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The Revolt of "Mother"

Performed by Michèle LaRue

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THE REVOLT OF “MOTHER” - When Father plans a barn, Mother makes a plan

Long ago, Adoniram Penn promised his wife that he would build a proper house on their New England farm. He even pointed out the spot. That was early in their marriage—two children ago. Now, as their eldest prepares for her wedding, the family still crams into the old, shabby cottage . . . and Father is building a barn where the new house should be. It’s the last straw for Mother, and she’s going to do something about it.

“I love this story,” exclaims actress Michèle LaRue, who tours nationally in 30 TALES WELL TOLD—stories from America’s Gilded Age and Progressive Era. “And I love Mary E. Wilkins Freeman. With six of her stories already in my repertoire, I’d wanted to add The Revolt of “Mother” for a long time.”

Author Mary Eleanor Wilkins Freeman wrote hundreds of stories in her lifetime. Born on October 31, 1852, she spent most of her life in her birthplace: Randolph, Eastern Massachusetts. The scenes she knew there form the background for most of her tales of rural life. She wrote insightfully and with sympathetic humor about small-town New Englanders, yet her characters are universal and familiar. Freeman’s first collections of stories, A Humble Romance and A New England Nun, established her reputation and contain her finest work. She authored several novels, as well, and a compelling play— Giles Corey, Yeoman—about the Salem witchcraft trials, published decades before Arthur Miller’s The Crucible. She continued to write and publish until her death, in 1930.

“Performing all these vintage TALES is a joy,” Michèle declares. “Their authors expected them to be read aloud. They were family entertainment long before the radio, and they enthrall today’s audiences. We still crave to simply listen to a tale well told.” 

Michèle LaRue has specialized in performances of literature from America’s Gilded Age for 30 years and tours nationally with a varied repertoire of TALES WELL TOLD. Rave reviews from nearly 500 sponsors include, “What you have to offer is priceless” (Pennsylvania); “You could hear a pin drop!” Kentucky; “Spellbound!” (Seattle); “Perfection” (New York City).

A Chicago native, Michèle has lived in Secaucus, New Jersey, for . . . oh . . . a very long time. She is a member of both actors’ unions—Actors’ Equity Association and SAG-AFTRA; as a writer and editor, she has collaborated on many notable theatre books and periodicals.

For more about TALES WELL TOLD, visit http://michelelarue.com, and http://missouriwomen.org/category/women/michele-larue/ and http://www.bykennethjones.com/michele-larue-resurrects-vintage-american-voices-one-woman-tales-well-told/ 

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