stand-up comedian and became a cast member on ...

as Louise *

Nancy Giles Nancy Giles (born July 17, 1960) is an American actress and commentator, perhaps best known for her appearances in the series ''China Beach'' and on ''CBS News Sunday Morning''. Early life Nancy Giles was born in New York City, the daughter of ...

as Jo-Jo * Josh Hamilton as the men *

Natasha Lyonne Natasha Bianca Lyonne Braunstein ( ; born April 4, 1979) is an American actress, director, writer, and producer. She is known for playing Nicky Nichols on the Netflix comedy-drama series ''Orange Is the New Black'' (2013–2019), for which she r ...

as Cheri * Cynthia Nixon as Blanche * Rosie O'Donnell as Gloria *

Daphne Rubin-Vega Daphne Rubin-Vega ( Vega; born November 18, 1969) is a Panamanian-American actress, dancer, and singer-songwriter. She is best known for originating the roles of Mimi Marquez in the Broadway musical ''Rent'' and Lucy in the Off-Broadway play ''J ...

as Guadalupe *

Rhea Perlman Rhea Jo Perlman (born March 31, 1948) is an American actress. She played head-waitress Carla Tortelli in the sitcom ''Cheers'' (1982–1993). Over the course of 11 seasons, Perlman was nominated for ten Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Act ...

as Granny and The Warden * Jennifer Tilly as Ada

2020 Revival

A large-scale revival played the

Montalbán Theatre Montalbán or Montalban may refer to: Places * Montalbán, Teruel, a town in Teruel Province, Aragon, Spain * Montalbán, Carabobo, a town in Venezuela * Montalbán de Córdoba, a town in Córdoba Province, Andalucia, Spain * La Puebla de Monta ...

in Los Angeles in January, 2020, presented by Winbrook Productions and "Just Pow" Productions. The production was conceived and directed by Scott Thompson. A new title song and background score was composed by Fred Barton. ;Cast *

Kathy Griffin Kathleen Mary Griffin (born November 4, 1960) is an American comedian and actress who has starred in television comedy specials and has released comedy albums. In 2007 and 2008, Griffin won Primetime Emmy Awards for her reality show '' Kathy ...

, Host * Traci Lords as Gloria * Eureka O'Hara as the Matron * Mink Stole as Granny and The Warden * Miss Coco Peru as Louise * Ginger Minj as Ada *

Chi Chi DeVayne Zavion Michael Davenport (September 24, 1985August 20, 2020), better known by the stage name Chi Chi DeVayne, was an American drag queen and reality television personality who came to international attention on the RuPaul's Drag Race (season 8) ...

as Jo-Jo * Suzie Kennedy as Cheri * Poppy Fields as Blanche * Wesley Woods as The Men * Adrienne Couper Smith as Mary-Eleanor * Tatiana Monteiro as Guadalupe

Contemporary

''Women Behind Bars'' continues to be produced by gay

repertory companies A repertory theatre is a theatre in which a resident company presents works from a specified repertoire, usually in alternation or rotation. United Kingdom Annie Horniman founded the first modern repertory theatre in Manchester after withdrawing ...

, such as

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

Theatre Rhinoceros Theatre Rhinoceros or Theatre Rhino is a gay and lesbian theatre based in San Francisco. It was founded in the spring of 1977 by Lanny Baugniet (who became the theater's General Manager) and his partner Allan B. Estes, Jr. (who became the theater' ...

Reception

The subtle

lesbianism A lesbian is a homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with fema ...

apparent in the original

B movie A B movie or B film is a low-budget commercial motion picture. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified films intended for distribution as the less-publicized bottom half of a double feature ...

s is emphasized comedically throughout. The ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' described the play as "an extraordinarily interesting work from one of America's most innovative and versatile playwrights."

Sequel

Eyen and Divine wrote a 1978 follow-up play called ''

The Neon Woman ''The Neon Woman'' is a comic play written by Tom Eyen. The play is an outrageous murder mystery set in a seedy Baltimore burlesque house run by a retired stripper. It was written as a vehicle for '' Pink Flamingos'' star Divine, who had prev ...

'', which was produced in New York and San Francisco.

References

{{Reflist

External links

1984 ''New York Times'' reviewArticle about New Group reading (2012)
1975 plays American plays Satirical plays Fiction set in prison Women's prisons in the United States