Women’s History Month is a time devoted to the celebration of their accomplishments and contributions to society. But what women often harbor inside, those private thoughts buried below the surface, is something that often stays locked away until it is freed through the art of conversation.
Actors’ Theatre of Grand Rapids presents this month the appropriately timed production of
Rapture, Blister, Burn — a 2012 off-Broadway comedic play by Gina Gionfriddo that delves into the secret inner dialogues we keep locked away.
Making its debut at Grand Rapids Community College’s Spectrum Theatre main stage,
Rapture, Blister, Burn opens with four women representing three generations enjoying drinks while conversing about the advancements (or lack of changes) since the feminist movement of the 1970s.
And while this subject matter might seem like a well-worn path we have witnessed over time through generations of self-help books and feminine empowerment productions like
The Heidi Chronicles or
The Vagina Dialogues, it is the perspectives of these women that keep the dialogue light and free-flowing, but no less powerful in its revelations.
This writing pulls the audience into these intimate and lively discussions as the women (and men) wrestle with familiar names of history, from Phyllis Schlafly to Betty Friedan — the mother of the modern feminist movement. And the humor is what often gets us from one painful realization to another.
A favorite line of mine is the retelling of our childhood story about the prince rescuing the woman in the third act. “O.K., maybe the world has changed,” says Avery — the 20-something pre-med dropout-turned-babysitter. “That guy who comes in and saves the girl in the end? He might not be coming. But the girl is still going to be O.K.”
Rapture, Blister, Burn is directed by the Grand Award-winning Michelle Urbane who has also directed 2014's
Water by the Spoonful, 2013's [
title of show] and
Venus in Fur, the 2011 production of
The Sweetest Swing in Baseball, and the 2010 production of
Mr. Marmalade.
Catch a live theatre show like
Rapture, Blister, Burn and then catch some dialogue after a few select shows at Actors' Theatre. See their
website for details on their talkback performances.
Admission: $28.