On Her Shoulders Presents: Gabriel by George Sand
On Her Shoulders is pleased to present a virtual reading of Gabriel (1839) by George Sand via NPTC's YouTube Channel: NewPerspectivesTC.
The handsome, heroic heir to a vast estate, raised as a man to follow a man’s pursuits and to despise women, is devastated to learn at the age of seventeen that he is in fact a she. Gabriel courageously refuses to give up her male privileges, and her tragic struggle to work and fight and love in all the ways she knows how offers a window into the obstacles faced by George Sand, the prolific intellectual woman whom the popular press portrayed as a promiscuous, cigar-smoking oddity in trousers.
The script has been newly translated and adapted by Lynn Marie Macy, who also directs. Melody Brooks provides dramaturgy via The Play in Context, which situates the script in its historical time and place.
The cast includes: Bill Blechingberg*, JD Daw*, André DeSandies, Laura E. Johnston*, Anya Krawcheck, C. Amanda Maud*, Bess Miller
* Appearing courtesy of Actor's Equity
The broadcast begins at 2:00pm on Saturday, February 27 and will be available through midnight on March 3, 2021. Admission is by Donation. Register via Eventbrite HERE or by the button below.
George Sand is famous for far more than her writing. While her love affair with Frédéric Chopin granted her fame, her countless other love affairs, at least one potentially with a woman, resulted in infamy. She also scandalized the public by dressing as a man and engaging in male pursuits—horseback riding, hunting, and smoking tobacco in public. The subject matter of her novels and works of theatre were equally scandalous though highly popular: women oppressed by a rigid patriarchy and who protested or fought back against it. Some of them were victimized more than others, and some were stronger than others, but they were all united with each other and their author in their suffering caused by the male-run society in which they lived.
Sand is acknowledge as one of, if not the most popular writers (of any gender) in Europe until her death in 1876 and beyond. Her work was in high demand even early in her career; by 1836, the first of several compendia of her writings was published in 24 volumes. In total, four separate editions of her "Complete Works" were published during her lifetime. In 1880 her children sold the rights to her literary estate for 125,000 Francs (equivalent to 1.4 million dollars today).
Learn more in this essay by Melody Brooks: click here.