The 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment giving women the right to vote

IN THE SUMMER OF 1920, the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified, finally granting women the right to vote— although ongoing voting struggles persisted for marginalized groups following its ratification. In commemoration of the 100th anniversary of this historic passage, cultural organizations across the country are organizing special exhibitions, events, marches, and other centennial celebrations throughout the year.

The long road to women’s suffrage, spanning the 19th and early-20th centuries, played out very differently from political movements today. In the absence of televised and digital media, the suffragists spread their message through magazines, political cartoons, posters, plays, parades, and even through fashion. Examining this compelling imagery of the suffrage movement and the important visual strategies that propelled it forward, the Brandywine River Museum of Art in Chadds Ford, PA, organized Votes for Women: A Visual History, on view through June 7, 2020.

Focusing on the decade prior to ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920, this exhibition rediscovers the visual language of the women’s suffrage movement with more than 200 artifacts on display. Drawings, illustrations, and posters from museums, historical societies, and private collections provide the visual language to decode the complex political messages conveyed by suffragists. Early film footage, archival photographs, and banners from rallies and marches—including the 1913 Women’s Suffrage Procession in Washington D.C.—enliven the presentation, as well as examples of the costumes, clothing, sashes and other emblems of women’s activism worn by suffragists.

“This exhibition picks up on the visual explosion of the suffrage movement in the early 20th century,” notes Amanda C. Burdan, Ph.D., curator at the Brandywine River Museum of Art. “With a younger generation joining the cause, there was a dramatic shift in the marketing of the movement and how the suffragists spread their message through the material culture of the time—making themselves and their campaign more visible. Votes for Women: A Visual History not only highlights the success of these efforts, but also underscores how the imagery of the movement effectively penetrated American culture, creating a renewed momentum towards the finish line of ratification in 1920.”

Presenting an inclusive historical narrative, Votes for Women: A Visual History also recognizes the significant contributions of women of color and their community networks, which have been historically overlooked, giving the false impression that women of color were absent from the struggle for voting rights. As a way to recognize these marginalized communities, the Brandywine commissioned a diverse group of women artists to create a mural of illustrated portraits featuring some of the women whose role in winning voting rights has been historically minimized because of their race or ethnicity.

Featuring portraits of 14 local and national figures with accompanying biographies, the “Hidden Figures of the Suffrage Movement” mural includes Ethel Cuff Black, of Wilmington, Delaware, who was a founder of Delta Sigma Theta, the African American sorority that marched in the 1913 suffrage parade in Washington, D.C.; Marie Louise Bottineau Baldwin, a member of Turtle Mountain Chippewa Band, who worked as an attorney for the Office of Indian Affairs; and Sofia de Veyra, a Filipina working diligently for women’s rights in Washington D.C., before organizing a suffrage campaign in her native Philippines. Serving as a companion to Votes for Women: A Visual History, an accompanying photography exhibition continues the story of the ongoing struggles marginalized communities faced when voting following the passing of the Nineteenth Amendment. “Witness to History: The Selma Photography of Stephen Somerstein” presents 55 photographs taken by Stephen Somerstein, then a 24-year-old student, during the historic 1965 civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama on March 25, 1965—a turning point in the civil rights movement that led to the passage of the Voting Rights Act. With five cameras around his neck and only 15 rolls of film, Somerstein documented this pivotal moment in history capturing photographs of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and other prominent activists— such as Rosa Parks, James Baldwin, Bayard Rustin, John Lewis, and Joan Baez—as well as photos of his fellow demonstrators and the anonymous bystanders who had gathered along route. As the Votes for Women and Witness to History exhibitions will further illuminate, the visual lessons of the suffrage movement provided a model for later activism, including the civil rights and social justice movements up to the present day, making this not just a centennial celebration, but a window into contemporary discourse. n Suffragists in Parade, ca. 1910. Bain News Service photograph collection, Library of Congress

interview

A.D. AMOROSI

I RESPOND VISCERALLY TO ALL ART, ESPECIALLY MUSIC. I RESPOND EMOTIONALLY BEFORE ANYTHING ELSE. AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT GENERALLY PAINS ME ABOUT CONTEMPORARY BROADWAY IS THE LACK OF HARMONIC INTEREST. I FIND A SAMENESS TO THE PROCEEDINGS THAT USUALLY SHUTS ME DOWN. EMOTIONALLY, IT’S HARD TO GET PAST THAT. [ ] m FEINSTEIN has standards. And he plays them, too. ichael

