Hit revue celebrates women’s journey through popular music
From
Betty Boop to Tina Turner and Lily Langtree to Cyndi Lauper, female pop
stars and their music provide a vivid reflection of how much has
changed for American women in the last 100 years. That’s the story
celebrated in the hit musical revue RESPECT: A Musical Journey of Women, playing at Sierra Repertory Theatre’s East Sonora stage July 26 through September 1.
Four
powerhouse performers and a live band draw from decades of Top 40 hits
in this non-stop song-and-dance showcase of women’s challenges,
opportunities and triumphs. An international hit, it has packed houses
and brought audiences to their feet from coast to coast.
The
exuberant song list stretches from period standards such as “Won’t You
Come Home Bill Bailey,” “Someone to Watch Over Me,” and “Boogie Woogie
Bugle Boy,” to pop fare like “Where the Boys Are” and “Bobbie’s Girl”
through energized anthems like “These Boots Are Made For Walkin’,” “I Am
Woman,” “I Will Survive” and “Girls Just Want To Have Fun.” A narrator
puts the songs in context, so we experience them as a timeline and see
how they punctuated turning points in women’s history.
“Just
hearing these songs that we all love is great fun in and of itself,”
said SRT Managing Director Sara Jones, “and getting to look at them from
this slightly different angle adds depth.”
Backstage
called it “a lively, entertaining journey through heartache, joy, and
liberation… performances by a sizzling ensemble make for a fun ride.”
BroadwayWorld called it “one heck of a fun ride... a must-see and
must-hear musical that you will want to see more than once!” The Arizona
Weekly Magazine said: “How do you spell hit—with a capital H?
R-E-S-P-E-C-T! …An entertaining and drop-dead funny musical …a ride
through a glorious soundtrack about women over the last 100 years!”
New
Jersey guest artist Brian Swasey directs and choreographs SRT’s
production, and SRT’s Mark Seiver is the musical director who leads the
live, on-stage band.
Swasey, a busy freelancer who works at regional theaters up and down the East Coast, is eager to get this production under way.
“I
saw the show in Philadelphia, and the audience just ate it up,” he
said. “It’s remarkable – and so much fun. The show played there six
months – they just kept extending it.”
Creator
Dorothy Marcic, a Vanderbilt University professor, based the show on
her book that looked at the development of the women’s movement through
the lyrics of Top 40 hits from each decade. That gives the show very
personal appeal, Swasey said.
“Everyone
in the audience, all ages, has personal attachments to this music. You
hear a snippet and it creates a personal feeling.
“It’s a fun 90 minutes, you’re going down your own personal memory lane and you can just enjoy being entertained.”
Swasey’s cast includes Kacey Coppola, who was in last year’s smash hit Ring of Fire at the Fallon House, Nancy O’Bryan who just finished playing Karen in SRT’s wildly successful production of Church Basement Ladies, Southern California performer Tracie Franklin (SRT’s Ain’t Misbehavin’, Sweet Charity and All Night Strut) and SRT newcomer Courtney Nolan-Smith, a New York performer who has worked with Swasey in several shows on the East Coast.
Joining
Seiver are Dennis Dragan on bass, Mark Kreuzer on drums and Josh Weeks
on guitar. The live band, Seiver said, will really punch up the energy
of the show.
“The
show isn’t locked in,” he said. “It can grove a little different every
single night. I’m excited at the breadth of styles we get to explore.”
SRT
guest artist Rand Endlow of University of the Pacific will design the
set with its scores of digital projections. Costume design is by guest
artist Jose M. Rivera (SRT’s Oklahoma!, I Love a Piano), lighting by Christopher Van Tuyl, props by SRT’s Mercy Sharpe and stage management by SRT’s Lia Metz.
SRT’s production of RESPECT: A Musical Journey of Women,
is presented with the help of our Season Sponsor Clarke Broadcasting
(radio stations KVML, 92Q and KKBN and MyMotherLode.com) and underwriter
MicroTronics.
RESPECT opens Friday, July 26 and plays through Sunday, September 1 at SRT’s East Sonora stage. Thursday and Friday performances begin at 7, Saturday evening performances are at 8 and Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday
matinees begin at 2. Ticket prices range from $26 to $32 depending on
the day of the performance. For more information or reservations, call
Sierra Rep’s box office at (209) 532-3120 or visit Sierra Rep at www.sierrarep.org.
