Musical Theatre songwriting has always been a boys’ club. But women have been writing musicals—a lot of them—since the 19th century! This revue will trace the history of women writing music or lyrics from the early days of operetta and musical comedy through the Golden Age, the Post-Golden Age, and today. From early songs you might not know were written by a woman—“Ah Sweet Mystery of Life” and “Hey Big Spender”—to the feminist anthems in A…My Name is Alice and I’m Getting My Act Together and Taking it on the Road up to the last decade’s explosion of women writing musicals from the serious to the ridiculous.
