STAGE REVIEW : ‘Our Fathers’ House’ a Familiar Tract

It is like flying against the grain to resist any show that takes on strong feminist views and bolsters them with solid historical fact.

So it seems grudging to find the Fountainhead Theatre Company’s staging of “Out of Our Fathers’ House,” a theater piece based on the late Eve Merriam’s 1971 “Growing Up Female in America, Ten Lives,” a little too quickly and too easily pleased with itself.

Even Merriam, who apparently joined (or went along with) Paula Wagner and Jack Hofsis in adapting for the stage some of the essays in her nonfiction book, might have found the results at the Fountainhead disappointing.

It is not that there is anything wrong with “Out of Our Fathers’ House,” but that not enough of it is right , as in fresh or exciting. Assuming one wants more from a piece of theater than a well-spoken, slightly heightened recital of sound ideas--and such women as Mother Jones and Elizabeth Stanton had very sound ones--”Out of Our Fathers’ House” goes to no greater lengths than to spoon feed us its declamatory wisdom.

Such simplicity would seem mandated by the straight forward material, but the problem here is one of tone: A reverential one adopted by director Kenneth Frankel and, by extension, by the three capable performers: Hallie Todd, Sharon Maughan and Charlayne Woodard. They take on Merriam’s politically balanced historical portraits, drawn chiefly from journals and autobiographical writings, with too distancing an admiration for their eloquent sources.

Todd plays labor organizer Mother Jones and the Jewish feminist writer Elizabeth Gertrude Stern. Maughan embraces Dr. Anna Howard Shaw, a Scottish immigrant who became a minister and physician, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, founder of the women’s suffrage movement.

Woodard, in a tasty bit of nontraditional casting, portrays the young Massachusetts astronomer Maria Mitchell and former slave Susie King Taylor. Taylor, who was born on the Sea Islands off the Georgia coast, taught herself to read and write and, through sheer strength and resourcefulness, made of herself a nurse, teacher and activist.

These women, whose collective lives ranged from the 19th to the mid-20th centuries, command attention and respect. But respect is too stately and solemn to play well on stage, where something livelier is needed to spark character.

Merriam was no stranger to theatricality, as exemplified by her 1976 Off-Broadway revue, “The Club,” which exploded male attitudes by transdressing women into tuxedoed, monocled, cigar-chomping members of an exclusive turn-of-the-century men’s club. “The Club” not only won an Obie but also set off a minor fashion trend favoring tuxedos as evening wear for women.

The actors in “Out of Our Fathers’ House” are not asked to do much more than report to us from a relatively bare stage (Bruce Rodgers is credited with what little scenic design there is, Steven Lenchner with the lighting and Susanna Puisto with the array of demure costumes). They are also saddled with occasional homilies that today tend only to make us wince.

(“Like a soul on the sea of life” is simply too precious and “we are born alone and we die alone” overstates its case.)

Frankel’s staging is plain to the point of being unimaginative and his pacing too evenhanded to bestir strong responses. The show’s most distinctive feature is its musical spine: a subtle folk music score, woven through the words and sung beautifully by Amy Goddard and Julie Christensen, who also served as musical director and contributed an original song composed with Tom McMorran.

The book, “Growing Up Female in America,” offers 10 portraits from which these six were picked and, in closing, a particularly vivid “Attic” or grab-bag of historical snippets, many much more vibrant than the ones chosen here. But one assumes Merriam had a direct hand in the final selection and so be it. There is, however, richer fodder waiting between the pages that might have served her better.

The show is presented as part of the Fountainhead’s 1992 One-Act Festival, in repertory with Bryan Goluboff’s “Big Al” and “Scheherazade” by Percy Granger.

* “Out of Our Fathers’ House,” Fountainhead Theatre, 1110 N. Hudson Ave., Hollywood. Saturday, Sunday, July 31, Aug. 1, 2, 4-6, 14-16, 8 p.m.; $10; (213) 466-1767). Running time: 1 hour, 30 minutes.

Hallie Todd: Elizabeth Gertrude Stern/”Mother” Mary Jones

Sharon Maughan: Elizabeth Cady Stanton/Dr. Anna Howard Shaw

Charlayne Woodard: Maria Mitchell/Susie King Taylor

Julie Christensen, Amy Goddard: Vocalists

Rob Meurer: Performing instrumentalist

Bob Metzger, Brantly Kearns, John David, Bill Gable, Tom McMorran: Musicians

Stage adaptation of Eve Merriam’s “Growing Up Female in America, Ten Lives,” presented by the Fountainhead Theatre Company. Executive producer Paula Wagner. Producer Gregory Van Horn. Director Kenneth Frankel. Writers Eve Merriam, Jack Hofsis, Paula Wagner. Scenic design Bruce Rodgers. Lights Steven Lenchner. Costumes Susanna Puisto. Composer Julie Christensen. Folk music compilation Ruth Crawford Seeger. Musical staging Carol Wade. Production stage manager Chris Afre.