Who was Frances Perkins? A one-woman play looking at the life of the first woman Secretary of Labor is set to take the Ashfield Congregational Church stage in April. 

“Frances Perkins: A Woman’s Work” tells the story of Perkins, who served as the first woman Secretary of Labor from 1933 to 1945. Perkins is responsible for crafting some of the most significant legislation of the New Deal Era, including social security, child labor laws, and the development of minimum wage and the 40 hour work week. The play was written and will be performed by Jarice Hanson, professor emeritus of communications at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and author of the Theater Matters column for the Valley Advocate. The performances, on April 5 and 11, will also serve as a fundraiser to support future productions by Pauline and Devereux Productions.

“She was really the brains behind Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal that got us out of the Great Depression,” Hanson said. “And she was canonized as a saint by the Episcopal Church. She’s probably the only cabinet member in history that’s become a saint. This is a woman who should be remembered.”

Hanson said writing the play was her pandemic project. She had first heard of Frances Perkins when she was a student at Mount Holyoke College, but did not really know who Perkins was. Years later when she heard someone mention Perkins she decided to research the woman and with a global lockdown she had plenty of time to do so. She was amazed by Perkins’ legacy and decided to write a show about her. 

Hanson’s research included touring Perkins’ home in Maine and interviewing her grandson, Tomlin Perkins Coggeshall, who was a supporter of the play and shared details of Perkins’ life that had not been revealed before. 

“She did not want to be remembered. She was a mystery of a woman and such a private person,” Hanson said. “Her story is so inspirational and she had a wicked sense of humor.”

Hanson said she related to Perkins’ story as she was the first female department head in the communications department at UMass Amherst, and found it fascinating how much of Perkins’ work was a still relevant today. Social security, immigration, unions and labor laws — topics still debated today — were at the heart of Perkins’ work.  

The play is being performed as a fundraiser for Pauline Productions and Devereux Productions. Hanson said she has worked with the two theater companies before, and performed in their joint production, “The Cemetery Club,” last spring. Finding grant funding and financial support for the arts can be a challenge, so she is happy to support the groups.

The show’s run time is approximately 70 minutes, and each performance will be followed by a 20 minute Q&A session. Audience members will be able to address Hanson in character as Perkins, and ask questions. 

Hanson said while she is in costume, people treat her as if she is Frances Perkins. Once, after a performance, an older gentleman came over and talked to her as if she was Perkins, and told her that she had changed his life. 

“It feels like she takes over,” Hanson said. “At least for a moment he thought I was her.”

Two performances will be held on April 5, one at 2 p.m. and one at 7 p.m., a third performance will be held at 2 p.m. at April 11. All shows will be held at the Ashfield Congregational Church on Main Street.

Tickets can be purchased online at theticketing.co/e/frances-perkins, in person at Ashfield Hardware, or at the door. Tickets are available on a “pay what you can” scale with rates of $18, $25, and $35.

Reach Madison Schofield at 413-930-4579 or mschofield@recorder.com.