Since the bust of Rush Limbaugh went up in the state capitol, Todd Akin offered up his theories of "legitimate rape" and the legislature overrode Governor Nixon's veto of the bill that would allow employers to deny insurance coverage of birth control, Missouri has become a laughingstock among progressives and supporters of women's and reproductive rights.
Well, here's your chance for redemption. Just show up for tonight's performance of Sticks & Stones: Sluts Talk Back at the Centene Center for Arts & Education in Grand Center, hand over your $25 for a pair of tickets and know that you have just given $25 to MOLLI's List, a PAC dedicated to electing progressive, pro-choice Democratic women to state office.
Alert readers may recall that Sticks & Stones originally premiered back in the spring at Left Bank Books, but producer/director/performer Joan Lipkin has added material to reflect new political developments (AHEM Akin). There will be dancing, music, sketch comedy and "slut monologues."
MOLLI's List, which stands for Missouri Legislative Ladies Initiative, began four years ago as Harriet's List, named for former lieutenant governor Harriet Woods, who died in 2007. It changed its name last year at the request of Woods' family, which had left Missouri.
"We wanted to have one large fundraiser this year to draw attention to issues that affect women," explains Nancy Cross, chair of the MOLLI's List Board of Directors. Lipkin, whose That Uppity Theater Company, has a long history of performances about issues affecting women (as well as the LGBT and disabled communities), approached the board and offered to produce a show.
"She has a wonderful lineup of performers and pieces," says Nikki Weinstein, the event coordinator.
The money raised tonight will go into the campaign coffers of the fifteen candidates MOLLI's List has endorsed for the Missouri house and senate and St. Louis city offices this election season.
"We're expecting a good crowd," Cross says of tonight's show. "It will be a mixed group: young and old, professionals and working people, men, people of all ethnicities. The commonality, irregardless of whether they're male or female, is that they don't want to see women's rights get trampled in the legislature. We need more women's voices."
The doors at the Centene Center open at 6:30 p.m. and the show starts at 7. Weinstein recommends that you show up on the early side to be sure of getting a seat.
