Housewives unite when husbands go off to war

Many American women embraced one another for comfort and support while their husbands were fighting fascism abroad during World War II.\n"The Housewives of Mannheim," written by Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor Alan Brody and guest directed by Jewish Theatre of Pittsburgh Artistic Director Jonathan Rest, confronts the themes of racism, anti-Semitism, homophobia and gender roles during a time more than 50 years past: 1944. \nBrody's script is the Bloomington Playwrights Project's 2005/2006 Reva Shiner Award-winning play, chosen from more than 300 entries.\n"One of the nice things about this play is that it's very much a period piece with period characters, attitudes and movements," Rest said. "It's set in a very nostalgic period but people's attitudes about gender and racial roles were terribly oppressive. The play is pretty much realism so watching the characters on stage is like looking through a time machine."\nThe action takes place in character May Black's kitchen, in a middle class two bedroom apartment in Brooklyn, that resembles any American kitchen of the last 100 years. According to a BPP press release, the drama "delves into the world of female friendships and the stresses of wartime on the families of soldiers."\nMay, played by junior Hillary Hittner, joins the characters Alice, played by junior and BPP Ensemble of Artists member Joanne Dubach, and Billie, played by senior Sarah Feldman. Bloomington\nresident Kate Braun rounds out the ensemble as Sophie. \nFeldman said audience members should not expect a "chick flick" because the show deals with issues that are important and interesting to a broader audience, despite the casting of four female characters in a kitchen setting.\n"Getting into the mindset of a woman in 1944 is pretty interesting because of the physical aspects, like using (American film star) Donna Reed-kind of movements: draping your body over furniture and such," she said. \n"Audience members can look forward to what happens to women when their men are off to war," she said. "I hope the audience takes away the sense of what life was like back then, even though life hasn't changed that much."\n"The Housewives of Mannheim" is intended to take the audience on an informative journey, Rest said. \n"We all have a common brother and sisterhood so it's important to look beyond people's categories," he said. "Categorization drives people apart. We are all here on a common journey and we all have more in common than not. Commonality brings people together."\nBraun, who was born in 1949 and is the eldest of the four actors, said the cast hopes to share what they learned about the year 1944, war and women with the audience. \n"I hope the audience takes away the need for compassion and increased tolerance for the differences in all kinds of people," she said.\n"The Housewives of Mannheim" is intended for mature teen and adult audiences.