CONTENT NOTE: This show contains some mature language and themes, including references to violence, sexual and otherwise.
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The show runs approximately two hours, including a 15 minute intermission.
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All proceeds to benefit First Step: A Response to Domestic Violence: a private, non profit organization that provides safe emergency shelter, support services, counseling, and resources to survivors of domestic and intimate partner violence. They are the only local non profit that provides comprehensive services including safe shelter to survivors in the City of Harrisonburg and the County of Rockingham and have done so for over forty years.

A C T I I

EVE
performed by Grace Altman
"The Autobiography of Eve” by Ansel Elkins
"I’m Alive” by Tom Kitt (music) and Brian Yorkey (lyrics)

AMELIA EARHART, SALLY RIDE, and MARIA MITCHELL
performed by Kaylee Joy Stieren, Reavey Milton, and Savannah Taylor
excerpts from Maria Mitchell: Life, Letters, and Journals; radio transmissions and flight logs
"Flight” by Craig Carnelia
"Stars Over The Dordogne” by Sylvia Plath

NIKKI GIOVANNI
performed by Liz Marin
”Quilts” by Nikki Giovanni

MARY SHELLEY
performed by Kerri Hewett
excerpts from Frankenstein and The Last Man by Mary Shelley
”The Body Electric” by Lana Del Rey and Rick Nowels

MARIE CURIE
performed by Elizabeth Eby
"Power” by Adrienne Rich
"Toxic” by Cathy Dennis, Henrik Jonback, Christian Karlsson, and Pontus Winnberg for Britney Spears

ELIZABETH PACKARD
performed by Kelsey Harrison
excerpt from Mrs. Packard by Emily Mann
"You Don’t Own Me” by John Madara and David White for Lesley Gore

FINALE
performed by the ensemble
"Bread and Roses,” words by James Oppenheim, 1911; music by Mimi Fariña, 1974
"Light of a Clear Blue Morning” by Dolly Parton, as performed by The Wailin’ Jennys
arranged by Sarah Levine McClelland
quotes compiled by Amanda Saufley

Additional original material written by the ensemble.

accompanist
Jim Clemens

directed by
Grace Altman ⧫ Diana Black ⧫ Sarah Levine McClelland ⧫ Becca Stehle

stage manager
Alison Trocchia

costumes
Heidi Jablonski

lighting and sound support
Catherine Holcombe

dramaturgy and supplemental historical research
Amanda Saufley

produced by
Sarah Levine McClelland ⧫ Alison Trocchia

special thanks
Clementine Cafe, First Step: A Response to Domestic Violence, East Rockingham High School, Justin Poole & EMU Theatre, Bridgewater College, Valley Creative Reuse

U P C O M I N G

The Woolgatherer
by William Mastrosimone
directed by Garret Lee Milton
starring Kerri Hewett and Michael Trocchia

May 1 - May 4
The Cellar at Liberty Mercantile

Ticket information coming soon.

Pomona: Pomona is the Roman goddess of fruit trees and orchards. Synonymous with gifts of the harvest, Pomona is depicted in many Roman artworks as a beautiful woman wearing a fruit crown and holding a pruning knife. She is described as a charming wood nymph devoted to tending fruit trees, while denying the many male suitors pursuing her. Ovid’s Metamorphoses says of Pomona, “Still fearing boorish aggression, she enclosed herself in an orchard, and denied an entrance, and shunned men.” After some trickery, Pomona eventually married Vertumnus, god of seasons, change and plant growth. Pomona and Vertumnus complemented each other and together brought abundance and growth.

Nell Gwynn: (1650-1687) Eleanor “Nell” Gwynn was an stage actor and celebrity of the English Restoration, a period marked by the end of the Puritanical reign of Cromwell’s Commonwealth, ushering in a progressive revival of theatre and literature. Popularly known as the “Cinder Nell”, Nell was born a commoner, growing up in a brothel run by her mother. At a young age, Nell sold oranges in the Theatre Royal, where it is believed she was spotted for her vibrancy and ebullience. Where previously only men appeared on stage, playing all roles, including women, Gwynn is credited as one of the first women to act on the British stage. Described as “pretty, witty Nell,” she experienced success in bawdy, comedic roles. Gwynn is equally remembered for being the favorite mistress of King Charles II, bearing him two children and enjoying the last days of her life entertaining his court. Throughout her life, Nell never forgot her humble origins; she advocated for the poor, donated large sums of money to poorhouses, and ensured the release of “poor debtors” every Christmas Day following her death.  

