As 2024 is a Presidential election year in the United States, it only makes sense to look at history to see how far we’ve come, while also taking those lessons as a reminder of what we hope to never repeat. With numerous attacks on women’s bodily autonomy, the threat to trans healthcare, and systemic racism underpinning the way voting rights are being targeted by conservative lawmakers, there has never been a better time to look back in order to move forward. Hell, the Equal Rights Amendment still has never been ratified in the U.S. Constitution!
Art and music is often a powerful and cathartic way of allowing us to make sense of a changing world, especially one that is in political turmoil. A revolutionary new musical audiobook is allowing us to do just that, by highlighting the struggles and triumphs of the women’s suffrage movement in the United States.
Through a combination of engaging dialogue and a variety of musical styles, the untold stories of the women’s suffrage movement are being brought to life in the groundbreaking new musical audiobook “19: The Musical” (March 2024, Through the 4th Wall) from creators Jennifer Schwed and Doug Bradshaw.
Delving into the contentious nature of the suffrage movement, the audiobook highlights the marginalized roles of these women and focuses on the remarkable contributions of under-appreciated figures such as Alice Paul, Carrie Chapman Catt and Ida B. Wells. Spanning the life of Alice Paul’s entrance into the suffrage movement in the early 1900s through to the ratification of the 19th Amendment in 1920, the musical chronicles the sacrifices and setbacks faced by suffrage luminaries. The racially diverse cast brings a contemporary spin to historical events.
There are far too many contemporary celebrations of the ratification of the 19th amendment that unfortunately fail to mention that the right to vote in 1920 was reserved for white women only. To see a production that not only mentions the struggle of women of color, but make it an essential part of the story, is refreshing and well overdue.
“19” joins musicals like “Hamilton,” “Assassins” and “Six” that look to examine, educate and entertain through a historical lens. And despite being set a century ago, this book will resonate with modern audiences. Ultimately, this revolutionary audiobook about revolutionary women is a crucial addition to the ongoing fight for equality.
We had the chance to speak with Jennifer Schwed about the creation of ’19’, why it was essential to center the stories of Black women leaders, and what cultural role she hopes the musical audiobook will play in the lead up to the November election.
Before we dive into everything “19: The Musical”, can you tell us a little about your background – where did your creative career begin and how did you get to where you are today?
Ever since I can remember, I’ve always had a creative pursuit underway! My career has always been in visual design, and I started to branch out into live theatrical productions about 10 years ago. I had seen Sleep No More, an immersive theatrical production, in NYC and was profoundly moved by it. I became determined to recreate that feeling and experience in Washington, DC [where I live]. That’s when Doug Bradshaw and I launched our company, Through the 4th Wall, a theater, film and multimedia company. Inspired by my love of Sleep No More, we created A Dream Within A Dream, an award-winning immersive show about Edgar Allan Poe.
A few years later, Hamilton arrived on Broadway and that was yet another creative turning point for us. Though neither Doug nor I are musicians, we were inspired by the ability to creatively tell an important American historical story. As we were fast approaching the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment and suffrage, I suggested we create a show to honor the women who doggedly—and successfully—fought for the rights of American women.
19 Originally began as a stage musical, but COVID completely changed the course of the project’s future. Can you talk us through the process of pivoting to a musical audiobook, and the emotional journey you went on throughout this time?
In the spring of 2020, we were preparing to take 19 to NYC for an ‘industry reading’—which is an opportunity to perform in front of producers and directors and potentially secure funding for a Broadway production. We were literally on the phone, interviewing a director for 19 in NYC, when announcements started coming in about everything closing down, up to and including theater.
Like everyone, we at first thought this would be a minor derailment and we continued to do talks and small events for 19 online. When the uncertainty of COVID continued, we shelved the idea and turned to working on other projects. Even when shows started coming back, COVID was hitting casts and cancelling performances and even entire runs of shows, so 19 stayed on the shelf.
But watching the political unrest in this country and enduring the continued frustration of policy choices that hurt and undermined women across the country, we knew we would have to bring 19 back to the public in some way, shape or form.
We had always been interested in 19 reaching an audience beyond the stage and we had hoped it might one day be a show performed at schools and universities. Instead of waiting for the chance to go to NYC again or restaging the production locally in DC, we decided to go with a completely different track: an audiobook. After listening to Angels in America on Audible, we realized that 19 could also work in that format, and our audience could be anywhere in the country or even the world.
For those who might not be familiar with what the 19 stands for, can you give us a brief background, and why it is significant today?
