The Geller Girls Study Guide

The Geller Girls Study Guide
Janece Shaffer
Created by Hiram High School Drama Class of Dr. Jennifer Grazer
As part of the Alliance Theatre Institute for Educators and Teaching Artists’
Junior Dramaturgy Program
Under the guidance of Teaching Artist, Neeley Gossett
From The Playwright
“The first glimpse I had of the Cotton States Exposition was through these
amazing black and white photos of Piedmont Park brimming with all kinds of
art and music, innovation and possibility, and I thought, ‘I want to lose myself
there, as a writer; I want to imagine what it must have been like for young
women of that day to see – in a single afternoon – scandalous Hoochie Coochie
girls alongside suffragettes and the first exhibition ever for women.’
“Yes, there’s the drama of the exposition, but at its heart, THE GELLER GIRLS is
a play about family, about the dreams we have for our children and the ones
they have for themselves – and how we reconcile that is a timeless struggle.”
- Janece Shaffer
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The Director
Susan V. Booth joined the Alliance Theatre in 2001. Over 11 seasons, she initiated the Collision
Project for teens, the Alliance/Kendeda National Graduate Playwriting Competition, created local
producing partnerships and overseen regional collaborative productions, as well as commercial
partnerships on projects including Ghost Brothers of Darkland County; The Color Purple; Bring It
On: The Musical; The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee; Sister Act: The Musical; Bring in Da’
Noise, Bring in Da’ Funk; and Jesus Christ Superstar GOSPEL. As a director, she has worked
nationally at theatres including the Goodman, La Jolla Playhouse, New York Stage and Film, Actors
Theatre of Louisville, Northlight Theatre, Victory Gardens, Court Theatre and many others. She
holds degrees from Denison and Northwestern universities and was a fellow of the National Critics
Institute and the Kemper Foundation. She has held teaching positions at Northwestern and DePaul
universities, and serves as adjunct faculty with Emory University. She is the past president of the
board of directors for Theatre Communications Group (the national service organization for the
field) is on the artistic board of the Steinberg Charitable Trust in New York, and is a trustee of
Denison University. Susan is married to Max Leventhal and is the proud mother of Moira Rose
Leventhal.
The Playwright
Janece Shaffer is a nationally produced, award-winning playwright, and The Geller Girls marks her
fifth world premiere at the Alliance Theatre. Other Alliance credits include Broke (Gene-Gabriel
Moore Best New Play Award), Managing Maxine (Edgerton Foundation New American Play Award;
produced at the Asolo Repertory Theatre and Human Race Theatre), Bluish, and He Looks Great in a
Hat. Shaffer’s Brownie Points (Gene-Gabriel Moore Best New Play Award) debuted at Theatrical
Outfit and went on to Seattle’s Taproot Theater and Lamb’s Players Theatre in San Diego. Shaffer is
working on her first musical, aptly named Bliss, which will be presented in a workshop in New York
in spring 2014. When not busy writing on her screened porch in Decatur, Shaffer is the senior editor
of the Womenetics. A special thanks to the Alliance Theatre and to all those she calls family.
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Meet The Gellers
A Southern, Jewish family living in Atlanta in 1895
Albert Geller (played by Mark Cabus) is in his early fifties. He is loving, playful, and
protective.
Louisa Geller (played by Ann Marie Gideon) is seventeen and almost a woman. She is beautiful,
idealistic, sweet, and sheltered. Her mother’s favorite.
Charles Heyman (played by Joe Sykes) is New York-born, charming, and in his twenties
.
Rosalee Geller (played by Courtney Patterson) is twenty-three and strong-willed. She is bright,
hard-working, and attractive but plays her looks down. She is her father’s daughter. Rosalee is
playful with him and devoted.
Sarahann Geller (played by Courtenay Collins) is in her late forties. She is a Southern matriarch:
elegant, formal, attractive, and rigid.
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Summary of The Geller Girls
Act 1
The Geller Girls opens on the morning of The 1895 Cotton States and International Exposition.
