This play offers a very informative look at a hidden part of US cultural history. I learned about some fun, firey women dealing with the politics behind making movies in the midst of major ethical struggles.

THE CONSUL, THE TRAMP, AND AMERICA'S SWEETHEART is so damn SMART. And funny. And timely. It's also deceptively simple, so it's a great lesson in playwriting. And it's super political ... in the most endearing ways. Three of the four characters are historical, and they'll stay with you, but the fourth, the fictional Miss Hollombe, will break your heart,

Got to read this play and then see it at the Dayton Playhouse FutureFest. Much of the story is well-known to Chaplin fans, but it is told in such an imaginative and sometimes incisive way that it feels new. It pays homage to the rapid-fire wit of Golden Age Hollywood and gives Chaplin a chance to strut, but it doesn't shy away from examining trickier subjects, like the changing (or maybe unchanging) role of women in the workplace, and whether or not Chaplin's famous speech at the end of his film is just schmaltz. Funny and smart in equal measure.