Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Frederick Douglass
Celebrate the 90th anniversary of the 19th Amendment in 2010 with
“ELIZABETH CADY STANTON AND FREDERICK DOUGLASS:
EQUALITY BEYOND RACE AND GENDER”
a dramatic portrayal by Sally Roesch Wagner and Fred Morsell
Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Frederick Douglass, noted 19th-century advocates for abolition and women’s rights, were lifelong colleagues in the struggle for justice and equality. Their friendship survived even their bitter political conflict over the 15th Amendment, which added black men but not women to the electorate after the Civil War. These two giants of American history come to life in “Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Frederick Douglass: Equality Beyond Race and Gender.”
Sally Roesch Wagner has portrayed Elizabeth Cady Stanton for 20 years on the Humanities Chautauqua circuit, at the Smithsonian Institution, and on numerous campuses. Recipient of one of the first doctorates for work in women’s studies and founder of an early women’s studies program, she is a prolific writer on women’s history. She is Executive Director of the Matilda Joslyn Gage Foundation in Fayetteville, NY.
Fred Morsell, a professional actor for 40 years, has performed nationally as Frederick Douglass since 1988 at over 1,500 schools, campuses, theaters, and such historic places as Ford’s Theatre, Harpers Ferry, Seneca Falls, Gettysburg, Chautauqua, the Smithsonian Institution, and the U.S. Capitol Rotunda. He has portrayed Douglass on “Bill Moyers’ Journal” and “The Charlie Rose Show.”
The two performers first appeared together in Seneca Falls, NY during the celebration of the 150th anniversary of the world’s first Woman’s Rights Convention, attended in 1848 by both Stanton and Douglass. They have performed at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia and at Paulsdale, the National Historic Landmark home of suffragist leader Alice Paul in Mount Laurel, NJ.
Performance format (60-90 minutes)
- Fred Morsell as Frederick Douglass (15-20 minutes)
- Sally Roesch Wagner as Elizabeth Cady Stanton (15-20 minutes)
- Conversation with audience, in character and as scholars (30-50 minutes)
For further information, contact Roberta Francis (973-765-0102, rfrancis@fast.net).
