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Let's Make Love, Not War.("Lysistrata")
Gersh Kuntzman is also a columnist for The New York Post.
Are you upset about America's impending war with Iraq? Are you angry that it's being sold as a vital battle in the war on terror when, in fact, it is not? I am. And so are two New York City actresses who oppose the war but had no way of letting anyone know it. That's when they decided to stage a reading of Aristophanes' famed antiwar comedy, "Lysistrata," wherein the women of Greece end a cycle of senseless wars by withholding sex until the men stopped fighting.
Word got around, and last week the Lysistrata Project was able to organize 1,000 simultaneous readings in 59 countries. Sure, the play was written more than 2,000 years ago. But, hey, that Aristophanes knew how to pack fannies into the seats. I mean, this is a play that would make Dick Cheney blush. While women fondle each others' breasts, the men are left to groan under the weight of astoundingly erect penises that they wear for almost the entire show. And get a load of the women's oath of abstinence: "I will neither extend my Persian slippers toward the ceiling, nor will I crouch like the carven lions on a knife- handle." Yikes! It may be news to us Americans, but it seems people were getting naked long before the invention of the Chevy back seat.
I was invited to join the cast, I'm proud to say. When I showed the script to my wife, as I was reading (natch) in bed one night, she immediately volunteered to take the no-sex oath. "But I'm already opposed to war," I protested. She merely rolled over, muttering something about patriotic sacrifice.
The Lysistrata Project may just be a bit of leftist tweaking, but it reveals a great deal about liberal and conservative America--not just politically, but culturally. When conservative activists get together, they talk about grabbing tax cuts for the rich. When liberal activists get into a room, they talk about staging a show to piss off the conservatives.
We saw that in late January, when First Lady Laura Bush hastily canceled a White House symposium on Emily Dickinson, Langston Hughes and Walt Whitman after hearing that several speakers planned to highlight the poets' antiwar works. (And they say the well-read Laura is the smart one in the Bush family; any third-grade teacher could've anticipated that politics might infect a literature salon taking place in the ...
- Phallic balloons against the war.(Lysistrata Project, Code Pink)(female...
- Magazine article from: The Nation Pollitt, Katha March 24, 2003 700+ words
...of protest against war--the Lysistrata Project. Back in January, two clever and indefatigable New York actresses, Kathryn Blume and...queens like Ann Coulter. The Lysistrata Project belongs to something new in political...
- Acting, activism blend in Lysistrata Project.(Scene)
- Newspaper article from: The Boston Herald Byrne, Terry February 28, 2003 700+ words
...human dialogue. "Before we started Lysistrata Project, we could do nothing but sit and...reading will be held at 8 p.m. In New York, the play will be read in public...stars who will act in the anti-war Lysistrata Project.
- Creative resistance. (On the Line).(Lysistrata Project)(Brief Article)
- Magazine article from: The Progressive April 1, 2003 700+ words
...opposing sides who go on a sex strike to end the Peloponnesian War. The play enjoyed more than 1,000 performances in fifty-nine countries on March 3. For more information, contact the Lysistrata Project at www.lysistrataproject.org.
- Satire's battle cry to U.S.: Abstain from war in Iraq.(ARTS)
- Newspaper article from: The Washington Times March 8, 2003 700+ words
...Conceived by two New York actresses, Kathryn...Sharron Bower, the Lysistrata Project came about after Miss...a single reading in New York snowballed. "Before...Miss Blume says. The Lysistrata Project had four major goals...
- 'LYSISTRATA' FOR PEACE WORLDWIDE READINGS OF ARISTOPHANES' PLAY GIVE CLASSICAL...
- Newspaper article from: Daily News (Los Angeles, CA) March 3, 2003 700+ words
...The Lysistrata Project,'' created by a pair of New York actors...A. and New York to a pair...The ``Lysistrata Project's'' Web...and fellow New York actress Sharron...today's ``Lysistrata Project'' readings...
- Stagings of Greek play to protest war.(Time Out!)
- Newspaper article from: Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL) February 28, 2003 700+ words
...an Iraq war. The Lysistrata Project was conceived last month by New York- based actresses...Before we started the Lysistrata Project, we could do nothing...All tickets for The Lysistrata Project are free. Donations...
- Lysistrata theater project puts women's anti-war movement on world stage.
- Newspaper article from: South Florida Sun-Sentinel (via Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service) February 24, 2003 700+ words
...reciting classic lines. The Lysistrata Project, organized by New York actress Kathyrn Blume as...adaptation of the play for a New York group called Theaters Against...What's nice about the Lysistrata Project, "is it's not a heavy...
- Ancient plays suggests women rule warriors in pursuit of peace.(News)
- Newspaper article from: Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL) February 25, 2003 700+ words
...worldwide March 3 as part of "The Lysistrata Project," an anti-war theatrical statement conceived by New York actors Kathryn Blume and Sharron...threatened war in Iraq ... 'The Lysistrata Project' is the most constructive, charming...