_Lady Parts_ opened a discussion about feminism and the misrepresentation of women in the entertainment industry to an audience at the MU Student Center’s Leadership Auditorium on April 14 and April 19-21.
The conversation started with the chorus of its opening number: “We need more lady parts. We’re more than our relationships, but you never know it from those scripts, and so tonight we’re gonna fight to break out of that mold.”
_Lady Parts_ is considered a song cycle, not a musical, for the fact that it doesn’t have a plot, a script or characters talking between the songs. The show was written by Meg Phillips Crespy, a strategic communications associate for MU’s Joint Office of Strategic Communications and Marketing. She wrote the show after facing the lack of space and opportunities for women in today’s society as an actress.
“I decided I was just gonna write it because I wanted something to do,” Crespy said. “As I was writing, I had a growing desire to offer that to more ladies, too, because I know that [it] is not just me who is frustrated with the lack of opportunity.”
The premise of _Lady Parts_ was giving women a chance to approach subjects that go beyond men. The actresses got the audience laughing with performances like “Universal Truth,” a song that has “everybody poops” as its chorus. The program also had songs about the beauty in the life of a housewife or lesbian relationships, like in the last one sung by performer Anna Ralls.
“There aren’t many shows that heavily feature women,” Ralls said. “I think it’s important, especially here in the academic context, to give women the due that they deserve. Figure out how to pay tribute to these women that have done so much and often continue to run a household and bear children.”
The performers also sang about sensitive topics like how women are treated differently after they reach a certain age, miscarriage and with mental disorders including autism and Alzheimer’s.
“Some songs have a stance being taken on certain issues,” performer Leia Brooks said. “Not everybody necessarily agrees with them, but they have appreciated that the conversation is open and that we’re not shying away from anything.”
Most of the songs can be performed by women of any ethnicity or background, except for perhaps “The Secret Life of Black Mothers,” adapted from the poem by Natasha Ria.
_Lady Parts_ presented the audience with the chance to talk about sensitive topics while still getting laughs and offering a light environment. The artists were available after the performance as well to keep the conversation going.
_Edited by Alexandra Sharp | asharp@themaneater.com_
