Loading ...

By SARAH HOOKEY
Columnist

Unless you’ve been living under a rock lately, you probably know that the world recently celebrated International Women’s Day, (or at least the portion of the world that’s not made up of Republicans and Trump supporters).

And really, that’s gotten me thinking.  As a proud feminist myself, I say that sometimes you need to feel empowered.  Sometimes, and especially now with how utterly frightening the state of the world can be for women (Handmaid’s Tale anyone?) we need to take things one step further.

Who says that smashing the patriarchy (and boy, does it ever need smashing) has to be confined to only one day?

Everyday can be International Women’s Day if you let it.

To help me with that, I turn to music.

In that spirit, I’ve put together a list of my five favourite feminist musical theatre songs.  (And no, ‘Cell Block Tango’ will not be on this list.)

I Can Do Better Than That—The Last Five Years

If you haven’t heard of this show, or even seen the 2014 movie starring Anna Kendrick and Broadway veteran Jeremy Jordan, I highly suggest you do.  Not only is it a wonderful film chronicling what it really means to be successful and to love another person, it’s also home to brilliant numbers like this one.

Kendrick’s Kathy sings this to her then fiancé Jamie to express her desire to break free from the sexist stereotypes expected of girls in her hometown; pregnancy, marriage and then staying in that same town for the rest of their lives.  Kathy’s strong-willed stubbornness comes across clearly in this number as she strives to truly become somebody in the acting world with Jamie by her side.

The Schuyler Sisters—Hamilton: An American Musical

You knew Hamilton would make it on here at some point.  The entire show is filled with refreshing bouts of female empowerment, highly quotable lines and, of course, the Schuyler Sisters.  When you think ‘girl power,’ and ‘Broadway,’ chances are this fierce number will come to mind.  The aforementioned trio of sisters are as strong-willed as you’ve ever seen and from their very first entrance, it isn’t hard to see that they’re ready to make their mark on the world around them, and the audience as a result.  The oldest, Angelica, combats the blatant sexism she encounters in the number from the character of Aaron Burr with this set of lyrics:

“I’ve been reading Common Sense by Thomas Paine.

So men say that I’m intense or I’m insane.

You want a revolution? I want a revelation

So listen to my declaration:

‘We hold these truths to be self-evident

That all men are created equal’

And when I meet Thomas Jefferson,

I’m ‘a compel him to include women in the sequel!”

Now that’s what I call feminist.

I Don’t Need Your Love—Six the Musical

Okay, if you haven’t listened to Six, stop reading this and go listen.  Trust me, it’s well worth your time.  A quick synopsis from the official website, since it is a fairly new musical:

“From Tudor Queens to Pop Princesses, the six wives of Henry VIII take to the mic to tell their tales, remixing five hundred years of historical heartbreak into a 75-minute celebration of 21st century girl power. These Queens may have green sleeves but their lipstick is rebellious red.”

Now if that isn’t a feminist celebration, I don’t know what is.  Basically, any one of the songs in Six could work perfectly for this list but ‘I Don’t Need Your Love’ in particular is a brilliant standout.

The song details Henry’s final wife, Catherine Parr’s, reluctant marriage to the king and her decision to take back her life after his sudden death, thus freeing herself from only being a wife in his story and instead becoming a main character in her own.  Parr, through her song, details the things she had accomplished in her life, including fighting for female education in a time when a woman’s value was equated to the wealth of her husband and how many sons she had given birth to.

She ends the incredibly powerful number with the declaration that her and the other wives are finally “taking back the microphone,” and that it’s time to rise above what went down in history to sing for themselves for once.

Right Hand Man—Something Rotten!

Let’s make something clear, everyone should want to be at least a little bit like Bea Bottom.  She’s quirky, she’s funny, she’s a no-nonsense woman and she’s smashing the patriarchy one day at a time.

Set in the Renaissance, Something Rotten! could have easily stuck with history when it comes to their female characters.  In that time period, women were little more than background characters without even a single line and expected to be docile creatures.  But not in this show.  Where the men are bumbling and, honestly, a bit clueless, the women are resourceful and at times the only thing keeping their husbands alive (see the end of the show if you don’t believe me).  In this song, Nick Bottom’s wife Bea implores him to let her help him with his business ventures and his day-to-day problems by singing lines like this:

“Sure I could stay in the background

Just smiling every now and again

But just to be a pretty lady

That would be a pity baby

Let me be your right hand man

I am stronger than you think

Don’t be thinking I ain’t tough

I am where you oughta go

When the goings getting rough”

Bea is aware of the stereotypes enforced on the women around her and she isn’t conforming to them herself.  Not one bit.

Defying Gravity—Wicked

Do I even have to explain this one?  This is easily the ultimate feminist anthem when it comes to musical theatre.  The song sees Elphaba (later nicknamed the ‘Wicked Witch of the West’) finally breaking free from the cage the world had put her because of her past and allowing herself to live to her truest potential by transcending her stereotypes and no longer being ashamed of the power within her.  She may be declared a monster by those around her, but she declares in the end of the song that:

“Nobody in all of Oz

no wizard that there is or was

is ever going to bring me down”

Elphaba’s strength and message isn’t just something we should admire, it’s something we should strive to live by ourselves.

Okay, there you have it.  Five musical theatre songs for your inner feminist.  Now, the next time you feel like smashing the patriarchy, you’ve got a playlist at the ready.