'Respect' Performance at Gordon Center Tells Stories of American Women Through Music

There are many ways to tell stories about history, and pop music seems to be an effective way to reach a broad audience.

More than 200 people attended the matinee show Wednesday at the of Respect: A Musical Journey of Women, which makes the argument that looking at how women have been portrayed in pop music can provide insight into how American culture values them.

The show has played all over the U.S. and internationally since its inception in 2004.

The play is written by Dr. Dorothy Marcic, who adapted her book Respect: Women and Popular Music into a theater production. While conducting research for a lecture, Marcic found that she could quite effectively use popular music to tell stories. With a mix of more than 50 pop songs of the last century, from Betty Boop to Britney Spears, the story uses music to describe how women were feeling or how society viewed them in key moments in American history.

Perhaps you never thought about how songs like “I Will Follow Him" and “Stand by Your Man” provide insight into the way women were viewed during the time of their release. But Marcic argues that these songs reflect how our culture viewed women of the time and reinforces the ideal that women should be submissive.

The audience follows the story of how Americana has evolved while the characters perform some of the most popular songs by female artists of the past 100 years. Anthems like "I Will Survive" — and, of course "Respect" — eventually concludes the show. The characters find themselves finally seen as strong and independent, confirmed by the music of popular culture.

Most of the audience members at Wedneday's performance were out of their seats and dancing by the show's finale, and had nothing but good things to say about the experience.

Myra Puritz attended the show with about 20 of her friends and said she would definitely see it again. The group decided to take a suggestion from one of their own who had seen the show performed in Ohio last year.

“I loved it, it was music from my era, I’m a baby boomer so it was just great,” she said. “There wasn’t anything you couldn’t like about it, very entertaining.”

Paul Keavy surprised his wife Marge with a pair of tickets to the show but found he was surprised that he actually enjoyed it himself.

“There’s not a song in the play that I didn’t know,” he said.

“It opened my eyes and I’m 70 years old,” he went on to explain. “Through the music I really realize the path they [women] took.” After a smile from Marge, Keavy was quick to add, “They’re still taking.”

The cast is made up of a narrator and three women archetype characters backed by a live band. The ladies spoke briefly after the show and provided some insight into the significance of the stories they are sharing.

Eileen Mathews narrates the play and said she believes the story has an important message for women.

“I think it’s good to see what the women before us really gave to us,” she said. “If it wasn’t for them we wouldn’t be where we are today.”

Mathews also said she enjoys the opportunity to interact with the audience and making those connections adds something special to the story.

“Unlike most plays where there is that fourth wall with this it is broken,” she said. “We’re interacting and having a conversation with the audience.”

The show will be playing through March 6 and tickets are still available. For more information on show times and ticket prices, visit the Gordon Center website.

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