Jennifer Ashley Tepper: Women Writing Musicals

In honor of Women’s History Month, author and theater historian Jennifer Ashley Tepper will celebrate her newly released book with a presentation and performance. Women Writing Musicals: The Legacy that the History Books Left Out is the first-ever book about female musical theater writers. In this program, Tepper will give an inside look at some of the more than 300 inspiring women featured, including several writers whose work appears in New York Public Library collections.

Expect behind-the-scenes photos and stories about prolific and celebrated Broadway writers like Betty Comden and Jeanine Tesori, women who have written musicals but gained fame elsewhere like Dolly Parton and Sara Bareilles, and dramatists you may not have heard of—but definitely should have—from Micki Grant, whose mega-hit musical about the Black experience made her the first woman to write book, music, and lyrics for a Broadway show to María Grever, the first Mexican female composer to achieve international success—who made her Broadway debut at age 56.

Tepper will also present guest performers sharing some fascinating songs written by women for musicals that will bring the book to life and make you look at theater in a whole new way.