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Directed by Lenny Leibowitz for Otterbein University 2017
Scenic Designer: Rob Johnson
Costume Designer: Julia Ferreri
Lighting Designer: Tori DeProspero
Sound Designer: Ethan Brown
Top Girls was originally written and produced in 1982 at the Royal Court Theatre in London. The production transferred to the Public Theatre in New York and returned to the Royal Court Theatre later in 1983. Debuting near the tail end of the second wave feminist movement and very soon after Margaret Thatcher’s appointment as the first female Prime Minister, Top Girls raises serious questions about the future of the Women’s Liberation Movement. The play shows how far women have come in past centuries, how strong women can be and how much further we have left to go.
The most striking thing about Top Girls is how relevant the content is even some 30 years after it was written. Churchill calls on women to think beyond ourselves as we carry the feminist movement and feminist ideals into the future. Her statement is clear; if women are to make any progress against patriarchal oppressors we must unite cross culturally and break down classist oppressors as well. As my fellow classmates and I get ready to launch our careers during this already alarming and unstable administration it is important that we take the message of Top Girls seriously and continue to expand our ideas about inclusivity. In order to empower ourselves we must empower each other.
-Emily Bubeck's Program Notes for Otterbein University's 2017 Production of Top Girls by Caryl Churchill