MADDEN'S HERLANDIA to be Presented by B3 Theater

Imagine a society of only women. This is the premise of playwright Paco José Madden's Herlandia, a loose adaptation of Charlotte Perkins Gilman's 1915 novel about the adventures of a group of male explorers who stumble upon an isolated society composed entirely of women. The play produced by B3 Theater, which concentrates on new and underperformed works, opens Friday, May 21st.

"One of the key differences between Herland and Herlandia is that I make one of the explorers a woman disguised as a man," says Madden. "Vanessa, the character in question, becomes a stand-in for Gilman, who in life felt constrained by society's expectations for women." Gilman was a noted author, lecturer, and advocate for women's rights in the early twentieth century. She also wrote The Yellow Wallpaper, a classic of feminist literature.

When the explorers arrive at this "woman's world," they encounter a place based on principles of cooperation and caring for one another. Gilman strongly believed in living for others and wrote that life should be "collective, common, or it isn't life at all," which makes the play particularly relevant today, especially regarding the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which requires collective action.

"It's great to work on a play that combines the historical with the contemporary," says director Ilana Lydia. "The play examines what the world should be, rather than what it is."

Gilman led a tumultuous life. She was placed under the care of physician Silas Wier Mitchel after suffering from what we today call postpartum depression. Mitchel's "rest cure" for women involved weeks of isolation, bed rest, and electrotherapy. "This comes though in the play when Vanessa has a mental breakdown and struggles with what it means to be a woman," says Madden.

The author or Herland also held strong ethnic and racial prejudices, a belief in Anglo-Saxon supremacy, and embraced eugenics as the solution to the "Negro problem." "Though I admire what Gilman did for women and society, I also recognize her bigoted convictions," continues Madden. "The Herlandian society I imagined is filled with people of different races, sexualities, and abilities and has no hierarchical order."

The crisis in the play is brought about by one of the male explorers who Vanessa characterizes as "a brute." Terry has traditional notions on the role of men and women and is offended that women would dare challenge male authority. He decides to launch a rebellion.

"In our present age, we are uniquely positioned to evaluate the legitimacy of long established convictions concerning race and gender as our world becomes increasingly divided and increasingly diverse. Whose voices are heard and whose stories are told are fraught questions," says Juliet Rachel Wilkins who plays the gender switching Vanessa. "Herlandia, and particularly our modern retelling, seeks answers to how we can move forward together as a society, even when we seem more fractured than ever."

Herlandia has been adapted to a Zoom environment and will include a "guide" and live chat. "The play is part theater, part exhibit, and part guided tour," says Cherylandria Banks who plays The Guide.

The cast includes Jesse Abrahams as Vandyck, Cherylandria Banks as The Guide, Will Blankenmeier as Terry, Valerie German as Alima, Erin Natseway as Ellador, Angelica Saario as Cellis, Lorraine Taylor as Great Mother, and Juliet Rachel Wilkins as Vanessa/Jeff. The stage manager is Kayla Caviedes.

Costumes are by Eliana Burns, hair and makeup by Sabrina Rose Bivens, lights and props by Ric Alpers, set/virtual background by JPaoul C Clemente, and sound by Chris Piraino.

Performances of Herlandia are May 21st through May 30 (Fridays and Saturdays @ 8:00 p.m. and Sundays @ 4 p.m.) via Zoom. For more information and tickets, go to https://www.onthestage.com/show/b3-theater/herlandia-by-paco-jose-madden-41803