Why The Women — and Why 1956?

We chose to stage The Women by Clare Boothe Luce because, despite being written and first staged on Broadway in 1936—and later adapted into a well-known film in 1939—its themes remain strikingly relevant today. The play delivers a sharp, witty, and unflinching examination of the roles women are expected to play in society, especially within the realms of relationships, social hierarchies, and the dynamics of power and class.

By setting our production in 1956 instead of the original 1930s setting, we’ve placed the story in a time closer to our own, yet still shaped by rigid gender roles and postwar cultural pressures. The 1950s marked a moment of tension: women had proven their capabilities during WWII, but were being pushed back into domestic roles. In many ways, that mirrors today’s climate—where progress is being challenged, rights are being redefined.

Our adaptation highlights both how far women have come and how far we still have to go. The conversations in this play—about loyalty, betrayal, independence, and identity—remain startlingly current, and the 1956 setting brings them into sharper focus.

Last but certainly not least, this play is just plain fun, stylish, and hilarious! Where laughter coats the medicine of truth, enjoy the delicious bite of The Women.

Rhonda Bowen
Co-Director

“If you are going to tell people the truth, you better make them laugh or they’ll kill you.”
—George Bernard Shaw