“SOLDIERGIRLS”
A new musical by Em Weinstein
with original music by Emily Johnson Erday
A brand new 2-person musical, SOLDIERGIRLS uses real letters and a collage of found and original text to look at love, liberation and lesbianism in the US Army’s Women’s Army Corps in World War II. SOLDIERGIRLS has been previously workshopped with New York Theater Workshop and Rattlestick Theater and was made possible by a commission from En Garde Arts. PBS All Arts covered the show in a recent episode.
On Monday, August 31st Rattlestick Theater presented a benefit concert of SOLDIERGIRLS, which raised several thousand dollars for SPART*A (Service Members, Partners, Allies for Respect and Tolerance for All). The evening featured an all-star cast including Tony Award-winner Jenn Colella (Come From Away), Tony Award-nominee Lilli Cooper (Tootsie, SpongeBob SquarePants), Chilina Kennedy (Beautiful: The Carole King Musical), Ezra Menas (Jagged Little Pill, Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of West Side Story), Melanie Field (Paramount Network's Heathers, Pop TV’s Florida Girls, Amazon’s A League of Thier Own) and Jessie Shelton (Hadestown).
SOLDIERGIRLS was previously workshopped with New York Theater Workshop and Rattlestick Playwrights Theater and was made possible by a commission from En Garde Arts. PBS covered the piece in a recent episode, which you can watch here
THE CAST
COSTUME SKETCHES for SOLDIERGIRLS by designer Sophia Choi:
PBS ALL ARTS on the Development of SOLDIERGIRLS:
Press
NEW YORK TIMES
“A chronicle of love in the Women’s Army Corps during World War II, Em Weinstein and Emily Johnson-Erday’s new musical “Soldiergirls” has enrolled quite the roster of participants for its online concert version, starting with Jenn Colella (“Come From Away”), Lilli Cooper (“Tootsie”) and Chilina Kennedy (“Beautiful”).”
THEATER TIMES
“Throughout history, and to this day, we seem to be incapable of separating women and fashion. This was no different for the Women’s Army Corps (WAC). Fashion was a strong tool that was used to recruit soldiers, and to subdue any public outcry regarding women joining the army. When you look at the 1940s propaganda imagery produced by the WAC, they genuinely look more like beauty advertisements – the red lipstick, the cinched waists, the perfectly permed hairstyles. And in many ways, when you were a soldier in the WAC, there was a lot of pressure to maintain this pristine feminine appearance.”
PLAYBILL
“The hour-long presentation will feature a mix of scenes, songs, and duets interspersed with conversations about the show with its creators as well as a presentation of research and original artwork by costume designer Sophia Choi, set designer Stephanie Cohen, and dramaturg Rebecca Adelsheim.”
ABOUT SPART*A
SPART*A is a group of transgender people who currently serve or have served in the military. Membership is open to transgender (to include non-binary and gender-nonconforming) individuals currently serving in the United States Armed Forces. We also offer smaller groups for families of transgender service members, veterans, and allies. SPART*A’s mission is to advocate for our actively serving transgender military members, veterans, and their families. SPART*A provides our members with a peer support network, assistance in navigating military transgender policy and health care, and educational resources for their professional development. SPART*A actively coordinates and collaborates with other LGBT advocacy organizations to promote an inclusive military environment that values the contributions of all Americans with the desire to serve.
About Rattlestick Playwrights Theater
Founded in 1994, Rattlestick Playwrights Theater consistently produces new voices and works that are provocative and immediate in both form and substance. Rattlestick has a deep commitment to producing fierce works that challenge and stimulate audiences to confront the complexities of our culture. Notable
productions include: Diana Oh’s {mylingerieplay}, Dael Orlandersmith’s Until the Flood, Samuel D. Hunter’s The Few and Lewiston/Clarkston, Jesse Eisenberg’s The Revisionist, Jonathan Tolins’ Buyer and Cellar, Lucy Thurber’s The Hilltown Plays, Adam Rapp’s The Hallway Trilogy, and Martyna Majok’s Ironbound.