WHEN NEW YORK CITY-BASED singer, pianist and archivist Michael Feinstein began releasing Great American Songbook albums dedicated to the Gershwins, Irving Berlin, Burton Lane, Jule Styne, Jerry Herman, Hugh Martin, Livingston & Evans, Jimmy Webb, and Frank Sinatra starting in 1986, he became an avatar. His interest, perseverance, and dedicated performances of pre-rock standards of theater music, jazz, and pop paved the way for Harry Connick Jr., Josh Groban, and Michael Buble, swing dance, Broadway cast albums and present-day cabaret. While his scholarly background brought heft and historical authenticity to his albums and the bourgeoning new/old genre, that very thing made Feinstein into an encyclopedia of musical knowledge. Read his books—Nice Work If You Can Get It: My Life in Rhythm and Rhyme; The Gershwins and Me: A Personal History in Twelve Songs; Hugh Martin: The Boy Next Door; Must-See Musicals: 50 Show-Stopping Movies We Can’t Forget; and The American Songbook: The Singers, Songwriters & The Songs—for further proof of his erudition. This February, after producing a tribute to the late great Jerry Herman—the composer behind great American theater musicals Hello Dolly!, Mame and La Cage aux Folles—Feinstein will begin his next tour at the Keswick Theatre on February 7: Michael Feinstein “You’ve Got A Friend” From Gershwin to Carole King and Beyond. Featuring special guest vocalist Haley Reinhart, “You’ve Got a Friend” will look at pop from when and where the Great American Songbook left off—music from songwriters such as Bacharach and David, James Taylor, Chicago, Stevie Wonder, Carole King and many others.

I caught up with Feinstein from his home in New York City.

Before I hit on the music you play, I’d like to discuss the music you book or curate at Feinstein’s at 54 Below, Feinstein’s at the Nikko, Feinstein’s at Vitello’s. You’ve become as much of a presenter, as you are a player. How and why did that happen?

It happened because I’ve always wanted to create the type of nightclub that I wished existed. It started in New York with Feinstein’s at The Regency, and it’s something that was unexpected, in the sense that other clubs happened after that. There were opportunities that presented themselves without effort on my part. I’m thrilled that such an opportunity happened. I’m enjoying it because I work with so many talented people that make it possible, as I would not be able to do it by myself. The answer is that I enjoy the experience of the clubs because I’m lucky to have people who can run them, and operate them on my behalf, even though I’m always mindful of the fact that my name is on the door. So, the buck stops here.

Are you comfortable talking about your love of Jerry Herman, what he meant to theater, and what you might have planned for the memorial tribute you’re producing at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre? The line-up is stellar—Kristin Chenoweth, Harvey Fierstein, Sutton Foster, Kelli O’Hara, Betty Buckley, Bernadette Peters, and a video tribute from Angela Lansbury. What moved you most about his compositions?

Jerry and I were like brothers. We had a very close relationship. We loved to play four-hand piano together. Our styles dovetailed very nicely. We had a blast recording his songbook together. So, even though I wasn’t in constant contact with Jerry after he moved to Miami 15 years ago, we remained spiritually close. Before he passed he requested that I produce his memorial. That was an extraordinary gift to me, to be able to show love and appreciation for him in such an important way. This will be not only my love letter to him but the love letter of so many people assembled for this. In answer to your question about Jerry and his compositions, he was given, in my opinion, short shrift in his obituaries, that old saw, if you will, that he was writing hummable tunes like Irving Berlin. That was true, but that also takes away from the sheer genius of Jerry as a songwriter toward theatricality. Plot. Character. All of the things that were required to make his shows successful. He was a great musical dramatist. To reduce him to some

one who wrote hummable tunes, to me, was a backhanded compliment. That does not acknowledge the talent he possessed. To be able to write a song such as “Bosom Buddies” is no small feat. Or “A Little More Mascara,” from La Cage. Or “Look Over There.” Or, “If You Walked into My Life.” These are all important dramatic character songs that moved along the plots of their shows. That some of these songs became hits is a testament to their indestructibility.