“19” stands for the 19th Amendment, the amendment that granted [white] women the right to vote. It reads: The Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits the United States and its states from denying the right to vote to citizens of the United States on the basis of sex, in effect recognizing the right of women to vote.
Voting rights are in the news nearly every day. It is a fight that is still happening across this country. Couple this with the rights of women being stripped away and the story of 19 becomes more relevant than ever, even one hundred years after the passage of the amendment.
While people may know about the suffragettes and some of the history thanks to documentaries, scripted movies etc, there are aspects of the fight that have not been showcased enough in mainstream media, namely the exclusion of Black and Brown women. Why was it important for you to include this issue in your musical?
The only way to tell the story of suffrage is to tell the full story, and that includes the stories of women of color. For us, creating a musical meant we only had two hours to tell a story that spans decades. That meant we had to create powerful, memorable moments that illuminated the treatment of Black women during this fight. History should be a lesson, not a celebration. We ignore the stories of those who have been marginalized at our own peril. This is evidenced by watching the very vivid threats to democracy in real time.
There are many difficult conversations that are had in 19. Power structures can make people comfortable, and you have to push people to be uncomfortable when your goal is to change minds and educate. The goal of studying history shouldn’t be how to make us proud; it should be a blueprint for how to make us better than our predecessors.
As Ida B. Wells said, “The way to right wrongs is to turn the light of truth upon them.”
Drawing parallels with so many of the discussions around white feminism today, what are some of the key takeaways we can learn from what the suffragettes ignored about women of color back in the day?
Primary among the key takeaways is that the white women of a century ago were not listening—nor acting—as we would expect progressive groups to act today. All voices need to be heard for true progress to occur. Otherwise, it’s half measures. And while the 19th amendment was passed based on sex, that did not stop legislatures and law makers from putting barriers into place post-1920. Some of those barriers disenfranchised non-white women.
We have the hindsight to understand that the language of the amendment would have been more favorable should the lawmakers have included discrimination based on race OR sex. If the word “race” was included in the amendment, it then becomes a theoretical exercise for historians to argue if it would have ever passed.
Can you talk us through the story and message behind the track ‘Reclaiming My Time’, and where the title came from?
In 2017, Maxine Waters famously interrupted a congressional hearing with “Reclaiming my time!” This phrase is used when a Congressperson requests their time back during a floor hearing, especially when someone before the committee is avoiding answering questions and trying to run out the clock on their examination. However, the way in which Representative Waters spoke those words was more like a demand than a request, like the voices of a million women who have been talked over, dismissed, and shut down.
At first, we used the line as a little wink to Representative Waters dropping some humor in a scene where Alice Paul confronts President Wilson in the Oval Office. But with more thought, it became a rallying cry (and a recurring song) for the women of 19. These suffragists were no longer willing to be spoken over or shut down. They were reclaiming their time, too.
Although it is primarily an audio musical, there are also visual clips people can watch. Can you tell us more about the filming process and what made you and your creative partner Doug include videos for this project?
Originally, 19 was made for the stage. We did about 30+ public workshops of parts of the show, and then a three-night mini-run of the full musical at the National Museum of Women in the Arts back in late 2019. So, over the years, we’ve filmed different parts of the production along with behind-the-scenes moments. Even though 19 is an audiobook now, we still felt these video clips give the project a sense of humanity and a point of relation. Also, the show will eventually make it back to the stage.
Reclaiming My Time from Art Portfolio: Jen on Vimeo.
Since it is Women’s History Month, what do you want audiences to know about the women in “19” that they may not have heard? What are some overlooked aspects of their stories you can share?
Nearly every aspect of suffrage has been overlooked in American history. Women are not a niche interest—they are literally half the population. The suffragists in 19 were responsible for the first “March on Washington” and created the blueprint for peaceful protest and non-violent resistance. And despite their non-violent (and lawful protests!) they were beaten in the streets, arrested and tortured in American prisons—right here in the DC area. These women are at the root of the Civil Rights movement in the U.S. Their stories have been buried, but they are not lost. Their stories are America’s history, and we are bringing those stories back into the light.
What role do you hope “19” will play in cultural conversations in the U.S. this year in the lead up to the November election?
Our fight is not over. Women still have many battles ahead of them and if they can look back and see the major successes they have accomplished, they will be inspired to keep the notion of their equality out of the hands of lawmakers and firmly within their own self-determination. 19 is the story of the value of the vote. The meaning of our voices. The continued existence of democracy and a more inclusive world.
You can learn more about ’19: The Musical’ on the website, listen to all the tracks on Spotify, and follow the production on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
