Muses of The Old Globe

Muses of The Old Globe

Posted on March 1, 2018
By Darlene G. Davies, Exhibition Curator

MUSES OF THE OLD GLOBE Women Who Made a Difference has a backstory. The exhibition was produced by the Women’s Museum of California in Fall, 2017 and it celebrated some remarkable women who played important roles in the history of The Old Globe over a period of 82 years. That show was open to the public for two months and it told the extraordinary stories of 13 influential women, some known and others largely unknown. While some of these women excelled in many areas, they were grouped within one of three categories: artists, poets, and dreamers. Equally important was the acknowledgement of past women stage directors, costumers, members of the Board of Directors, women presidents of the Board, and a few distinguished patrons. Thousands of actresses performed in the theatres that comprise The Old Globe over 82 years and we honor them, though identifying and naming all of them in the exhibition turned out to be more than formidable, at that point, impossible. It is a future goal, however. Gifted women actresses have provided countless hours of entertainment, insight, instruction, and journeys of the imagination. They have been fearless, taking us to places not dreamed of and allowing us to explore and to push boundaries, as have female playwrights, stage managers, dramaturges, and producers.

March is Women’s History Month. What better time to appreciate the enormous contributions of women to the arts, in this case to theatre arts? Ranch & Coast is pleased to publish, for the first time, MUSES OF THE OLD GLOBE and to join the Women’s Museum of California in recognizing the power of women.

In appreciation of all women everywhere

Mary Belcher Farrell: image courtesy of Darlene G. Davies ephemera collection     Image of Martha Scott: Courtesy Photo     Sketch: Courtesy of the Diane Cavagnaro Collection     Beah Richards: Image courtesy 1959 United Artists Corporation publicity photo     All other images Courtesy of The Old Globe    Permission granted for newspaper and magazine reproduction