←Recommendations of Abortion and the Underground

I cried when I first read this play. This story is excruciatingly relevant and holds no punches in telling how this group of regular, everyday women came together to save over 11,000 lives. The blend of transcripts from real interviews and fictional scenes flows so well. This isn't just Chicago history, but American history that is worthy of our collective attention. Paula Kamen's script challenges its artists and audiences in a way that only live theatre can do. It brings humanity to dire, but ultimately heroic circumstances. This play should be required reading everywhere.

Thank you to Paul Kamen! We produced JANE :ABORTION AND THE UNDERGROUND in Charleston, South Carolina at Music Farm in January 2023. The situation in South Carolina is dire and we were proud to present this historic, gripping and emotional play. JANE depicts a time in our history that few people know, and everyone should experience. The audience was riveted, and left heartbroken that we are once again in this dark place and energized to keep fighting for reproductive freedom.

We produced Paula Kamen's JANE at Temple University Theater in Pennsylvania. I feel so fortunate for our students and for our university community that we were able to share this immensely important, timely, and moving play. The play moves swiftly, keeps us completely engaged, and leaves us feeling, "how could we possibly need to talk about this history again? It should be history." And yet here we are in 2023! JANE needs to be read and produced on every college campus in the nation. Kudos to Paula Kamen for giving us this important play to share!

A play that needs to be produced again and again. It's necessary theatre because it captures diverse voices from the early days of abortion rights that could've been lost without these interviews. The structure, a blend of monologues, group scenes, two person scenes, and interviews creates an unforgettable read -- and if produced, an unforgettable time at the theatre.

Intense and compelling, JANE documents the struggle for reproductive rights in the years immediately before the Supreme Court's decision in Roe v Wade. It interweaves powerfully authentic monologues with equally powerful dramatic scenes to tell an extraordinary story. Kamen honors the courage of the "Jane" collective and brings their achievements to light. At the same time, she resists glamorizing the women and the work they did as abortion providers. JANE inspires and, in 2017, it also terrifies.