‘Charm School’ incisive> Teal’s show poignant

In the past few years, a proliferation of one-woman shows have been mounted throughout the country. Women of theater have something to say, so they are saying it in their own words, on their own sets and by their own design. Given the relatively limited number of substantial and intelligent roles for women in theater, it makes sense — and may well be a necessity — that women light out on their own adventures.

Janeen Teal, an Orono-based actor who worked briefly years ago with Lyric Opera of Chicago, has joined those ranks of intrepid women with the one-woman show “Charm School: Maidenhood in the 1950s,” which opened last weekend and will be performed again this weekend at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Bangor.

When the lights come up, Teal looks the audience in the eye and begins a story about a woman who has been hassled by a ruthless system, has survived and now has something to say about it. She wears a simple black outfit and stands amid girl stuff — dresses mounted on the walls, a vanity with perfume and makeup, and everything awash in pastels (most notably the shade of pink). A folding screen with shards of a broken mirror becomes the central metaphor of this piece on growing up a girl in America. Namely: What will become of you when you are no longer charming?

Making quick changes behind a second screen, Teal takes on several roles for this hour-plus long piece, which she conceived, wrote and quilted together as an evening of personal and political commentary — or “ritual” as it is called in the program notes (which also include Teal’s poetry). She moves smoothly and distinctly between the roles of autobiographical narrator, male hoodlum, young girl, housewife and prostitute.

Her most celebrated character, however, is Mother Bliss, a TV charm school marm whose lessons are about the slippery art of becoming a woman. Mother Bliss tells you to smile even if it kills you, to never, ever forsake your girdle, and that there’s only one thing to think about when you’re going to get married: trousseau, trousseau, trousseau. In subtle, grinning ways, Mother Bliss reinforces a much more serious situation that has to do with pathologically standing by your man, rejecting your girlfriends, and struggling to “keep your figure.”

Teal makes some important and poignant observations about generations of Barbie doll women who have been coerced by unrealistic and undesirable social standards, particularly as depicted in the media. Although there are moments when the script might be tightened, the show is often perky, and the writing can be incisive. Teal, who is a soprano, shows her range as a singer, too, and it’s great to hear her use her lower register.

Every woman over 30 will recognize an excruciating moment when Teal sits in front of a mirror, examines the lines in her face, and says wistfully, “You’re looking old.” Given the jarring scenes Teal portrays about women growing older in America, it stands to reason that the show is angry. It’s great to be a woman, Teal suggests, but it sucks to be a woman who grew up in the 1950s and is still searching for a way to be valued, loved, respected and happy once the wrinkles show up in the 1990s.

Teal says nothing has changed much for our daughters (hers, by the way, makes a brief appearance in the show), and although many will take issue with that statement, Teal has a persuasive determination about her. There’s more to be said, of course, but perhaps Teal will eventually offer a second chapter.

A final note: The basement performing space is set up as a cafe with delicious treats provided by the By Word of Mouth catering business from Old Town. Doors open a half hour before the show, and it’s worth going early to indulge in the sweets.

“Charm School: Maidenhood in the 1950s” will be presented 8 p.m. March 21 and 22 at the Unitarian Universalist Church, 120 Park St. in Bangor. The cafe opens at 7:30 p.m. Tickets available at the door.