This weekend, I went to see the Saint Louis University Theater's production of Playhouse Creatures, a production about the struggles of women actresses during the Restoration era in England. I had to attend the show for my ballet class and I honestly thought it was going to be the biggest drag ever..
But I really enjoyed it! The women in the play (the entire cast was 5 women) were extraordinary and tugged at heartstrings at the most difficult scenes, including an abortion scene and a scene that account's one of the character's rape.
What was most striking to me though, and what had me so upset at, was to see the problems that women in show business faced in 1669 are the SAME PROBLEMS WOMEN IN SHOW BUSINESS FACE TODAY! They are viewed as objects, as animals, as "playhouse creatures". The male actors can be as old as they want, but as soon as one of the actresses in the playhouse gets "old" (she's maybe 30 in the show) they let her go in the streets and replace her with younger, more "sexy" women for the men to gawk at. The play hits on some major problems then and it's obvious that it is meant to stun because the problems still persist int he media and show business. I thought back to "Miss Representation" and a reading that I had for my Intro to WGS If Shakespeare Had a Sister from "A Room of One's Own" by Virginia Woolfe which connects the historical with the now.. Pretty dreary. I encourage you all to look up the summary or scenes from the play online, it was hard to watch, but it had a very clear message and characters that were strong and emotional.
Here are some links to "Playhouse Creatures" summary and If Shakespeare Had a Sister for your reference.
http://shsudramaturgyjameswhitla.blogspot.com/2011/06/plot-summary-for-playhouse-creatures.html
http://egophelia.free.fr/2femme/woolfroomsister.htm
It sounds like a really phenomenal show. I wish I would have had the time to see Playhouse Creatures. But I think you're very right about women in showbiz vs. men in showbiz. I believe I talked about this before, but as someone who has a background in theatre, it really irritates me how actresses have to act compared to men. For example, as you mentioned, women are much more sexualized than men. Our society has thrived off the sexuality of women for years. It goes even further than that. There are so many things guys can get away with in showbiz that girls cannot get away with. In comedies, a guy can be funny by saying a repulsive joke and acting like a pig. Girls, however, seem to only be funny if they are acting overtly sexual. Ugh. It bothers me.
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