It’s 1960. America is on the eve of a sexual revolution, and an improbable but unstoppable 60-year-old woman, Estelle Griswold, decides to challenge the late 19th century Connecticut law that criminalized contraception. Angela J. Davis’ timely new play, GRISWOLD, is a moving, humorous, and thrillingly theatrical look at Estelle Griswold’s initially frustrated but ultimately successful legal challenge that did nothing less than change the course of modern American history. GRISWOLD comes to Catskill’s Bridge
Street Theatre in its first full-production for a two-weekend run, August 8-18, 2024.
As the Executive Director of Planned Parenthood New Haven, Estelle Griswold had to contend with an antiquated law, an unmovable state legislature, and a board of directors afraid to rock the boat, all while dealing with her husband’s deteriorating health. Her first two legal challenges met with failure. She got back up every time. The third challenge (following her own arrest!) hangs in the balance as ghosts from the past fight it out over legal principles and popular superstition. The Supreme Court’s decision,
establishing a right of privacy in intimate, personal relationships, became foundational in many subsequent decisions, up to and including the decision legalizing same-sex marriage.
Estelle is a self-taught, forward-thinking woman starting a new job at the age of 60. She makes a mean martini and is unafraid of ruffling feathers. Margo Whitcomb plays her with compassion and a wicked sense of irony, while Leyla Modirzadeh and Andre G. Brown take on the 20-plus characters that Estelle contends with (and is inspired by) along the way. These include P. T. Barnum, birth control pioneers Katharine McCormick and Dr. Hilda Standish, Planned Parenthood staffers and Board members, lawyers, judges, protestors, police officers, as well as two contemporaries who together embody the extraordinary reach of Estelle’s legacy. The play personalizes and dissects a debate of great historical (and present-day) consequence with humor and humanity, transforming Estelle’s personal and legal battle into a provocative, highly theatrical, time-traveling saga for three accomplished actors.
GRISWOLD is the winner of the 2022 “A is for” Playwriting Prize (affiliated with Broadway Acts for Women and Broadway Cares), and the Playhouse Creatures 2022 Rodriguez Award. The play has previously received readings at Middlebury Acting Company’s American Dreaming New Works Festival (with Ms. Whitcomb as Estelle Griswold), at NYC’s Cooper Union (co-produced by Playhouse Creatures and A is For with five-time Academy Award nominee Annette Benning as Estelle), and at the Playground Theatre in London (with Emmy Award winner and two-time Tony nominee Martha Plimpton in the title
role).
Featured in the Bridge Street Theatre ensemble are Margo Whitcomb as Estelle Griswold, Leyla Modirzadeh as Actor 1, and Andre G. Brown as Actor 2. M. Burke Walker directs, with set and lighting design by John Sowle, costumes by Michelle Rogers, and artwork created by Sean Plew. Production
Stage Manager is Hannarose Manning.
GRISWOLD will be performed eight times only, August 8-18, with performances Thursdays through Saturdays at 7:30 PM and Sundays at 2:00 PM. Discounted advance tickets can be purchased online for $28 at bridgest.org/griswold/. General admission at the door is $30. For patrons ages 18 and under, all
tickets are only $15. Additionally, any unsold seats for the preview performance on Thursday, August 8, and at the Sunday matinee on August 11 will be available at the door on a “Pay What You Will” basis. Just show up before curtain time and pay whatever you feel you can afford for any available seat. Doors always open at least one-half hour before curtain time, with concessions and live music available in the lobby prior to the opening of the auditorium for seating.
DON’T MISS this astonishing and inspiring new play about the woman who, in 1960, set in motion a legal process that would do nothing less than change the world. For more details, visit the theatre’s website at
BridgeStreetTheatre.org.
*Events at Bridge Street Theatre are supported in part by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Governor of New York and the New York State Legislature and by Public Funds from the Greene County Legislature. Bridge Street Theatre’s entire 2024 Season is sponsored by generous donations from Mary E. Barrett and Edwina Thorn *
*Performance Calendar: *Bridge Street Theatre presents
*GRISWOLD *a new play by Angela J. Davis
with Margo Whitcomb, Leyla Modirzadeh, and Andre G. Brown
Directed by M. Burke Walker
Set and Lighting Design by John Sowle
Costumes by Michelle Rogers
Artwork by Sean Plew
Production Stage Manager: Hannarose Manning
August 8 – 18, 2024
Bridge Street Theatre?s ?Priscilla? Mainstage
44 West Bridge Street, Catskill, NY
Thursday August 8 @ 7:30pm (“Pay What You Will” preview)
Friday August 9 @ 7:30pm (Opening Night)
Saturday August 10 @ 7:30pm
Sunday August 11 @ 2:00pm (“Pay What You Will” performance)
Thursday August 15 @ 7:30pm
Friday August 16 @ 7:30pm
Saturday August 17 @ 7:30pm
Sunday August 18 @ 2:00pm (Closing performance)
*Tickets: *Advance tickets available (with no fee) at
https://bridgest.org/griswold-tickets/
General Admission $28, 18 & under $15
Tickets can also be purchased at the door prior to each performance (on a space available basis) for $30, 18 & under $15