New musical explores lesbian love of Gertrude Stein

0 Comments | AFP, January, 2006

CHICAGO (AFP) — At a time when artists were challenging the common perception of reality, there was a woman whose acerbic comments could make or break a reputation.

Avant-garde writer Gertrude Stein held court in her Parisian salon as the greatest writers and artists of the early 20th century -- Pablo Picasso, Ernest Hemingway, T.S. Eliot and Georges Braque -- discussed the direction of Modernism beneath one of the first collections of Cubist and experimental paintings.

Sitting near her, quietly distracting the wives while the men pontificated, was Alice B. Toklas, Stein's longtime love and companion.

A new musical which explores their love affair will premiere in Chicago on Valentine's Day.

"Loving Repeating" -- from the Tony Award-winning team of...