HISTORY LIT 2012 Set for Pasadena Museum of History, Now thru 5/20

The creators of Wicked Lit present History Lit 2012, an immersive theatre event featuring three short plays based on the work of great women authors of the 19th and 20th Centuries. HISTORY LIT 2012 will take place today, May 11th through May 20th at the Pasadena Museum of History. Audience members can follow actors throughout the Fenyes Estate and enjoy new adaptations of short stories that reflect history in creative ways.

The shows are:

THE GArden Party, by Jonathan Josephson, directed by Jeff G. Rack, Adapted from the short story of the same name by Katherine Mansfield. It is an ideal night for a party at the Sheridan estate and young Laura has had the time of her life playing hostess to a throng of party guests. But when an unexpected accident befalls a stranger who lives down the road, Laura's congenial life may be changed forever.

TWO PICTURES IN ONE, by Paul Millet, directed by Jonathan Josephson, adapted from “The Two Altars: Or Two Pictures in One” by Harriet Beecher Stowe. A simultaneous chronicle of the lives and fates of two early Massachusetts families: the Wards, an 18th Century Anglo family living during the early days of the American Revolution and the Caffeys, a 19th Century African-American family living ten years prior to the Civil War. By juxtaposing these two points in time, Two Pictures in One examines ideas of freedom and personal consequences.

THE YELLOW WALLPAPER, by Jeff G. Rack, directed by Paul Millet, adapted from the short story of the same name by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. An affluent woman is confined to her room for bedrest under doctor's orders. Her treatment leads her to start seeing things in the ornate yellow wallpaper which dominates her bedroom, and forces her to deal with her inner and outer demons.Charlotte Perkins Gilman was residing in Pasadena when she wrote this classic story which deals with depression and female oppression in the late 1800s.

Performances will take place at the Pasadena Museum of History, 470 W. Walnut Street - Pasadena, CA 91103 for 9 performances only. There will be performances every night at 8pm (dark on Mondays).

Photo by John T. Cogan