Louisa, the younger of the Geller sisters, looks forward to The Exposition and all of the excitement
that it brings to Atlanta and anxiously awaits a proposal from Josiah who promised to ask for her
hand on her eighteenth birthday. Her older sister, Rosalee, has her mind is on business, not love.
She wants desperately to open her own dress shop. However, her stepmother Sarahann has
different plans for the twenty-three-year-old. She intends to match Rosalee with her cousin Charles,
who is coming to visit from New York. He is also thinking of opening a store and has come to learn
the trade from Rosalee and Louisa’s father Albert.
Both The Exposition and Charles bring new perspective to the girls’ lives. Rosalee is upset that
Charles is gaining power in her father’s shop, causing her to long even more for her own store.
After becoming mesmerized by The Exposition, Louisa shockingly announces that see no longer
wants to get married. Charles tells her that Atlanta is too small for her and encourages her to go to
New York and go to college, an idea to which she is receptive.
When Louisa approaches her father about college, he discusses his excitement about her marriage.
This leaves her feeling too guilty to tell him her new plans. Albert continues to ignore Rosalee’s
requests for his help in buying her own dress shop.
Act Two
It is Louisa’s birthday, and Sarahann awaits the proposal letter from Josiah. In order to celebrate
both her eighteenth birthday and her new found freedom, Charles gives Louisa a bicycle, but she
does not ride it because Sarahann is appalled and calls it a “demonic machine.” Rosalee, however,
puts on pantaloons, and allows Charles to teach her to ride the bicycle. She is thrilled and smiles for
what Charles says is the first time. After the bicycle ride, Rosalee and Charles discuss her
stepmother’s favoritism toward Louisa.
When Rosalee returns from the bicycle ride, Sarahann calls her ungrateful as well as unruly and
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says that she worries that Rosalee will be lonely and alone. This provokes Rosalee to confess that
she has no interest in men because they have no interest in her and to tell Sarahann that she only
wants her to marry so she can have the house and Albert to herself.
A week later Rosalee fantasizes about owning a future store, while her sister mourns the lack of a
proposal. When Charles and Louisa return to The Exhibition, he loses her in the crowd. She finds
her way back to the house and admits to her sister that she let a stranger at The Argentina Exhibit
kiss her. She is worried that the proposal will not come and wonders if Josiah knows she has been
spending time with Charles.
Rosalee again confronts Albert about opening her own store. He finally admits that there is no
money for the store; it is all dedicated to Louisa’s wedding and house. This revelation causes
Rosalee to tell Louisa that the letter is not coming. It has been weeks. She asks her sister to tell
Albert that she is not getting married so that the money can go towards the new store.
Because of this, Charles sees how serious Rosalee is about starting a business, so he offers her a
partnership and asks her to move to New York. She accepts, and a romance blooms. When they tell
Louisa of the partnership, she reveals that she is tired of waiting on the proposal and has decided to
go to Hunter College in New York. Albert tries to talk his oldest daughter out of moving north, but
Sarahann supports her leaving. It is only Louisa’s journey to which she objects; if her daughter
leaves her, her heart will break.
On the morning that the sisters are to leave for New York, Rosalee says goodbye to her father, and
to her surprise, he gives her an envelope likely containing money. In a turn of events, Josiah appears
outside of the house. Louisa hesitates and then runs to him. Rosalee does not run after her. Instead,
she leaves the envelope and departs with Charles.
The last scene takes place at the Geller house. Louisa is engaged and Sarahann tells her to be happy
as neighbors begin arriving to celebrate.
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The 1895 Cotton States and International Exposition
The Exposition was held in Atlanta at Ogelthorpe Park, which is now Piedmont Park. It began on
September 18, 1895 for 100 days.
Cotton States and International Exposition showcased Atlanta as a regional business center and
helped attract investment. It showed Atlanta as an industrial region rather than an agricultural one
and promoted trade with Latin America.
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The Exhibits
“Today the world came to Atlanta. Right now as I write you there are cannibals in the park.
