Characters: 1-4 male, 4-20 femaleBare Stage, Minimal SetIn the same presentational style of theatrical docu-dramas and reader's theater like The Exonerated and The Laramie Project comes Women and War. Based on historical facts, this play is presented through a collection of stories told in letters and monologues by generations of Americans impacted by conflicts, from The Great War to the War in Afghanistan. Following women's journeys from housewife to worker, young bride to nurse, mother to widow, and now, young woman to soldier, these are tales of sacrifice, love, resolution, and hope told by those who bravely persevere on the home front and on the battlefield.
A history lesson of sorts, the play brings to light the varying roles that women have played in all of America's 20th Century wars. Letters to and from American soldiers fighting on foreign soil reveal their significant roles in our history, and highlight the themes in Women and War. They express the agony of separation from loved ones, the determination to keep the home front stable, and most of all - personal sacrifice.
With simple staging and flexible casting, this powerful script is perfect for school groups, community theaters, commemorative, as well as commercial productions."Deeply touching and educational...this play is an emotional roller coaster. These accounts are moving...funny, exciting, humbling, and incredibly sad all at the same time." - The Easy"Awe inspiring. Playwright Cunningham is a magician delivering the internal voices of multiple generations of women who've served as wives, nurses, sweethearts and officers spanning from WWI to Afghanistan. Women and War is essential theater. A moving and poignant scrapbook of the American war experience." - United Stages