Joan of Arc: (~1412-1431) Born to peasant tenant farmers in medieval France, Joan of Arc is considered one of history’s greatest martyrs and the patron saint of France. Led by what she believed to be divine visions accompanied by hearing the Voice of God, teenaged Joan took a vow of chastity and refused an arranged marriage. She believed her purpose was to expel France’s enemies (the English during the Hundred Years’ War) and install Charles VII as King of France. At the age of 16, Joan led a victorious assault on the English army at the siege of Orléans. Three years later, at just nineteen years old, accused of witchcraft, heresy and dressing like a man, Joan of Arc was burned at the stake. Her executioner reportedly was deeply disturbed by how she prayed through the entire ordeal and became terrified when her heart would not burn, despite his attempts to consume it with pitch and oil. Afterward, he came to the court fearing he had brought the wrath of God upon them all, convinced that a grave mistake had been made. After a long process that began in 1869, Joan of Arc was canonized as a saint by Pope Benedict XV on May 16, 1920.

Artemisia Gentileschi: (1593-~1654) Artemisia Gentileschi achieved the unattainable for a woman of the 17th century: success as a painter. Daughter of Italian painter Orazio Gentileschi and a contemporary student of Caravaggio, Gentlieschi is widely regarded as one of the best baroque painters, achieving much more commercial success than her father. In 1616, she became the first woman to join the celebrated Accademia del Disegno (Florentine Academy of Art.) She regularly acted as her own model for her paintings using mirrors, and favored active poses for the women she depicted, which distinguished her from her contemporaries. Informed by the trauma of assault as a teenager and a very public trial of the rapist, many of her works are described as a graphic pushback against male violence.

Moms Mabley: (1894-1975) Billed as “the funniest woman in the world,” Jackie “Moms” Mabley was a stand-up comedian and a pioneer in the “Chitlin’ Circuit” of African-American vaudeville performers. Mabley’s on-stage persona was that of an older woman in a frumpy house dress, often making raunchy jokes about younger men. Contrary to her stage persona, off stage, Mabley was known for dressing elegantly and living openly as a lesbian. Her costume choices and persona were satirical commentary about racism and sexism. Finding success in a white-male dominated world, Mabley recorded many comedy albums, starred in several commercially successful films, and was a regular guest on popular variety shows, including “The Ed Sullivan Show.” Mabley was a regular headliner at the Apollo Theater, holding the distinction of being the first woman to perform there.

Eve: In the Abrahamic faith tradition, Eve is the first woman created by God from man’s rib. The book of Genesis describes Satan appearing as a serpent to Eve, tempting her to eat fruit from the forbidden Tree of Knowledge. Eve ate the fruit before offering it to Adam, causing the two to be banished from the Garden of Eden. Eve is often depicted in artwork as the temptress of Adam. Since the 20th century, feminist scholars and theologians have reevaluated Eve, often arguing that she has been unfairly maligned and should instead be celebrated as a seeker of knowledge and symbol of feminine wisdom.

Anne Bonny: (1697-early 1700s) Anne Bonny was an Irish-American pirate, winning fame as one of the few female pirates during the “golden age of piracy.” In 1720, Bonny abandoned her sailor husband to live a life pirating merchant vessels along the coast of Jamaica. Just a few short months into her pirating career, Bonny and her shipmates were captured by English authorities, tried and sentenced to death. Bonny was issued a stay of execution and released from prison, likely due to her father’s connections as a wealthy attorney. She returned to live the rest of her life in what is now Charlestown, South Carolina.