I’m not exaggerating. And there are Eskimos and camels and Amazon women and matadors
with bulls.” Louisa, The Geller Girls
Many countries had exhibitions. These countries included:
Pre-United States, England, Germany, Egypt, and Dohomey Village (Present Day Benin)
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The Hoochie Coochie Girls
“…And the tent was crowded and hot and those women – the way they move their hips. And the men—
they were going crazy, screaming, howling like they are animals and the women responded by moving
faster– back and forth – and the heat and the noise…” Louisa, The Geller Girls
“And there are electric lights everywhere and water rides and a Ferris wheel as tall as our downtown
skyscraper…” Louisa, The Geller Girls
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“Did you see our skyscraper downtown? …Seven stories. And wait ‘til you see the Exposition. You
know there are 11 buildings over in that park brimming with art and innovation.” – Louisa
The Equitable Building.
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“ That’s never happened before in the history of these expositions -- to have an exhibition just for
Negros and then one just for women.” -Louisa
The Negro Building
The Women’s Building
Henry Grady was the head editor of the Atlanta Journal Constitution and was often referred
to as the “spokesman of the New South.” He originated the idea for The Exposition and was
one of the main organizers of the event. Grady also founded Georgia Tech.
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President Grover Cleveland participated in the forming and production of the cotton states. He
also participated in the opening ceremony.
In a few hours, the president is going to press this special gold button and it’s going to spark an
electrical current and that spark – I think it is a spark -- will travel like lightening from state to state
until that charge causes the electrical gates of the Atlanta Exposition of 1895 to fly open… - Louisa
The Phantascope is a spinning disk with a series of pictures Created by Charles Francis Jenkins in
the early 1890s. Two additional projectors were unveiled in The Exposition.
A Water Ride at The Exhibition.
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Booker T. Washington
“It’s ‘the together’ part. And do you know that that whole Negro Exhibition -- not one white person
had anything to do with that – didn’t design it, or build it – or create anything that’s inside… This is
not New York. And Booker T. Washington -- a Negro offer a major address. And what he said—
about how the two races can be equal –”
- Louisa
Booker T. Washington was an African-American leader, educator, author and advisor to
presidents. In 1856, he was born a slave in Virginia. When slaves were emancipated, his family
moved to West Virginia to work in salt mines and coalmines. He was eventually educated at
Hampton Institute were he studied law and ministry. He was the president of Tuskegee University
and became famous when he gave a speech at The Exhibition.
Booker T. Washington delivered the 1895 Atlanta Compromise Speech on September 18, 1895.
He spoke before a mostly white audience at the Cotton Sates and International Exposition in
Atlanta. It is one of the most significant speeches in American history. Washington’s speech
responded to the “ Negro Problem”, the question of what to do about the social and economic
conditions of blacks and the relationships between blacks and whites in the economically shifting
South. He promised to encourage African Americans to study agriculture, mechanics, commerce,
and domestic service. He also called for whites to add in improving social and economic relations
between the races.
The Atlanta Compromise was announced during Washington’s speech. It stated that Southern
African Americans would submit to white political rule in exchange for the guarantee of education
and due process of law.
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Women’s Suffrage
The Women’s Suffrage movement fought for the right for women to vote. Although women would not
have the right to vote until 1920, The Exhibition featured the Women’s Building and speeches by
Suffrage leaders.
Elizabeth Cady Stanton gave a speech at The Exhibition. She was one of the organizers of the first
women’s rights convention held in 1848 in Seneca Falls, NY. She was a leader of the suffrage movement
and also a writer and editor behind many women’s rights papers and speeches.
“…she talked about how women must be given the chance for higher education, for full development,
how they should be freed from custom or fear because I wrote this part down, ‘We must make the
voyage of life alone.’” - Louisa
Women and Higher Education
“Sister, do you think I could go with you? Hunter College is in New York.” –Louisa
Women’s Colleges in 1895
By the 1890s there were opportunities for women to attend college, even in the South. Agnes Scott
College and Hollins University were open and convenient to Louisa. Other colleges such as Mount
Holyoke College and Bryn Mawr College offered top educational opportunities. So, why did she hope to
go to Hunter in New York City? Most colleges that accepted women were Christian institutions. Hunter
accepted women of all religions, thus making it a better fit for Louisa.
