PARIS — Celebration Barn Theater will present Sally Jones in “Mrs. Smith Goes to Washington” on Saturday, July 2. Written by Maine playwright Linda Britt, the  original play is an intimate look at the life and times of the humble woman who achieved many firsts, not the least of which reaching a position of respect in the U.S. Senate.

The one-woman play begins during the Maine senator’s girlhood years in Skowhegan, when she was captain of her high school’s state champion basketball team, and ends with her death in 1995 at age 97.

Smith was Maine’s first woman senator, the first woman elected to both the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate, the first woman to speak up publicly against Sen. Joseph McCarthy’s anti-Communist crusade, and the first woman to have her name placed in nomination for president of the United States.

Jones,  as Smith, relates personal anecdotes and recites from her “Declaration of Conscience” speech delivered on the Senate floor on June 1, 1950, which captured national attention and demonstrated her courage and independence.

“After the performance I return and talk to the audience, still in the character as the senator,” Jones said. “I invite anyone to tell me about a time ‘we’ had met. Those stories are funny and often times very moving.”

The show will begin at 8 p.m. Tickes are $14 for adults, $12 for seniors (63+) and $8 for students and children. Call 743-8452. Celebration Barn Theater is at 190 Stock Farm Road, off Route 117. For more information, visit www. CelebrationBarn.com.

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