Wickedest Woman
by Jessica Bashline
Wickedest Woman tells the true story of Ann Trow Lohman, a female doctor (midwife and abortionist) in New York City throughout the 1800’s. Known as Madame Restell, when Ann began performing abortions in 1838 they were legal in the United States and when she committed suicide almost 40 years later at the end of her career, they were illegal. Madame Restell became the face of evil that the anti abortion movement used to rally people to their cause. A gender bending cast of 7 actors tells this epic story of Ann’s rise to notoriety and her struggle to keep her life intact as the scrutiny and even physical danger became ever more intense.
- Cast Size: 3M 4W (Flexible Casting)
- Running Time: 90+ Minutes
- Royalty Rate: $75 per performance
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This is a crucial work for this generation. It provides dire information using a platform that can bring more conversations about a woman’s right to choose. Ms. Bashline constructs this story brilliantly and is a must see for audience members. It’s powerful and moving, but even more important it’s thought provoking.
I saw Wickedest Women and felt educated and moved. The history of women’s rights is constantly being challenged and this play while taken place in the past needs to been seen now! Wickedest Women thank you for telling the story.
A beautifully written play that delves into the history of reproductive rights through a very personal lens. The playwright asks the audience to question who controls the narrative of a persons story, and particularly the story of a women at a pivotal moment in history. The story of Ann Trow Lohman still resonates today and has you wondering whether we have come as far as we think we have.
This is an amazing, true story about a remarkable woman living in New York City. She pioneered and championed women’s right to choose how they manage and care for their bodies. It’s such an incredibly important piece of work.
The acting and the staging were superb. For two hours I was transported into an earlier time in New York City, but a current and pressing issue facing women today in the United States. There were several times during the play, that I found myself wiping tears from my eyes, and a wasn’t alone. I commiserated with the characters and their struggle to make some of the most difficult decisions of their lives. It was all handled so gracefully and carefully. There was nothing preachy about this play. It just lays out the facts which makes it so compelling. I’m so grateful to the playwright, Jessica Bashline, for bringing this remarkable woman’s story to light. I hope that it finds a wide audience, because I am certain it will be well received.
This is a fascinating story with a powerful message. A great response to the current political landscape.
A fascinating story that is insightful without being preachy. A beautiful piece of theater
Jessica Bashline has that essential quality that all good playwrights need: they find a story no one knows, they find it’s essential meaning in a story that took the place more than 150 years ago. The play is a generous creative script. A fascinating glimpse at a hidden history needing to be unearthed so that women who have continuously been subjected to changing rules regarding their bodies once again rally to take back their rights,
Ina B Chadwick
“A” Chronicles
achronicles.org
Review Wickedest Woman.