Overtones

I found the play Overtones fascinating because of the issues of gender roles that it addressed. It was interesting to see Maggie and Hetty representing the inner thoughts and primitive nature of Margaret and Harriet, these two women oppressed by their society. For the time that this play was written, this was a scandalous choice of content because women didn’t talk about how they felt. The first wave of the feminist movement didn’t even start until the late 50’s so Gerstenberg was way ahead of her time. Even though this play didn’t kick off the feminist movement or start a fire, I think it is cool that it began a very important dialogue about gender roles and gender oppression. I think that is the point of the theatre; theatre is a living and active method of story telling that engages the audience. I think it should begin a dialogue and if it can begin a dialogue about important societal issues, then why not?