On Account of Sex shows the 70+ year fight it took to get four words added to the constitution
KC Fringe Festival veterans bring the long struggle for women's suffrage to the festival stage.
Courtesy of Bryan Colley
Bryan Colley and Tara Varney have been writing and producing shows for KC Fringe Festival since 2008. Their most recent production for this year’s festival On Account of Sex is a heartfelt comedy that takes you through the 72-year fight that it took to get women the right to vote.
Originally supposed to be produced in 2020, On Account of Sex follows multiple women who joined the fight for women’s suffrage. Colley and Varney wanted to chronicle the work that women did during this time period with spotlights on some of the most key players.
Brian Colley describes the show as women passing the torch to the next generation throughout the years. “The overarching storyline is the first generation of activists passing along the torch to the next generation since some of the activists passed before the amendment was passed,” Colley says.
Tara Varney, the originator of the plot, likes to describe the show as a sort of time-bending TED talk. “Not all the characters were alive at the same time so they overlap a lot. It’s a little time-bendy and geography-bendy,” explains Varney. “They’re telling the story to the audience and they’re also telling the story to each other.”
Varney was raised by committed feminists and when talking about this movement in particular she gets emotional, as many of the women who started the fight for suffrage died before they saw it come to fruition. “Arguably the most notable figures in this movement are Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton who fought their whole lives for this movement and died before they could see their hard work pay off,” Varney says. “I just can’t imagine how heartbreaking it must have been to have died thinking that you failed at the one thing you committed your life to.”
One thing that Colley and Varney want people to know before going into this show is that it is, at its heart, a comedy. While it does touch on the seriousness of the topic, there are plenty of funny moments and songs taken straight out of the time periods.
On Account of Sex is open July 21-29 at the Center for Spiritual Living. You can find specific showtimes and purchase your tickets here. You can also purchase your tickets at the box office ahead of the show.
