Women of Broadway to be honored in show

The Forum Theatre Company Wichita is celebrating women’s achievements on Broadway as part of its Words & Music series.

The company will present “Words & Music: Women Composers of Broadway” in two performances this weekend.

The Words & Music series is made up of 90-minute shows that mix historical and biographical narrative and popular songs. The series recognizes Broadway composers’ contributions to the industry with a combination of entertainment and information.

The show will feature musical director Erin Mundus, pianist Steve Rue and Shaun Michael Morse, Sheila Kinnard, Chelsey Moore, Ted Dvorak, Jaslyn Alexander, Dalima Kapten and Krystin Skidmore.

“It’s based on a series from New York called ‘Lyrics and Lyricists,’ ” said Kathryn Hauptman, producing artistic director. “The idea is to introduce people to the history of musical theater and the songs and put them into historical context.”

Hauptman said the Words & Music series is an expansion of the New York series, using song and dance to provide a visual aspect.

“There has been a real rise of the proliferation of female composers on Broadway,” Hauptman said. “It’s usually been a very male-dominated field.”

The show will feature songs from the musicals “The Color Purple,” “Shrek,” “Fun Home” and more.

“These are shows that address a lot of different issues,” Hauptman said, “like self-image, discrimination, acceptance.”

Hauptman said the show relays a contemporary message in an entertaining way.

“I hope (audience members) come away with a new appreciation for the contemporary shows that are being written and are appreciating and understanding that women are also composers and actually do write songs. We tend to only think of men,” Hauptman said.

“I think one of the very interesting things about the show is there is so much humor,” she said. “It’s going to be a very fun evening.”

This story was originally published January 11, 2017 at 9:55 PM with the headline "Women of Broadway to be honored in show."