With a biting wit and acid tongue, writer Dorothy Parker was among the most widely read—and quoted—women of the 1930s and beyond. In this one-woman show, Claudia Baumgarten brings the incomparable Parker to life, martini in hand, as she skewers the Jazz Age and vintage Hollywood with her incisive observations about society and culture.

A literary trailblazer in a man’s world, Parker’s sardonic poems, essays, and short stories have stood the test of time. She was a founding member of the infamous Algonquin Round Table, known for its caustic wit and intellectual commentary, and her writing touched on race relations, wealth, social injustice, politics, and sex in an era when women didn’t write about such topics. Before the outbreak of World War II, the outspoken Parker warned of the growing danger of fascism in Europe, helping to found the Hollywood Anti-Nazi League in 1936. Barred from joining the Women’s Army Corps due to her age, Parker supported the war effort by lending her voice and prestige to selling war bonds, encouraging women to take on jobs men had left behind, and writing of war's toll on both husbands and wives.

Directed by Diana Shortes, Wit & Wrath: The Life and Times of Dorothy Parker is a well-crafted homage to Parker, whose influence and legacy as a wisecracking social critic and passionate civil rights advocate endure today.

• Members: $37
• Nonmembers: $40
• For group rates, call 504-528-1943.