Unitarian Universalist Church of Palo Alto

THE OLDEST PROFESSION

"Now, my father was a gentleman, and musical, to boot;
He used to play piano in a house of ill repute.
My mother was the madam, and a credit to her cult
She liked my daddy's playing, and I was the result."
from Quartet for Prosperous Love Children
Ogden Nash, 1943
http://www.immortalia.com/html/categorized-by-song/with-music/f/four-prominent-bastards.htm

When: Monday October 10, 2005 at 7:00
Where: FIRESIDE ROOM
What: Mrs. Warren's Profession by G. B. Shaw
Who: UUCPA Thespians
Why: To enjoy Shaw's unconventional morality.

So far as I know, Shaw and Nash never had any contact.
Indeed, Shaw was, in his own way an extremely moral person, and would almost certainly have disapproved of Nash's cynicism. But I couldn't resist starting off with that quote because Shaw's Mrs. Warren is a very successful Madame who had a daughter Vikie. When the play opens, Vikie is a 22 year-old brilliant and self-assured college graduate. She has no idea of what business her rich mother is in, and has no knowledge of her father. The gist of the play is how Vikie and the excellent cast of supporting roles react to the gradual dissemination of these bits of knowledge. Shaw's moralizing is a bit more intrusive than in some of his later plays, but it is still clever fun to read his dialogue.

There are only 6 characters, but there are four acts, so every one will get plenty of chance to read.

Send me an email: thespians-info@uucpa.org or call me if you'd like more information.
Let me know you're coming - or just show up.

UUCPA Thespians
Philip Hodge, Chair