Matinee Friends – Respect The Musical

On Sunday, March 26, four intrepid Matinee Friends traveled south to Washington St. to attend the Black Theatre Troupe production of “Respect: The Musical”. Based on that title you might imagine that we were about to see a stage version of Aretha Frank- lin’s hit songs. We thought that too. You would be wrong. But we were not disappointed. What we did see was the Troupe’s nod to Women’s History Month, presented with a chronological selection of songs and parts of songs that were important to wom- en from 1900 to the present. It was a revelation to see that songs from our teen years and a bit earlier were all about submission to our men, even when women were not being treated well. They were all about looking good for the men, and making them happy,
and getting them back when they left us. We were able to see our favorite teen songs in a different light and realize “What were we thinking??!!” Until 1964 when a teenage Lesley Gore sang “You Don’t Own Me”. Then we were treated to a very different type of song (and character costumes) and women were finally thinking of themselves. There was a spoken section from Rosa Parks and a moving song from the Civil Rights Era. The selections were as recent as “Roar” by Katy Perry. And the closing song was indeed Aretha’s “Respect”, which brought us to our feet with a loud standing ovation. The four women were excellent singers, whether performing solo or in duets, trios or quartets and backed by a fine off stage band. This was a very worthwhile and enjoyable afternoon.