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Act A Lady

Act A Lady by Jordan Harrison, music by Michael Friedman

(3)
Productions (36)
Comedy
|
90 - 100 minutes
3 W, 3 M, 
Set: A red velvet curtain and footlights.

When the men of a small Prohibition-era town decide to put on a play dressed in "fancy-type, women-type clothes," the whole community is affected: gender lines blur, eyebrows raise, identities explode, and life and art are forever entangled. A thoughtful and exuberant Midwestern fable about the woman in every man, the man in every woman and the power of theatre to uncover both. Accompanied by accordion. Read More

Pricing Information

Min. Performance Fee* $105
Standard Edition $13.99
Stage Manager Edition $24.99

*The per performance fee begins at $105. Your per performance fee will be provided during the ordering process.

Play Details

When the men of a small Prohibition-era town decide to put on a play dressed in "fancy-type, women-type clothes," the whole community is affected: gender lines blur, eyebrows raise, identities explode, and life and art are forever entangled. A thoughtful and exuberant Midwestern fable about the woman in every man, the man in every woman and the power of theatre to uncover both. Accompanied by accordion.

(This play is also available in the collection Humana Festival 2006: The Complete Plays.)

Music composed by Michael Friedman is available for this play; contact Playscripts for details.

  • Comedy
  • |
  • 90 - 100 minutes
  • 3 W, 3 M, 
  • Set: A red velvet curtain and footlights.
  • Standard Edition ISBN: 978-1-62384-059-4

Published Reviews

"The [2006 Humana] Festival's most uproarious comedy, a farce of outlandish proportions, takes on and celebrates the art of theater itself...Part Waiting for Guffman and part Dangerous Liaisons, Act a Lady's dizzying gender-bending explores the theater, the fallibility of stereotypes and the joys of accordion music with a deft wisdom..."

Tony Brown, Cleveland Plain Dealer

"In Act a Lady...the transforming power of the creative imagination is both a source of camp pleasures and a fount of social commentary...Harrison sweetly revels in anachronistic imaginings. He is no kid simple, but is possessed with a kaleidoscopic turn of mind and a clever sense of how costumes and makeup take on amusing lives of their own."

Randy Gener, American Theatre

"Harrison creates a delicious world of ordinary men who dress up as glamorous women for a charity show. His warm, imaginative comedy addresses enduring questions: Who are we really? Can art help us to appreciate our hidden prospects?"

Judith Newmark, St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Missouri)

"Although it's a farce, with all the silliness and hyper-drama that implies, Harrison's two-act play has a sophisticated structure and is wittier and more complex than one might expect from a 28-year-old playwright. With "Act a Lady," Harrison ambitiously juxtaposes two kinds of language: the plain-spoken, everyday talk of Midwesterners in the early 20th century; and the exaggerated wordiness of an 18th-century French melodrama... Marvelously constructed."

Judith Egerton, Louisville Courier-Journal (Kentucky)

"'Act a Lady' turned out to be the most smoothly entertaining of the bunch, a good-natured comedy set in 1927 about the men in a small Midwestern town doing drag for a local play. The script shows an appealing imaginative streak."

Gordon Cox, Variety

"For me, the best play of the festival was Jordan Harrison's Act a Lady, a delightful and silly exploration of gender roles that's set in a play within a play in the Midwest of 1927. Harrison's deliciously funny script unveils each of their personalities and motives as each man comes face-to-face with his male persona (which the three actresses portray) while in drag."

David Hurst, NEXT Magazine

Production History

OCT 25, 2024 - NOV 03, 2024
University of Colorado Colorado Springs (UCCS)
Colorado Springs, CO United States
University of Colorado Colorado Springs (UCCS)Colorado Springs, CO United States
APR 18, 2024 - APR 21, 2024
Nebraska Repertory Theatre
Lincoln, NE United States
Nebraska Repertory TheatreLincoln, NE United States
MAR 16, 2024 - APR 07, 2024
Woodinville Repertory Theatre
Woodinville, WA United States
Woodinville Repertory TheatreWoodinville, WA United States
NOV 24, 2023 - DEC 17, 2023
Bas Bleu Theatre Company
Fort Collins, CO United States
Bas Bleu Theatre CompanyFort Collins, CO United States
NOV 04, 2022 - NOV 19, 2022
StageQ Inc
Madison, WI United States
StageQ IncMadison, WI United States
MAY 19, 2022 - MAY 22, 2022
Union College
Schenechtady, NY United States
Union CollegeSchenechtady, NY United States
APR 05, 2018 - APR 08, 2018
Franklin & Marshall College
Lancaster, PA United States
Franklin & Marshall CollegeLancaster, PA United States
OCT 13, 2017 - OCT 21, 2017
Theater Department, Brooklyn College, City University of New York
New York, NY United States
Theater Department, Brooklyn College, City University of New YorkNew York, NY United States
MAY 13, 2017 - MAY 21, 2017
Staged Right Theatre Company
Lawrenceville, GA United States
Staged Right Theatre CompanyLawrenceville, GA United States
MAR 11, 2016 - MAR 13, 2016
Sayre School
Lexington, KY United States
Sayre SchoolLexington, KY United States
1 of 4
No upcoming productions.
JUL 12, 2013 - AUG 04, 2013
The Hub Theatre
Fairfax, VA United States
The Hub TheatreFairfax, VA United States
MAY 25, 2013 - JUN 08, 2013
Iron Crow Theatre
Baltimore, MD United States
Iron Crow TheatreBaltimore, MD United States
NOV 03, 2011 - NOV 20, 2011
Azuka Theatre
Philadelphia, PA United States
Azuka TheatrePhiladelphia, PA United States
JUL 08, 2010 - AUG 08, 2010
Nebraska Repertory Theatre
Lincoln, NE United States
Nebraska Repertory TheatreLincoln, NE United States
APR 16, 2010 - MAY 01, 2010
Theatre On Fire
Charlestown, MA United States
Theatre On FireCharlestown, MA United States
MAR 20, 2009 - APR 26, 2009
New Conservatory Theatre Center
San Francisco, CA United States
New Conservatory Theatre CenterSan Francisco, CA United States
DEC 21, 2008 - DEC 21, 2008
Manbites Dog Theater
Durham, NC United States
Manbites Dog TheaterDurham, NC United States
DEC 04, 2008 - DEC 20, 2008
Manbites Dog Theater
Durham, NC United States
Manbites Dog TheaterDurham, NC United States
FEB 23, 2007 - MAR 17, 2007
Illusion Theater
Minneapolis, MN United States
Illusion TheaterMinneapolis, MN United States
MAR 07, 2006 - APR 02, 2006
Actors Theatre of Louisville
Louisville, KY United States
Actors Theatre of LouisvilleLouisville, KY United States
1 of 2

Awards (3)

Kesselring Prize Nominee

Arch and Bruce Brown Playwriting Award, Second Prize

Weissberger Award Finalist