Judith Partelow’s acclaimed new play A Woman’s Heart moved on to Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater on May 10-12 following four successful prior runs elsewhere on the Cape. The play explores a woman’s emotional life as she faces the challenges of child-rearing, career, love, and loss. Alternately romantic, gutsy, self-doubting, and serene, A Woman’s Heart carries a richly detailed narrative thread—beginning in the 1950s and ‘60s and running through to the present day. Life events and cultural references will likely resonate particularly with any baby boomer.
Critics have praised A Woman’s Heart’s captivating poetic language, its strong emotional appeal, and its innovative approach to casting. Three female actors represent the story’s heroine at different stages of her journey, and a single male actor assumes multiple roles. The actors are Lee Roscoe, Rod Owens, and Dana McCoy, and the playwright herself. The play is directed as well by the multi-talented Partelow and produced by Janet Murphy Robertson of ArtistsAndMusicians.org.
Partelow’s work has been met with enthusiasm by general audiences, the theater community, and academics. During its recent conference, the Cape Cod Writers Center awarded Partelow the 2018 Kevin V. Symmons Scholarship for Second Career Writers. James Kershner, Communications Professor, Cape Cod Community College, wrote of A Woman’s Heart, "I loved it! Deep, powerful, and entertaining." Actor Rod Owens facilitated a course titled A WOMAN'S HEART:POETRY-INTO-PLAY in the spring 2018 as part of the college’s Academy for Lifelong Learning series. Author Catherine Kelly-Mahon attended the course and observed, “Shakespeare gave us the Ages of Man; Partelow now gives us the Ages of Women. A Woman's Heart is the truth of human experience expressed in beautiful poetry." You can read more reviews of the play here: Reviews of A Woman’s Heart
The play premiered at the Jacob Sears Library Theater in May 2017 and went on to additional successful runs at the Cape Cod Museum of Art, the Women’s International Theater Festival in Provincetown, and the Cultural Center of Cape Cod.
MORE INFORMATION
Candace Hammond interviews Judith Partelow and Rod Owens on Arts Week: Interview at WOMR
The Cape Cod Times: Sue Mellen’s Review of A Woman's Heart
Readers' comments concerning Judith Partelow's poetry.