From George Gershwin's "Someone to Watch Over Me" to Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive" and from Aretha Franklin's "R.E.S.P.E.C.T" to Nancy Sinatra's "These Boots Are Made for Walking," the international hit musical Respect: A Musical Journey of Women recounts the exciting story of women in the 20th century through Top 40 songs. The show will play at the Herberger Theater Center, 222 E. Monroe, from Wednesday, Dec. 22 through Sunday, Jan. 16, 2011.
The show was created by Vanderbilt University professor Dr. Dorothy Marcic based on her book, RESPECT: Women and Popular Music, through which she analyzed all Top-40 female song lyrics since 1900. The show includes hits like "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy," "Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend," "Where The Boys Are," "I Am Woman," "At Seventeen" and dozens more right up to the present day.
Performances are Wednesdays at 2 and 7 p.m., Thursdays at 7 p.m., Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 2 and 8 p.m. and Sundays at 1 and 5 p.m. Tickets are $45 to $55 and available at the Herberger Theater Center Box Office at (602) 252-8497 or online at www.herbergertheater.org. Group discounts are available for 20 or more.
This popular, high-energy musical is for "Girls (and Guys) Who Just Wanna Have Fun!" It combines excerpts from 60 songs with women's owns stories about finding dreams, lost loves, relationship issues and entering the workplace. It's the story of women from co-dependent to independent and from property of their husbands to presidents of corporations.
The original version of the show began in 1999 featuring the author herself, and was developed into the full-scale musical theater production in 2004. The show has now played all over the USA including Boston, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, West Palm Beach, Ft. Lauderdale, Green Bay and Minneapolis as well as around the world in cities including Melbourne and Brisbaine, Australia.
Pop diva Patti LaBelle recently saw the show and said "I Loved the Show! It was the sound track of my life. Everyone should go see it!" BroadwayWorld.com called it "One heck of a Fun Ride!" and the Philadelphia Inquirer said: ""RESPECT is FUN. Women Love RESPECT. They Adore it. It's Wildly Successful!" This exhilarating musical will leave the audience literally dancing in the aisles.
The show is produced by Philip Roger Roy & Dana Matthow, who brought last year's hit, A Jew Grows in Brooklyn to the Herberger, and directed by veteran Broadway Producer and Director Bud Martin, whose recent producer credits include London's current hit Legally Blond and the New York productions of 9 to 5 and Burn the Floor.
For more information, visit www.respectamusicaljourney.com.
