Love Goes to Press
November 23-December 23, Love Goes to Press will appear on stage at Main Street Theater. Love Goes to Press is set in a WWII American press camp stationed near the Italian front lines. Here, two talented female journalist, Jane Mason and Annabelle Jones, beguile their male colleagues and confront the complexities of romance. Written in 1946 by Martha Gellhorn and Virginia Cowles-who themselves were international journalist- Love Goes to Press mixes contemporary social views with the charming dialogue and moral lessons reminiscent of other barely post-war works-like the never disappointing, always classic It’s A Wonder Life; (yea, it had to be a holiday reference).
Jane Mason and Annabelle Jones enter a press camp in Poggibonsi, Italy to cover the fierce combat taking place a few miles away. Despite much protest from the ranking officer of the encampment- a farmer from Yorkshire- the young ladies’ knack for attaining whatsoever they desire at a given moment trumps the Major’s authority. The farm-boy’s disapproval of female company among his post doesn’t last long, however. Whether it be Jane’s risque personality, cunning wit, or the fact that he probably hasn’t been around the opposite sex longer than his loin’s care to admit, the Major grows fond of her. Jane’s mischievous game of cat and mouse at the young officer’s expense backfires when she realizes her affection for him. But as the war begins to favor the Ally’s, foreshadowing peacetime, Jane Mason questions her potential role as immobile housewife to a meager farmer.
While Jane Mason entertains the possibility of settling down, Annabelle Jones deals with a not-so wanted personality of the past. Present and accounted for at the press camp is Jones’ drunken ex-boyfriend, Joe Rogers. Annebelle has long since moved past their relationship, but Joe is far from being over it. While attempting to rekindle Annebelle’s passion for him, the drunkard also goes to great lengths to rob Annebelle of her story leads.
The freedom, intellect, and sexual appeal of Jane Mason and Annabelle Jones reflects that of their author’s. Both Martha Gellhorn and Virginia Cowles were prolific writers and war correspondents in WWII, The Spanish War (where Gellhorn began an affair with Ernest Hemingway), and several other armed conflicts around the world. Cowely is most remembered for her reports on the Nazi occupation of Paris, biography of Winston Churchill, and account of Hitler’s rise (who she dined and interviewed Hitler in the 1930’s ) titled Looking for Trouble.
Gellhorn wrote several books and articles that intended to criticize the institutionalized beliefs of her time. Most striking are her attacks on the principles of the Red Scare and McCarthyism. Today, Gellhorn is memorialized by the “Martha Gellhorn Prize for Journalism.”
Love Goes to Press showtimes will be as follows: Thursdays 7:30pm, Fridays and Saturdays 8:00pm, and Sundays 3:00pm. Main Street Theater is located at 2540 Times Blvd. in Rice Village. Below is a link where you can purchase tickets for Love Goes to Press:
http://www.mainstreettheater.com/info/buytickets.html
