Is It History or Is It His-story?

[NoHo Arts District, CA] – A NoHo Arts theatre review of  “Is It History or Is It His-story?”  written and performed by Kirsten Laurel Caplan, directed and developed with Jessica Lynn Johnson at Whitefire Theatre’s Solofest. 

I’ve seen some pretty creative and sometimes very “out there” storytelling techniques over the decade or so I’ve been writing about theatre. But, Kirsten Laurel Caplan’s “Is it History or Is It His-Story” has to be about as clever and innovative as anything I’ve seen before to convince us just how misogynistic and twisted the history books truly are.

Using the staggeringly good premise of a game show, “Opposite Viewpoints,” Kirsten takes us on a thrilling ride through the misrepresentation and non-representation of women in the school history textbooks.  The game show contestants give their own expert and pseudo-expert views on the female historical heroes she puts before them and debate who should and should not end up in the history book…there can be only one, apparently. But that just keeps the pressure on…

Obviously, are far too many incredible women left out of all our history books, but when it comes to general American education, where the textbooks are already limited and courses developed by…who knows who…you can be sure that women who changed our culture and society are boldly ignored. But thanks to the talents and fortitude of Kristen, we can now learn about a few of them. In a very entertaining way!

And vote! Yes, the audience gets to vote on each potential inductee. And there’s nothing I like more in a solo show than audience participation!  

“Is It History or Is It His-story?” is absolutely charming. Funny, madcap and centered around something incredibly important – how women are perceived. 

Surely perception is how we connect to everything. Through our own individual lenses and through the lens of those who teach us.  These days, with everything under threat, we can no longer take for granted that history will take care of itself. Especially when the evidence is clear that left to its own male devices, it reflects nothing but white male straight and boring.

No wonder I used to fall asleep in history class.  

Kirsten Laurel Caplan is a kind of hero herself. Determined to create a show that entertains as it informs, expands our minds as it makes us laugh, and gently yet firmly changes our perception of our own history.  

Kirsten is a teacher and you can tell.  She must be a brilliant one. Who else but a gifted teacher would make something so wonderful to show us something so maddening.

Kristen is bursting with talent. She rampages around the stage flitting from one hilarious character to another and back again. She is a powerhouse and a wonderful storyteller full of the fire of purpose and education! I had no idea who Mercy Otis Warren, Phillis Wheatley and Sarah Josepha Hale were. These incredibly brave and innovative women who were way ahead of their time. So thank you, Kristen, for bringing them to life.

It might have once been ‘His-story,’ but the future is most definitely, furiously female. 

“Is It History Or Is It His- Story?” will be at the Los Angeles Women’s Theatre Festival on March 26, 2023.  The Los Angeles Women’s Theatre Festival is in its 30th year of representing the Diversity of Women’s voices in theatre. https://lawtf.org 

You can find out more about Kirsten Laurel Caplan on her website: https://klaurel.com/index.html

And Jessica Lynn Johnson, the goddess of solo shows,  on her website: https://www.soaringsolostudios.com/