HERstory Musical Shows

Description

Chicago cabaret artists Anita Kallen and Catherine Thomson utilize a style of musical storytelling described as "smart with heart." They entertain, of course, but also educate and inspire with an hour of songs and stories that are interesting, intriguing, humorous, and uplifting - for both women and men.
"HERstory: Trailblazing Female Firsts" - salutes the gutsy gals who defied society's conventions, going where no woman had gone before, and achieved groundbreaking female "Firsts" with songs by Harold Arlen, Stephen Schwartz, Dolly Parton, Tom Lehrer, Kander & Ebb, and Sara Bareilles, among others. "HERstory: The 19th Amendment and the Power of the Vote!" "“ celebrates, in song and "HERstory," the rabble-rousing pioneers who won the right to vote for the women of America. With music by Sondheim, Lennon & McCartney, the Sherman Brothers, Parton, Schwartz, Porter, and others, Anita and Catherine weave in the story of women's suffrage from second-class citizenship at the nation's founding to the nail-biting final days in the fight for the amendment's ratification and to present-day efforts to maximize the power of women voting. Head to HERstoryMusicalShows.com for more information on these shows and Anita and Catherine's newest creation, "HERstory: A Century of Songwriting Sisters," debuting in 2023.

Work Sample

"HERstory: Trailblazing Female Firsts" debuted in March 2022 and has since been performed throughout the Chicago area for libraries, senior residences, community centers, and both civic and corporate organizations. Chicago cabaret artists Catherine Thomson and Anita Kallen salute the gutsy gals who boldly defied society's conventions - going where no woman had gone before - and achieved groundbreaking female "Firsts." With songs by Harold Arlen, Stephen Schwartz, Dolly Parton, Tom Lehrer, Kander & Ebb, and Sara Bareilles, among others, Anita and Catherine weave in inspiring stories of amazing women and their trailblazing triumphs. Their first audiences enthusiastically responded with standing ovations. If you're looking for an hour or so of "edutainment", check out their website, HerstoryMusicalShows.com, for more information about "HERstory: Trailblazing Female Firsts." Sample Audience Quotes: "Truly a 5-star show!" "Fantastic show!! I loved learning about strong women and their journeys. Thank you for the music and laughs!"
"You get two women with TOP NOTCH performing skills and songs that will bring a laugh to your throat and a tear to your eye." "It made me proud to be a woman!"

"HERstory: The 19th Amendment and The Power of the Vote!" debuted in June 2019 with a sold-out performance at Davenport's Cabaret in Chicago and has since been performed throughout the Chicagoland area for libraries, senior residences, civic, religious and corporate organizations. Catherine and Anita prove that "well-behaved women seldom make history" when they celebrate "“ in song and HERstory "“ the rabble-rousing pioneers who won the right to vote for the women of America. With music by Sondheim, Lennon & McCartney, the Sherman Brothers, Parton, Schwartz, Porter, and others, they weave in the story of women's suffrage from second-class citizenship at the nation's founding to the nail-biting final days in the fight for ratification of the 19th Amendment and then to present-day efforts to maximize the power of women voting. Catherine and Anita would love to bring this dynamic blend of music and history to your venue. Please check out their website HerstoryMusicalShows.com for more information on "HERstory: The 19th Amendment and the Power of the Vote!"

Sample Audience Quotes:
"A wonderful performance by smart, strong women with beautiful voices, music, humor and a fantastic historical journey shared."
"Thoughtful, clever, funny, beautifully sung!"
"An amazing journey told and sung by amazing women."

The "HERstory" shows we have submitted for this roster demonstrate our commitment to produce and perform shows that entertain our audiences and send them away just a little bit "smarter." When we speak to audience members after our shows, we usually hear something along the lines of, "I hadn't known that!" And we ALWAYS have people tell us how much our shows educate and inspire. Although our HERstory shows focus on female triumphs (and tribulations), they appeal to both men and women. We construct our shows with something for everyone!

History

Anita Kallen and Catherine Thomson met in the summer of 2010, when they were among 38 students from around the world selected to attend the International Cabaret Conference at Yale University. They worked with Broadway veterans such as Faith Prince and Tovah Feldshuh, as well as cabaret legend Julie Wilson. In 2011, they debuted their first successful two-woman show at Davenport's Cabaret in Chicago: "Dangerous Women." In 2019, they premiered a sold-out debut of their HERstory Musical Series with a celebration of the women and men who fought for passage of the 19th Amendment, the law that affirmed women's right to vote. When the pandemic caused the cancellation of live performances, they promoted a digital version of the show, which played to audiences around the country from 2019 to 2021. In March, 2022 they debuted their newest show, "HERstory: Trailblazing Female Firsts," at Davenport's Cabaret and received standing ovations at both performances. In addition to their work as a duo, Anita and Catherine have each logged considerable success as solo cabaret performers and theatre actors. Both have several successful solo shows to their credit. Please check out their website HerstoryMusicalShows.com for more information on their experience as performers.

Artistic Vision

We approach our cabaret shows as more than just an hour or so of music. Cabaret is, for us, a form of musical storytelling and we have developed a "brand" over the last several years that has been described as "smart "“ with heart." We strive to entertain, of course, but also to educate and inspire with material that we personally find interesting, intriguing, humorous, moving, and uplifting. A sampling of our Audience Quotes (included earlier) and Critics' Reviews (below) suggests we are succeeding: Catherine Thomson is "...a cabaret artist to watch. Not only does she sing like a canary and move like a cat, she gets the art of cabaret and thus is, above all, a wonderful story teller." "“ Cabaret Scenes magazine. "Thomson brings much to the cabaret table... She landed the humor beautifully." "“ Cabaret Scenes magazine. Anita Kallen is "rock solid vocally and confident interpretively which enables her to tell a heck of a story... Today's confident shimmery Kallen has become a real entertainer!" -- Cabaret Scenes magazine. "The grand Anita Kallen....engages the audience with her delightful style of storytelling." -- Chicago TheatreBeat.