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Bicycle History
“Do not tell me what I can or cannot do – I am 23 years old and I am riding this bicycle. Now MOVE!”
- Rosalee
The first bicycle in appeared in the 1860s. This rudimentary version was called “The Bone Shaker.”
Bicycles were first mass-produced in 1869.
The 1870s brought the “high wheelers.”
In the 1880s tricycles became popular.
The safety bicycle was manufactured in the 1890s. This caused the bicycle to become popular throughout the
country.
This mainstream popularity caused changes in women’s fashion, as bloomers became popular.
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“Annie Londonberry – her real name is Annie Cohen Kopchovsky—She’s a mother of three young children and do you
know what she did last year? Mama, Jewish Annie Cohen Kopchovsky rode a bicycle around the world –she pedaled
her way around the globe –” -Louisa
Annie Londonberry was the first woman who bicycled around the world in 1894. This twenty-threeyear-old Jewish mother of three from Boston was a symbol of The Women’s Suffrage Movement. The
trip took fifteen months, and she traveled with only a riffle and change of underwear. Londonberry later
became a journalist.
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The Atlanta Jewish Community
In 1845 the first two Jews to settle in Atlanta, German brothers Jacob Haas and Henry Levi, arrived
in Atlanta.
In 1851 Jewish pioneers in Atlanta started the city’s first drug store.
Many of the early immigrants to Atlanta owned dry goods and clothing stores like The Gellers.
By the 1850s, 10% of the businesses in the city were owned by Jewish families.
Most of the stores were located on Whitehall Street. The street is featured in The Geller Girls.
The Hebrew Benevolent Congregation was founded in 1862, and the synagogue was built in 1877. It
was a symbol of the role Jews played in raising Atlanta.
The Hungarian brothers Morris, William Rich Daniel and Emanuel came to Atlanta and started
Rich’s in 1862.
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In the 1880s, 71% of Jewish men worked in commercial trade
60% of Jewish men owned or managed businesses, like Albert Geller.
Joseph Jacobs opened Jacobs’ Pharmacy in 1884. He had expanded to ten locations by 1910. CocaCola began at these pharmacies.
He had opened 10 locations of his pharmacy in Atlanta by 1910. Jacobs was not always such an
astute businessman, selling his 1/3 interest in a new soft drink that would eventually become CocaCola.
By 1880, 538 Jewish people lived in Atlanta. Most of them were of German or Austro-Hungarian
heritage.
By the turn of the century, most of them were Reformed, rather than Orthodox.
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Atlanta Map 1895
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Pre-Show Questions
1. What are your long-term education and career goals? Would you be willing to sacrifice a close
relationship with your family in order to achieve these goals?
2. Have you ever felt that your parent/parents favor a sibling over you? How did you handle the
situation?
3. Have your parents ever held you back from doing something about which you feel passion? How
did it reflect your relationship with them?
4. Do you feel pressure to get married and have children in the future? Which seems more important
in our society, getting married and having a family or having a great job?
5. Does your religion and/or cultural traditions impact how you plan your future?
Post-Show Questions
1. Do you think that Louisa went to college after the play ended? Did Rosalee and Charles get
married?
2. Why does Sarahann favor Louisa or Rosalee? What makes the sisters’ relationships with their
stepmom so different?
3. Why does Albert often refrain from voicing his opinion? Why does he allow Sarahann to be the
vocal spouse in a time when husbands were the head of the household?
4. How does the Gellers’ religion affect their lives? How does it dictate where they live and work
and whom they marry? What might have been the advantages and disadvantages of being in a
religious minority during this time?
5. How has life changed for women since 1895? Do women today face any of the same adversities
as the Geller sisters?
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Works Cited
"Collection Resources." Atlanta History Center. The Atlanta History Center, 2013. Web. 19 Dec. 2013.
"ISJL : History Department." The Goldring-Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life. The
Goldring-Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life, 2013. Web. 19 Dec. 2013.
"History Timeline of the Bicycle." History Timeline of the Bicycle. Pedaling History, 2013. Web. 19
Dec. 2013.
Southern Jewish Historical Society. Southern Jewish Historical Society, 2011. Web. 19 Dec. 2013.
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