'Lasso of Truth': The curious tale of Wonder Woman's creator

Liza Sklar as Amazon, Nicholas Rose as Inventor and Jessa Brie Moreno as Wife in Marin Theatre Company's "Lasso of Truth." Liza Sklar as Amazon, Nicholas Rose as Inventor and Jessa Brie Moreno as Wife in Marin Theatre Company's "Lasso of Truth." Photo: Kevin Berne Photo: Kevin Berne Image 1 of / 4 Caption Close 'Lasso of Truth': The curious tale of Wonder Woman's creator 1 / 4 Back to Gallery

If you captured playwright Carson Kreitzer in Wonder Woman's golden lasso of truth - under its spell you cannot lie - she would probably tell you that Wonder Woman, especially as portrayed by Lynda Carter in the classic '70s TV series, helped shape her life.

The Minneapolis writer has poured her Wonder Woman passion into a new play. "Lasso of Truth" has its world premiere at Marin Theatre Company, then continues its journey to other cities as part of a National New Play Network rolling world premiere.

Kreitzer, taking a break from the rehearsal room, discussed her play's central character: Wonder Woman's controversial creator, William Moulton Marston, and the women in his unconventional family.

Q: Your first exposure to Wonder Woman was the TV series starring Lynda Carter. Why did that affect you so much?

A: Diana Prince/Wonder Woman was a strong, powerful, loving female role model. You just didn't get to see that often on TV. Her peace-loving, conflict-resolution energy is still rare, but it was something to emulate.

Q: How did you end up writing a play about Wonder Woman's creator?

A: Doing research for a different play, I stumbled across the fact that Marston was one of the early inventors of what became the modern polygraph. When I realized he was the same man who created the Wonder Woman comics in the early '40s, something clicked. I began looking into his life and discovered he lived with two women, his wife and the young graduate assistant who helped him with the polygraph. He had children with both women, and the women named children after each other. Marston died in 1947, and the women continued living together for another 40 years.

Q: How did your discovery affect your feelings about Marston's creation?

A: At first it felt like a betrayal to me, but then I looked at the original comics - the boots, the bracelets, the bustier, the bondage. How did I not see this? Here was this incredibly powerful hero from my childhood wrapped up in this sexualized vision of what women were supposed to be for male consumption. This is where the play comes from. As I delved into Marston's story, I had a great deal of suspicion of him, but I grew to love him and to see the bondage and everything as part of an alternative sexuality that has always been part of moving us forward as a culture. The outsiders have to find ways to make the world catch up. He really did seem to be, in his heart, a very strong feminist who enjoyed powerful women taking charge. He felt that was the future.

If you go

Lasso of Truth: 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, 2 and 7 p.m. Sunday. Through March 16; check website for full schedule. $20. Marin Theatre Company, 397 Miller Road, Mill Valley. (415) 388-5208. www.marintheatre.org.