ST. PAUL, Minn. (Sept. 17, 2019) — From Dream Girls to Mean Girls, the latest installment of Ordway Cabaret, “Back to Before,” critiques and celebrates the portrayal of women on stage and behind the scenes through powerful performances and impactful stories with songs from Ragtime, Oklahoma, Waitress, and more.

The performance will be held at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 3 in the Ordway’s Concert Hall, at 345 Washington St. in Saint Paul.

The all-female cast, featuring Christina Baldwin, China Brickey, Meghan Kreidler, Ann Michels, Traci Allen Shannon, and Colleen Somerville, will deliver their own stories, in their own words and in the language of Broadway songs, from musicals that are meaningful and resonant with them.

“With this series we hope to share connect audiences with artists in new ways. Each installment of Ordway Cabaret will focus on an underrepresented perspective in the musical theater conversation,” said Kelli Foster Warder, the Ordway’s Director of Education and Associate Producer. “Folks can expect to hear songs they know and love along with the personal stories of the artists who are singing them.”

Throughout this show and the entire Ordway Cabaret series, audiences will have the opportunity to get to know Twin Cities performers as artists as they share their personal stories and experiences. Devoted Broadway music fans won't want to miss this inventive new cabaret performance.

The songs featured in “Back to Before” gives audiences an opportunity to examine some of the ways women are portrayed in Broadway musicals and, in turn, how these artists wish to be portrayed.

“The impact of the songs we’ve selected will resonate with today’s audiences – even though the songs themselves may have been written years ago,” said Foster Warder. “For example, Ragtime gave us a glimpse into the intersection of race in our country at the turn of the century and how the people were changed because of those relationships.”

“The character, Mother, a white woman, discovers a world beyond her own and is forever changed through her relationships with an African American wash woman and a Jewish immigrant. It leads to her singing “Back to Before,” a song about embracing her new discoveries and vowing never to return to her life as it was before her worldview expanded.” Tickets are $23 to $44 and can be purchased at Ordway.org or by calling 651-224-4222.

###