Frances Perkins: A Woman's Work

Who was Frances Perkins? Find out in this one-woman play looking at the life of the first woman Secretary of Labor.

“Frances Perkins: A Woman’s Work” tells the story of Perkins, who served as the first woman Secretary of Labor from 1933 to 1945. Perkins is responsible for crafting some of the most significant legislation of the New Deal Era, including social security, child labor laws, and the development of minimum wage and the 40-hour work week. 

The play was written and will be performed by Jarice Hanson, professor emeritus of communications at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and author of the Theater Matters column for the Valley Advocate. 

“She was really the brains behind Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal that got us out of the Great Depression,” Hanson said. “And she was canonized as a saint by the Episcopal Church. She’s probably the only cabinet member in history that’s become a saint. This is a woman who should be remembered.”

Jarice Hanson was a professor in the Department of Communication at UMass Amherst and has been active in theater in the Valley and beyond for over 30 years.

She’s a member of AEA, the professional association for stage actors, and SAG-AFTRA, the union for film and television performers. On stage locally, she has performed at the Majestic Theater, New Century Theater, Pioneer Valley Summer Theater and in a variety of independent productions at the Academy of Music as well as other Valley venues. She’s reviewed theater from Hartford to the Berkshires.

With a Ph.D. in Radio-TV-Film from Northwestern University and a Performance Studies BA from Northeastern Illinois University, she has been involved with every form of media but loves live performance more than any other form.

Free and open to the public.

Registration is required.

(Source:  Valley Advocate)