鈥淲e鈥檙e coming right out of the gate saying we鈥檙e women, we鈥檙e here, we鈥檙e making musical theatre. We鈥檙e going to sing rock music right into your faces.鈥� That鈥檚 how artistic director Harmony France describes the first show in Firebrand Theatre鈥檚 inaugural season. The first equity, feminist musical theatre company (which ) founded by France and Danni Smith will stage the Chicago premiere of Lizzie, a rock-and-roll retelling of the myth of Lizzie Borden. They鈥檙e following it with 9 to 5, the warm and sweet adaptation of the movie about women in the workplace. 鈥淭hey actually complement each other really well,鈥� she says. 鈥淯ltimately, they鈥檙e both about sisterhood.鈥�
If you鈥檙e surprised that Firebrand Theatre is the first company of its kind, you鈥檙e not alone. It surprised France too: 鈥淚 woke up one day and I realized, why was I fine with this being the status quo? Musical theatre moves you, it touches parts of you that can鈥檛 be touched by just words. Why shouldn鈥檛 women be the focus of that experience?鈥� And she believes Chicago is the perfect birthplace for this endeavor. 鈥淲e鈥檙e innovators, we鈥檙e rabble-rousers here. We鈥檙e absolutely fearless. We don鈥檛 let things fly, we shut it down,鈥� says France. The movement towards activist art has become a hot topic in Chicago. over have given way to real conversations about how to make theatre feel like a welcoming place for women and their stories. It鈥檚 created fertile ground for a company like Firebrand.
But what makes a musical feminist? That鈥檚 where the Firebrand Test comes in. It鈥檚 a new take on the Bechdel Test and the three tenets lay out the framework for the kind of shows you can expect to see at their theatre. First, there must be at least as many women as men in the cast. Second, the show must lend itself to inclusive, diverse casting. Finally, the show must empower women. There鈥檚 no one way to define what empowers women, but France affirms her company will provide real, complex roles for women to play. 鈥淲e鈥檙e still stuck in a man鈥檚 idea of escapism, with too few exceptions,鈥� she says. 鈥淲omen end up playing the virgin, the whore, or the hag. Those are the options.鈥�
France is excited about presenting Firebrand鈥檚 take on Lizzie and 9 to 5, but she knows that expanding their focus will eventually be necessary. While shows by composers Michael John LaChiusa and Jeanine Tesori 鈥減ass the Firebrand test with flying colors鈥濃攊n addition to modern musicals like Waitress, Wicked, and 叠别补耻迟颈蹿耻濒鈥�France plans to eventually present classic shows with genderbent casts and push writers to fill the void. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a good reason no one has done this with musical theatre before: The canon doesn鈥檛 exist. We鈥檙e going to have to foster new work. We don鈥檛 have a choice, we鈥檙e going to run out of shows,鈥� She says. 鈥淭hat lights my fire even more. If it鈥檚 this hard and it doesn鈥檛 exist, we have to do it.鈥�
At the end of the day when people commit to a night at the theatre, they expect a great show. Balancing entertainment and message is a tightrope France walks consciously. 鈥淚f they come for a great show, they鈥檒l leave with a little piece of activism. And if they come for the activism, they鈥檒l leave having seen a great show. Whatever they come for, we are going to do both.鈥�
Firebrand Theatre Company鈥檚 inaugural season kicks off with Lizzie in November 2017. For tickets and information, or to become a member visit .
