This document provides context about the time periods depicted in the play "Vanities" including: 1) The play follows three friends from 1963 to 1974 as they navigate womanhood and societal changes. 2) Scene one is set in 1963 when women were typically housewives and the country was prosperous before JFK's assassination. 3) Scene two jumps to 1968 with the friends in college as the Vietnam War escalates and civil rights and women's movements grow. 4) Scene three is in 1974 post-Watergate when women begin entering politics and culture changes with the rise of political satire and status symbols.

1. presents

3. VANITIES may be almost 40 years old, but it is a
wonderful snapshot of young ladies navigating the
journey into womanhood at a time when society’s
perception and treatment of women was
undergoing tremendous change.
We first meet these characters during their Senior
year of high school, in 1963. Baby Boomers, they
are the offspring of parents who grew up in the
Great Depression. Their fathers fought in WWII;
their mothers were housewives—that’s what was
expected of women in the 50s and early 60s. Very
few women worked outside the home once they
were married—and many went to college for the
sole purpose of finding a husband.
The cover of the
script

4. ‘63 was the last of the “innocent years” in
America. We were still enjoying post-war
prosperity; everyone’s quality of life was
high, and most people were quite content.
At this time, a gallon of gas cost .30 cents; a car was
only a little over $3,200.00 and a loaf of bread was
only .21 cents.
A home could be purchased for an average of
$15,000.00!
One of the big TV shows of the day
was The Dick Van Dyke Show—
with Mary Tyler Moore as lovely
housewife Laura Petrie.
And Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds was scaring
everyone at local movie theaters

5. MENTIONED IN SCENE ONE:
The Apartment was a 1960 comedy film that starred
Jack Lemmon as a lonely office drudge who gets
coerced into lending his Manhattan apartment to
company bigwigs for their secret trysts.
Portrait of My Love was
recorded by several
people, but Steve
Lawrence may have
had the most popular
version.
Originally recorded in 1944, Twilight
Time was a huge hit for The Platters in
the late 1950s. It continued to enjoy
airplay on popular radio until the
early 60s.

6. In 1963, we also had a handsome young
President in the Oval Office—with a beautiful
wife and two adorable young children.
But this time of happiness wouldn’t last
long…
Television was still a relatively new
industry at the time. And the News
anchors were put to the test covering
the sad events from November 22nd
thru the following 4—5 days…
The country was shattered
by the events in Dallas on
November 22nd of that year.

7. Our nation came to a standstill over
that long weekend.
Within hours of the incident on
Deeley Plaza, Lee Harvey Oswald
was captured and charged.
Oswald was initially arrested for the murder of police
officer J. D. Tippit, who was killed on a Dallas street
approximately 45 minutes after President Kennedy
was shot.
Two days later, while being transferred from police
headquarters to the county jail, Oswald was shot
and killed by Dallas nightclub owner Jack Ruby in
full view of television cameras broadcasting live.

8. Scene Two occurs 4 years later—Spring of
1968, and the girls are now about to
graduate college...
The world was a very different place.
The Vietnam War had escalated and young
men were being drafted daily. TV News
crews were bringing the battles right into
our living rooms for the first time.
Students on college campuses were
conducting protests. Many of them
resented being sent to a conflict they didn’t
understand or want.

9. African Americans were also marching
for their Civil Rights. Large groups of
college students travelled to the South to
participate in voter registration events.
Two strong fighters who believed in
the principle of equality for all were
gunned down: Martin Luther King in
April and Bobby Kennedy in June.

10. America’s youth was angry and
disillusioned—as a result, a counterculture
was born.
The music, films and literature of the day all
reflected their mindset.

11. The Women’s Liberation Movement would
continue well into the 70s, fighting for equal
pay and better healthcare for women and
children. Women’s rights and roles are still
being debated.
Women also started
demanding more rights and
freedoms.
The pill was a real game-
changer, giving women
control of their sexuality and
reproductive rights…
Joanne, Kathy and Mary faced
very different circumstances
than their mothers.

12. The musicals mentioned in this scene were all fairly
traditional Broadway fare—except, of course, HAIR, which
started at Joseph Papp’s Public Theatre in 1967.
Original cast promo
photo for PORGY &
BESS.
HAIR moved uptown in April 1968. The profanity,
its depiction of drug use, its treatment of sexuality, its
irreverence for the American flag, and its nude scene
caused much comment and controversy.

13. By Scene Three, our ladies are on the cusp of
30—and remember, one of the Boomer
Generation’s mottos was “Don’t trust anyone
over 30.”
1974 was post-Watergate. For the first
time in our history, a President resigned
in disgrace. The nation became
jaded—and political satire started to
rise.
In spite of an oil crisis which effected the
economy, status also started to matter—
what car you drove and what clothes you
wore became important.

14. People Magazine first hit the newsstands,
with Mia Farrow on the cover.
John Lennon was living at the Dakota
Apartments
in New York City.
David Bowie—and other
“Glam Rockers”—were the
rage.
The Terra Cotta
Army was
discovered in
rural China.
While Hank
Aaron beat Babe
Ruth’s home run
record…
The Philadelphia Flyers became the first NFL
Expansion team to win the Stanley Cup.
And the Rubik's Cube was the must-have toy of the
year.

15. It was at this time that women also started emerging
in politics. There were many hard fought campaigns
to gain real representation for women’s issues.
The “Bella” referred to by Mary in the final scene was
Bella Abzug—a New York attorney. In 1971, Abzug
joined other leading feminists such as Gloria Steinem
and Betty Friedan to found the National Women's
Political Caucus. She declared, "This woman's place is
in the House—the House of Representatives," in her
successful 1970 campaign.
Other female political groundbreakers of that
time include Sandra Day O’Connor (she was
State Senate Majority leader prior to being
appointed to the Supreme Court), Margaret
Thatcher (Britain’s first female Prime Minister)
and Shirley Chisholm(who ran for President in
1972).

16. It has been an exciting
and fun journey
exploring this piece
with three very
talented actresses.
We hope you
enjoy sharing
this funny,
heartwarming
story with us…