From Maria to Alice to Eleanor: Extraordinary Women in Extraordinary Times

Join D. Lynn Meyers in a virtual conversation with historians Nancy Broermann and Constance Moore as they discuss the lives of Eleanor Roosevelt, Maria Longworth Storer, and the notorious family member they had in common, Alice Roosevelt Longworth.

Inspired by the recently published biography of Eleanor Roosevelt, Eleanor, by David Michaelis, we’ll explore the lives of three extraordinary women facing extraordinary circumstances—world wars, pandemic, social upheaval and the contributions they made all while in the glare of the public spotlight.

This program is presented by The Mercantile Library and Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati. It is free and open to the public via Crowdcast.

D. Lynn Meyers is The Ruth Dennis Sawyer/Mary Taft Mahler Producing Artistic Director at Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati

As Producing Artistic Director, D. Lynn Meyers has directed more than 100 world and regional premieres at Ensemble Theatre, including Hedwig and the Angry Inch, The Legend of Georgia McBride, Hands on a Hardbody, Detroit ’67, I Am My Own Wife, and Next to Normal. She began her career as the Associate Artistic Director at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park and has directed Off-Broadway at the York Theatre as well as extensively throughout the US and Canada. As a member of the Casting Society of America, Ms. Meyers has cast for PBS, CBS, BBC, HBO, Paramount, and MGM. Her recent feature credits include Carol, Miles Ahead, The Goat, The Old Man & the Gun, and The Public; she also served as the Location Casting Director for The Shawshank Redemption. She was named a finalist for the Zelda Fichandler National Award in 2011, is a past recipient of the YWCA Career Woman of Achievement Award, and received the 2018 Rosa F. and Samuel B. Sachs Fund Prize for her regional arts impact and leadership.

Nancy Broermann and Constance Moore are the co-authors of Maria Longworth Storer: From Music and Art to Popes and Presidents

Nancy M. Broermann has always enjoyed studying and researching Cincinnati’s history. While working as an archivist for the Ursuline Sisters at St. Ursula Academy (SUA), she discovered that Maria Longworth Storer and her husband Bellamy lived at SUA for nearly four years. Constance J. Moore, a Theodore Roosevelt researcher from El Paso, Texas, called the archives and asked, “Who is this woman?” That phone call started a seven-year search to learn about this remarkable lady. They found letters in European and American archives, interviewed Maria’s great grandsons in France, and co-authored this book to share Maria’s extraordinary story.