Audiences have a chance, one day only, to see a Broadway-style production while it’s still in development when “19: A Musical 100 Years in the Making” comes to Bethlehem May 25.
The show celebrates the grueling battle that many brave women fought to attain passage of the 19th Amendment guaranteeing them the right to vote.
Next year is the 100th anniversary of the ratification of that amendment.
This will be a concert presentation of songs and vignettes, not the fully-realized show which is still being refined.
It will interweave the story of the women’s movement through selected events in the life of Alice Paul, a leader in the campaign to get the 19th Amendment passed and ratified. Later Paul went on to write the Equal Rights Amendment to win equality for women in all areas.
The show follows Paul as she collaborates with four others who devoted their lives to women’s suffrage – Lucy Burns, Carrie Chapman Catt, Christabel Pankhurst, and Ida B. Wells.
Theirs was a battle for political, social and financial equality between the sexes that is still being fought today.
The concert performance will be presented by Crowded Kitchen Players (CKP) twice on May 25 and will include some of the CKP troupe in the cast.
CKP also will provide projection mapping, sound, lighting and other production assistance.
The concert presentation is comprised of 17 of the 24 songs that will be part of the finished show.
Similar concert performances have been given in the Washington, D.C., area with the goal of producing the full-fledged musical by the end of this year.
Book and lyrics are by Jennifer Schwed and Doug Bradshaw in partnership as “Through the Fourth Wall.”
CKP fans will recognize the composer and piano accompanist as Easton native Charlie Barnett, author of CKP”s plays “Him and Jim” last year and “12Ness” in 2017.
The multi-talented Barnett, now based in Maryland, has won several awards for his music for film, TV and stage.
He also has appeared locally playing piano and guitar with his jazz band Chaise Lounge and has produced many pop and jazz record albums.
Schwed has said “19” is part of the women’s equal rights movement, intended to inspire the audience to further the cause.
In a Broadway World online interview she said, “What’s both sad and fascinating is that the story does not feel historical.
"So much of what we’re talking about is happening today, yesterday, a month ago, and we’ll hear it again tomorrow.”
“19: The Musical 100 Years in the Making,” 3 and 7 p.m. May 25, Charles A. Brown IceHouse, 56 River St., Bethlehem. All tickets $14.
For additional information, call 610-395-7176, write
www.ckplayers.com