CRUSADING MRS. CATT Debuts At Charm City Fringe

Solo performer Lisa Hayes will debut her new play Crusading Mrs. Catt (directed by Natalie Pilcher) as part of the 2019 Charm City Fringe Festival. Performances will be at MAP Underground, 218 W. Saratoga St, Baltimore, MD on October 16 (7 pm), October 17 (8:45 pm), October 18(7 pm) and October 19 (5 pm). Running time is one hour. For tickets visit www.charmcityfringe.com/tickets.

Student protesters are calling suffrage leader Carrie Chapman Catt a white supremacist and threatening to derail the dedication of her statue. One woman, on a crusade to pull Carrie Catt from the "dungeon of obscurity where most women in history have been relegated," sets out to prove that Catt should be remembered and recognized. Crusading Mrs. Catt captures Carrie Catt's extraordinary journey in leading women's suffrage across the finish line.

Lisa Hayes, a critically-acclaimed solo performer, has toured her one-woman shows (Jane Eyre, Nurse!, Finding the Light) to London, Edinburgh, Rome, Istanbul, Prague, The Hague, Glasgow, Toronto, and to venues from New York City to Los Angeles. After debuting Crusading Mrs. Catt in Baltimore, Hayes hopes to tour the play throughout the country as part of next year's centennial of the 19th amendment.

"In doing research for this play, I was surprised by how little I knew about women's long and colorful battle for the vote," said writer/performer Lisa Hayes. "I have a PhD in American Studies, and yet I knew nothing about the amazing Mrs. Catt, founder of the League of Women Voters and once one of the most well known women in the world. I am excited to be returning to the Charm City Fringe Festival to share this incredible story."

Charm City Fringe will feature 22 productions from across North America during the 11-day festival, October 10-20. It is partnering with the Downtown Partnership of Baltimore and the Bromo Arts District, which is providing programming support. Charm City Fringe is also made possible with support from the Maryland State Arts Council, the William G. Baker, Jr. Memorial Fund, and the Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts. For more information on the festival, contact Zachary Michel - zach@charmcityfringe.com.