We're coming back to the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center in summer of 2010 following a very successful run in 2009! Dates and times to be announced later, so check back for latest updates.

From "Someone To Watch Over Me" to "I Will Survive." It's the journey of women, told through Top-40 music in the musical production RESPECT: A Musical Journey of Women. From the codependence of "I Will Follow Him" to the anger of "These Boots Are Made for Walking," to the cynicism of "What's Love Got To Do With It," and finally to the strength of "Hero." Combining excerpts of 60 songs with women's own stories about finding dreams, lost love, relationship issues, entering the workforce, gaining independence, and more, this show is "exhilarating!" It's more than just a story worth telling, it's a must-see and must-hear.

For more than the first half of the last century, the voice of women in Top-40 popular music has been one of neediness and dependency. I'll do anything for you; just be my baby, even if you're no good and treat me bad; just LOVE me and I'll stand by my man. By the end of the century, things were quite different. Popular music had come far enough so that women looked for the hero within themselves, were urged to get on their feet and make it happen, ready to stand on her own with or without a man. Messages encompassed "I am woman-hear me roar," to "I will survive" and encouraged women to find their own dreams.

Vanderbilt professor Dr. Dorothy Marcic created the show based on her book, RESPECT: Women and Popular Music, where she analyzed all Top-40 female song lyrics since 1900.

Feedback from audience members includes: "Your show is one of the best things I have ever seen, period." -Shawn Johnson, Kansas City. "This was one of the most inspiring performances I have attended in my life."-Vladimir Brajkovic, Melbourne, Australia; "It was the musical history of MY life," Sheri Bewitt, Orlando.

Join us for the journey of women from codependence to independence — from "Someone To Watch Over Me" to "I Will Survive." See the progress of women from property of their husbands to presidents of countries in the 20th century — hear it through a dramatic musical presentation.

RUNNING TIME
Approximate running time is 1 hour and 46 minutes, including one 15-minute intermission.

REVIEWS FROM 2009
Creative Loafing gives Respect 4 and a 1/2 stars! "Respect is terrific ... You couldn't ask for a more entertaining look at American women's history ..."

"'Respect' is a must-see for theatergoers who like a musical with something to say." The Tampa Tribune

"It's a musical history brightly sung," Sarasota Herald Tribune

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