“A Contrary Woman” Opens At Indian Head Black Box, Spotlighting Jeannette Rankin’s Legacy

INDIAN HEAD, Md. — A one-woman play spotlighting Jeannette Rankin, the first woman elected to the U.S. Congress, opens this month at the Indian Head Center for the Arts Black Box Theatre, with Piney Point actress Linda Hiortdahl portraying the pioneering lawmaker during a Women’s History Month run.

Performed by Hiortdahl, “A Contrary Woman” brings audiences face-to-face with Rankin, the Montana Republican elected in 1916 who later became known nationally for her work in women’s suffrage, advocacy for women and children, support for labor unions and an uncompromising antiwar stance.

The play is staged as an intimate “visit” with Rankin late in life. At age 90, Rankin addresses the audience as guests, tracing her upbringing in late-1800s Montana and the experiences that shaped her politics and activism.

In one early moment, Rankin, as played by Hiortdahl, draws the audience in with the blunt immediacy of memory, recalling the hostility she faced after a vote that made her a target.

“They were angry at me — not just angry, all capitals, bold-faced, underlined, angry,” Rankin said, describing a crowd that she believed might have harmed her if not for an old phone booth and assistance from the Capitol Police.

Rankin’s moral argument is distilled into a single line that defines her legacy and anchors the play’s central tension between patriotism and conscience.

“I want to stand by my country, but I cannot vote for war,” she said, describing the moment she cast a vote that set her apart in Congress.

Richard Thompson, director and playwright who wrote “A Contrary Woman,” said the idea for the play began decades ago when he first encountered Jeannette Rankin while researching the attack on Pearl Harbor for a high school term paper.

During that research, Thompson discovered Rankin was the only member of Congress to vote against entering World War II, a decision that stood out immediately.

“They mentioned that all the votes were in favor except for one, and that was this woman, Jeannette Rankin,” Thompson said. “When I read that I thought, what was she thinking? But man, she had to really be brave to do that — to stand alone.”

Years later, Thompson realized Rankin’s story extended far beyond that single vote. Rankin worked as a social reformer, campaigned for women’s suffrage and later served in Congress, becoming the first woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.

“She lived a full life. She made a difference, several differences actually — and people should know about her,” Thompson said. “Over half the show is made from actual quotes that she said.”

The play is intentionally being staged during Women’s History Month, a decision Thompson said felt like a natural fit for Rankin’s legacy.

“Yes, it was on purpose,” Thompson said. “If you wanted to tag it to a particular time and place, Women’s History Month was the obvious time.”

Associate director Thomas Swazuk said he was surprised by how little many people know about Rankin despite her role in American history.

“I never heard of her before,” Swazuk said. “Then I read the play and was astonished that she did so much — especially for a woman at that time.”

Swazuk said Rankin’s story revealed both the courage and the barriers faced by women in the early 20th century.

“Just getting an education back then was something,” Swazuk said. “Then she gets into politics and does all these things. It really took a lot of courage.”

Linda Hiortdahl said the biggest challenge of “A Contrary Woman” is the independence required of a one-woman show — memorizing roughly 30 pages and carrying the performance without scene partners to help through the play.

“There is no one on stage to help me when I make a mistake, or to cue my lines,” Hiortdahl said. “So I do really have to know it well.”

To prepare, Hiortdahl said she began working with the script months in advance, converting it into a document she could repeatedly listen to, then rehearsing along with it until the lines were fully internalized.

“I started in probably September or October, and I used a read-aloud feature and listened to it quite a few times,” Hiortdahl said. “After I’d go over it and speak along with it about 100 times … I started memorizing it.”

Hiortdahl also said the role resonated with her personally. She grew up hearing stories of farm life in Calvert County. She also recognized references in the script, including those from the “Little House on the Prairie,” which she said she has read “dozens of times” and still revisits.

In portraying Jeannette Rankin, Hiortdahl said she relates strongly to Rankin’s advocacy for women’s rights and can empathize with her antiwar convictions, even if she does not identify as fully pacifist herself. Hiortdahl said spending time with Rankin’s story has shaped her thinking about women’s courage and public service through history.

“The feminism — that is stuff that I can certainly feel and echo,” Hiortdahl said. “Probably not quite the pacifist she was, but I can empathize with her feelings … and bring them out.”

Hiortdahl emphasized that the play’s timing during Women’s History Month aligned with Rankin’s legacy, and said she hopes younger women leave the performance with a sense of what is possible when someone refuses to accept the limits of a historically male-dominated society.

“Her sense of achieving things against incredible odds,” Hiortdahl said. “You don’t have to follow the mold. You can go out and achieve what you want, and you can make a change in the world.”

Hiortdahl said ongoing debates around voting access and global conflict were additional reasons why Rankin’s story continued to feel timely.

“I think people sometimes take the right to vote for granted,” Hiortdahl said. “With all the turmoil and the things going on in the world, and people promoting war, we could use a little more pacifism.”

The production will be presented at the Indian Head Center for the Arts Black Box Theatre, 4185 Indian Head Highway, Indian Head, Md. Performances are scheduled for March 13 and 14 at 8 p.m. and March 15 at 2 p.m., with tickets listed from $14.64 through Eventbrite.

A Southern Maryland performance is also scheduled March 22 at 2 p.m. at Three Notch Theatre in Lexington Park.

While Rankin’s place in history is often summarized by her votes against U.S. entry into both World War I and World War II, the script expands beyond the headline moments into the personal and political forces that shaped her, including the suffrage movement, her early work in social reform, and her lifelong belief that violence creates more violence.

“Being willing to say no when others don’t is an important thing,” Hiortdahl said.

The one-woman format makes that story feel less like a lecture and more like an encounter. With Hiortdahl alone on stage, the audience becomes the room Rankin is speaking to, and the performance hinges on storytelling, pacing and direct connection rather than scene changes or supporting cast.

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