Inspirational musical sings for gender equality

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By Laura Drinan
Hometown Weekly Reporter

On August 26, 1920, the Nineteenth Amendment was adopted into the Constitution, giving female citizens the right to vote in the United States. To mark this incredible victory for women, “We Did It For You!”, a musical about the amazing women who fought for gender equality, hit the stage at Medfield’s First Parish on August 26.

Playwright Thea Iberall took Maya Angelou’s powerful poem, “Equality,” to the stage to begin the evening before introducing a handful of open microphone performers, including singer/songwriters, storytellers, and poets. Iberall also introduced her play, which has been live-streamed to over 176 countries and stars volunteers, rather than paid actresses. The play has been in production since 2010, and Iberall plans to take it to every state (and to Washington, D.C.) to relay the importance of women and their rights to equality.

“I wrote this play and it took a lot of research,” said Iberall, as her audience eagerly awaited the start of the show. “I was looking to tell this story of how women gained their equality and how it came to be that they could vote. This story is not in the standard history books. I wanted to create a story that would be relevant to all women.”

As the Massachusetts premiere of “We Did It For You!” began, a teenage girl walked onto the stage, chatting away on her iPhone and complaining about her history assignment with the prompt “Who was the most important woman in history?” Suddenly, dozens of influential women throughout history approach the young Melanie to tell her about their feats in a sexist society.

Projectors to the left and right of the stage showed pictures and brief biographies of the on-stage representations of the historical women. While the musical provided a wealth of information, it was also entertaining with its clever dialogue and comedic elements. As the maker of the original Star Spangled Banner flag, Mary Young Pickersgill, played by Nyanna Susan Tobin, took the stage, she exclaimed: “If it wasn’t for those of us who stayed up day and night to make the flag, [Francis Scott Key] wouldn’t have had anything to write about!”

However, many parts of the performance shed light on the cruel conditions under which women survived. Adrienne Williams, while representing Sojourner Truth on stage, spoke about the physical and emotional hardships placed on women with her performance of Truth’s speech, “Ain’t I a Woman?” Williams, as Truth, also revealed it was not uncommon for women to have more than ten babies and endure physical abuse, even while pregnant.

The play also featured more modern women, like Billie Jean King (played by Susan Stromgren) and Hillary Clinton (played by De Springer), who have helped to advance feminism. The projector also showed slides of other women in sports, politics, and avionics, who have proved that women belong in the male-dominated fields.

With catchy musical numbers, a dash of comic relief, and a huge history lesson on feminism, “We Did It For You!” received immensely positive reception from the Medfield audience.

Iberall’s dream of taking the musical around the nation will certainly become a reality with the same motivation that previous generations of women brought to the issue of gender equality.