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After fair pay activist Lilly Ledbetter saw "We Did It For You!", she said, “This play should go to Washington.” This testimonial confirmed that the musical was more than just something to entertain people, but it was destined to take a center stage role in the political war for women’s rights. Written by Thea Iberall, "We Did It For You!" is a charming musical that tells of the struggles and triumphs women have undergone to get their basic rights in America. A high school student has a history project to figure out who has done the most for women of today, and she learns the answer from the women who were there. It is the ideal history lesson disguised as entertainment.
One young girl said, while leaving the show" “I didn’t know learning could be so fun.”
"We Did It for You!" has been performed across California, including for the DAR and League of Women Voters. Thousands of California high school and college students have seen it, and now it is being brought to Massachusetts.
One teacher said: “The play is an instructional gem.”
Local cast members Susan Stromgren as Billie Jean King, Adrienne Williams as Pauli Murray, Angie Nivers as Melanie, Meg Fisher as Lilly Ledbetter.
Paul Williams, the Oscar-winning songwriter, said: “Playwright Thea Iberall offers a multi century parade of feminine genius and courage, and does it with humor and fun. Your daughters must see this but, the men in your family will enjoy it, too.”
What exactly is "We Did It for You!" and what makes it so special? Playwright Iberall didn’t want to just tell the basic story of how the first wave of feminists like Susan B. Anthony put women’s suffrage on the national agenda and then how the second wave of feminists like Betty Friedan helped women overcome employment and financial discrimination. She dug deeper, doing research that brought in early influences on the women’s movement such as the Puritan Revolution and the civil war-era Abolitionist Movement. She also augmented the known stories with lesser-known activists. And she constructed the play around specific anecdotes. It’s not what the women did, but the how and why.
“The result is like peering at history through a magnifying glass,” Iberall said.
Local cast members Charlotte Eckler as Sarah Grimke, Libby Franck as Alice Paul, Ancelin Wolfe as Gloria Steinem.
"We Did It for You!" will be performed on January 13 at 7 p.m. at the United Church of Walpole, 30 Common Street. Tickets are $10 ($5 students), which can be purchased from Brown Paper Tickets or www.wediditforyou.org. After the performance, there will be a Q&A with the cast and playwright, plus a reception with refreshments from Starbucks. Teens and adults are welcomed.
The Walpole Peace and Justice Group and the League of Women Voters of Walpole, Westwood, and Dedham are sponsoring this performance. This presentation is supported in part by a grant from the Walpole Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency. For more information, contact [email protected].