I spoke with you in 1987 for the back-to-back Pure Gershwin and Remember: Michael Feinstein Sings Irving Berlin, again for your series of Nonesuch songbooks, and your records on Jimmy Webb. Of all the composers you’ve tackled that best express who you are—which composers play to your comfort zone even while testing and challenging it? So many of these classic songwriters are very, very comfortable for me—their works are things that I know almost instinctively how to interpret. From Gershwin to Rogers, and Hart to Kern, to Mercer. So many. Cole Porter, sometimes, is challenging for me because the melodies are not comfortably crafted—they take odd twists and turns. I’m not talking about “So in Love” or some of the broad ballads. The patter songs can be very difficult. Noel Coward is very difficult for me. And I love Coward. But, it is interpretively challenging, finding the balance of archness and humanity that belie the words.

You don’t sing a lot of Sondheim. What do you think of him? I love Sondheim, love his work, but I don’t love 100 percent of it. I thought the first act of Into the Woods was perfection, but didn’t like the second act. I felt much the same way about Sunday in the Park with George. As a songwriter and lyricist, he is supreme and timely.

You talked about the dramatic dynamism of Jerry Herman, and I’m curious to know if you find it in the work of current composers such as Pacek & Paul and David Yazbek. I respond viscerally to all art, especially music. I respond emotionally before anything else. And one of the things that generally pains me about contemporary Broadway is the lack of harmonic interest. I find a sameness to the proceedings that usually shuts me down. Emotionally, it’s hard to get past that. I find that harmony and sophistication in craft bring drama to one’s sense of character. And I find that lacking currently. For me, that was the flaw in Hamilton, which was a spectacular show in many ways, no question. However, to just endure the first 20 minutes or so with the same basic chords, repeated ad infinitum did not give me a musical underpinning that I pined for—something to match everything on stage. That’s just my sensibility. Although the opposite side of the coin are people who only have grown up listening to pop music. For them, Hamilton becomes the ultimate musical sophistication. That’s the irony. Photo courtesy of Michael Feinstein.

Tell me about your current show. This is a show with Haley Reinhart, who’s a marvelous talent, a young contemporary singer who can do anything, and I appreciate that about her. She has a sensibility that gives her a wide palette, a broader one, perhaps, than even mine. This show will feature classic American songbook material, but it will also feature some of the songbooks beyond that—Bacharach & David, Carole King—because that body of work is as valid and classic now as that of the 1920s, ’30s, and ’40s. There’s a lot of that music that is fresh now. We have the necessary distance from it to recognize that these songs stand up strong when interpreted in many ways by many people—separated from the original context. The fun of it, for me, is putting together a smorgasbord of different styles that will appeal to my fundamental audience and younger listeners to boot. The show is born out a desire to give a continuum and flow from classic music up to contemporary.

Do you think that Haley is an anomaly in that her taste and range is broader than most contestants on shows such as The Voice and America’s Got Talent?

I wouldn’t know [laughs], because I don’t watch those shows. There are people out there, though, who know how to sing lyrics—many are in country music as that’s very much about telling stories, recognizing the central nature of telling a tale.

What’s the greatest challenge for you in interpreting newer music?

If there’s a challenge, it’s in finding different instrumentation or recasting them in a different musical mode. Interpretively, they’re strong because the music and lyrics are strong. I’m just putting a different suit on the mannequin.

I’ve had a lot of fun trying to put classic and contemporary things together. Like last year I tried putting together “You’ve Come a Long Way from St. Louis,” and “Runaway Baby” by Bruno Mars just to see how they work—that’s what I’m experimenting with. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it’s godawful. The audience is there to give me their opinion. But, the important thing is that I never, fundamentally, forget who I am, and trust that it all comes from a place of love and musicality. I remember years ago, I was touring with Liza Minelli when she had released the Results album that was produced by the Pet Shop Boys, and she had a big hit in England with “Losing My Mind.” So, a lot of young people were coming to see her, who only knew her from the context of Pet Boys Boys and electronic music. I asked her what she was going to do after she performed “Losing My Mind,” with these young people who don’t know the rest of her work. She laughed and told me, “Honey, all I’ve got to do is get them in the seats.” I get that. n