Mary Read: (1695-1721) Mary Read spent much of her life disguised as a man and rose to infamy as a female pirate alongside Anne Bonny. Read spent several years in the Belgian military, in camouflage as a man, before marrying a fellow soldier. After her husband’s death, Read again presented herself as a man and went to work as a sailor. Her ship was seized by pirates in the West Indies, and Read herself became a buccaneer. She soon came aboard the same pirate ship as Anne Bonny, where the two earned a reputation for ruthlessness. Captured by English officials, she and the entire pirating crew were tried and sentenced to death. Read died while imprisoned in 1721.

Maria Mitchell: (1818-1889) Maria Mitchell was America’s first female astronomer. Mitchell discovered a comet in 1847 that was later named “Miss Mitchell’s Comet.” In 1865, she became Professor of Astronomy at the newly-founded Vassar College. She was a founder of the Association for the Advancement of Women, the first woman member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and one of the first women members of the American Philosophical Society. Her position as the computer for the ephemeris of Venus for the US Nautical Almanac made her one of the first women employed by the US federal government.

Amelia Earhart: (1897-1937) Amelia Earhart was an American aviator and the first woman to pilot solo across the Atlantic Ocean in 1932. Prior to this achievement, Earhart gained sensational fame as the first female to fly across the Atlantic as a passenger in 1928. She capitalized on her fame to promote many feminist causes, founded an organization for female pilots, and launched a line of functional clothing for women. In 1937, Earhart set out to fly around the world, but her plane was mysteriously lost over the Pacific Ocean. Neither the plane nor Earhart’s body were ever recovered.

Sally Ride: (1951-2012) Sally Ride made history as the first American woman to go to space in June of 1983. Ride held a doctorate in physics and went to space on two separate shuttle missions. After a decade-long career with NASA, Ride left to join the faculty at the University of California as a physics professor. Ride founded her own company, Sally Ride Science, in 2001 with the mission of motivating young women to pursue careers in science, technology and math. Ride was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2013.

Nikki Giovanni: (1943-2024) Nikki Giovanni was an award-winning African-American poet, educator, and activist, as well as a foremost author of the Black Arts Movement. Giovanni held seven NAACP Image Awards, was a Grammy nominee, and was a finalist for the National Book Award. Self-described as “militant poet and dreamer,” Giovanni’s works explore race, gender, sexuality, and the African-American family. She taught at many universities, including Virginia Tech as a University Distinguished Professor until her death in 2024. 

Mary Shelley: (1797-1851) Famed author of Frankenstein, Mary Shelley is considered “the mother of science fiction,” at the time a newly emerging genre. She famously spent a summer in 1816 with poet Lord Byron during which she conceptualized Frankenstein. During her lifetime, rather than being acclaimed for her own writing, Shelley was most remembered for being the daughter of celebrated writer Mary Wollstonecraft and famed novelist William Godwin, and wife of celebrated poet Percy Shelley. Shelley is the author of a total of 8 novels and editor of several volumes of her husband’s work.

Marie Curie: (1867-1934) A two-time Nobel Prize award winning Polish-French physicist and chemist, Marie Curie was one the most renowned scientists of her time. Curie’s discovery of radium and research was crucial in the development of x-ray technology. During World War I, she helped outfit ambulances with x-ray equipment. Curie was the first woman to teach at the elite Sorbonne University in Paris. Curie died in 1934 from leukemia caused by her studies of radiation.

Elizabeth Packard: (1816-1897) Elizabeth Packard was an American advocate for mental health and women's rights. A wife to a conservative Calvinist minister and mother of six children, Packard was involuntarily committed to the Illinois Hospital for the Insane. At the time, a husband could have his wife involuntarily committed with no trial. After three years, the hospital declared her incurably insane and released her. Never divorcing from her husband, but never again living with him, Packard published books detailing her abuse at the hospital and spent the rest of her life advocating for the mentally ill and women. She won reforms to commitment laws in four states, as well as a law protecting married women’s property. In Iowa, Maine, and Massachusetts, she helped win the fight for regular visiting teams that monitored conditions in asylums. In Iowa, “Packard’s Law” made it illegal for asylum officials to intercept patients’ mail.