On Account of Sex
On Account of Sex
Genre: Historical, Musical, Comedy, Drama
Format: Live In-Person Performance
Keywords: Women's rights, suffrage movement, historical activism, resilience and determination, equality and justice
Cast Size: very flexible; as many as 15 actors (6 male, 9 female); with doubling, as few as 4 (4 female)
Duration: 75 minutes
Time Period: Mid-19th century to early 20th century America
Cautions: None
Contact info@gitelmangoodpublishers.com with questions.
On Account of Sex brings the women’s suffrage movement to vivid life in a thought-provoking musical full of humor and heartfelt resilience. Staged as a dynamic town square forum, it captures the struggles and triumphs of a 70-year campaign for justice with original songs inspired by historic suffrage anthems. Audiences will witness the fiery speeches of Susan B. Anthony, the sharp wit of Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and the steadfast resolve of Frederick Douglass. Through inventive staging and moments of audience participation, viewers are drawn into the historic fight for equality. Equal parts educational and entertaining, On Account of Sex brings to life the sacrifices made to secure voting rights while celebrating the enduring importance of civic engagement. This stirring musical is a celebration of resilience and hope, powerfully reminding us that change often comes one determined voice at a time.
How we price. All scripts are priced at a flat $150 to make budgeting easy and transparent.
How you license. When you checkout, you simply select the number of times you'll perform the play in front of an audience ($65 per performance).
What you get. You receive an instant PDF download that you're licensed to use.
Praise for This Play
“Perhaps one of the most well-researched and cleverly written Fringe shows I have ever seen. … A feminist history lesson delivered as postmodern vaudeville with …innovative staging, crafty character creation, and an elan for political entertainment. This show is suitable for middle school audiences and up and especially of interest to history buffs. You will heartily laugh (and learn) throughout.” - Chris McCoy
“At its heart, a comedy. While it does touch on the seriousness of the topic, there are plenty of funny moments and songs taken straight out of the time periods.” - The Pitch
“Politics, generally speaking, often walks the exasperating line of being both extremely important and infuriatingly tedious. That dichotomy is the entire foundation of On Account of Sex, which traces the seventy-year-long fight to gain women the right to vote. No one could possibly deny that this battle was of the utmost importance—least of all the women at its center. … The women are forced to deal with nit-picking semantics and political practices (lobbying, votes, and the like) that move at an extreme crawl. - KC Studio
“Trailblazing … Provocative” - The Martin City Telegraph
“A compact and compelling account of the women’s suffrage movement – its drawbacks, tensions, intersection with other movements, and ultimate triumph with the passage of the 19th amendment. Informative and imaginatively staged, using double casting to effectively convey the multiple generations of women involved - while still taking the time to tell us something about each of them. Pointed humor keeps it from ever getting dry, and the songs effectively evoke the time period.” - NPX
Audience Response to This Play
"Creative, engaging, informative, and eye opening. I highly recommend taking teens and young adults!"
"I did not expect this historical account to be so entertaining and engaging! I thought I knew the history of women’s fight to get the vote, but I learned so much, and had the conflicting factions, I’d barely heard about, explained so clearly. Really good!"
"Wonderfully done lesson on history that anyone could understand and stay with fully. As a teacher, I’m very impressed. The setup for the women to be different people, the music to be integrated so well, the timeline so appropriately added, and the energy from all the women all added up to a wonderful time of learning, feeling sad for the last 100 years, and energized to do something about that. Thank you."
"What a fantastic production! We all need to know our history and this is an inventive, clever and fun lesson! Everyone will enjoy it! So go watch it!! We have more to do with the passage of the ERA!"
"Very well done. Talented actors and singers helped make this section of history easy to understand and empathize with the struggles they persisted through."
"SO enjoyed this clever and informative production. All history should be taught this way. Learned so much and fun besides. Loved that one character was “Naysayer”!! I rate this a must-see 5+."
"This show was AWESOME! The music was so great and well preformed. It was funny, and educational, with the little dash of realism that hits you in the gut. Seeing how hard the fight to vote was for women and people of color really puts into perspective the real battles we continue to fight in regards to civil rights. I recommend this show a million times over!"
"Great music and script. We had fun and learned quite a bit, too. Thanks for a fun, informative, heartfelt show."
"I know this is the best performance I’ve “Fringed” so far this year … and, frankly, think it may be one of the best I’ve ever seen. Great job people. Thank you for sharing your talent!"
"Educational. Powerful. Energetic."