Photo Source: Patti Lupone and Rosalie Craig in “Company” Credit: michael melia/Alamy If it weren’t for gender bending, we wouldn’t have theater—and I’m not just talking about “Oh, Mary!” Playing with gender norms and constructs may feel like a modern idea on stage and screen, but it is anything but. In Shakespeare’s England, women weren’t allowed to act on public stages, leaving boys and men to play all the roles. But what does it mean to gender bend or gender reverse a character?