INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY: 10 Strong Independent Women From Musicals
Photo credit: Pamela Raith
Hey Besties! This International Women's Day, we are celebrating 10 strong independent women from musicals. From fiercely strong mothers to trailblazing superstars, musical theatre has no shortage of brilliant women! So let's take a look at just 10 of these queens of the stage.
Anne Hathaway - & Juliet
Anne Hathaway (no, not that one) is Shakespeare’s fun-loving and sassy wife. She takes over William’s tragic new tale and puts a different spin on it, giving Juliet a voice and the chance to choose her own fate. Anne is the friend we all need, championing Juliet and empowering her to do whatever she wants. She challenges her husband’s views and isn’t afraid to speak her mind. All in all, she just wants to have a good time with the strong women around her, well she does usually spend most of her time raising her daughters alone while William is off writing in London!
Elphaba Thropp - Wicked
Photo credit: Joan Marcus
Elphaba is certainly not afraid to stand up for what she believes in, even if that means the whole of Oz turning against her. As a student, Elphaba is ambitious and driven, desperate to rise to the top so that she can use her talents to help others. She is kind and compassionate from the start, even to those who bully her, often inspiring them along the way. When she sees injustice or others being silenced, she has to do something about it. She is brave enough to be herself and keep fighting for what’s right even when everyone is telling her not to. After all, she is fine with being the ‘wicked’ witch if it means she can try to put a stop to the real evil in the world.
Jenna Huntingdon - Waitress
Jenna is definitely a fighter at heart. When she finds herself pregnant by her abusive husband, she is horrified. She certainly doesn’t want his baby but she decides to do her best to give her baby a good life. With the support of her loving friends, Jenna tries to transform her life and escape her husband before the baby is born, but it is definitely not an easy road. Jenna is ambitious and talented, hoping to use her baking skills to build a new life for herself and her baby. In the end, Jenna discovers that motherhood brings with it a new kind of love that is more important than anything else, and makes her stronger than she’s ever been.
Photo credit: Johan Persson
Catherine Parr - Six
Let’s be fair, all six queens deserve a place on this list but since we can’t add all of them, we chose Catherine Parr. Parr was the last of Henry’s wives and used her position to help empower other women. Her song in the musical details some of the brilliant trailblazing things she did including campaigning for girls’ education, employing female painters and becoming the first woman to publish a book under her own name. Catherine also worked hard to ensure her stepdaughters would get a fair future and often ran the country while the king was away. While those last two are not mentioned in the musical, they are just more reasons why Catherine Parr was a groundbreaking feminist queen. And her song is undeniably an empowering anthem!
Beverly Bass - Come From Away
Another musical theatre character based on a real badass woman! Beverley is one of the pilots whose planes were diverted to Newfoundland after the 9/11 attacks. She tells her inspirational story during her song ‘Me and the Sky’, about how she dreamed of becoming a pilot and overcame many obstacles due to her gender. Beverley challenged people’s views on women flying commercial planes and in 1986, she became the first female American captain later flying the first ever all-female crew on a commercial jet. Beverley’s story is inspirational and proves that you can achieve your ambitions if you are passionate enough to break down the barriers along the way.
Margaret New - Everybody's Talking About Jamie
Margaret is Jamie’s loving mum. She is a single mother who has a very close relationship with her son. She has raised Jamie alone with the support of her best friend Ray and always wants what’s best for him, even if he doesn’t always see it. She would do anything for her son and tries to make up for his absent father. Margaret’s beautiful song about motherly love will bring a tear to anyone’s eye. She loves Jamie for who he is and supports him no matter what. She is an independent woman who doesn’t rely on anyone else and always puts her child first.
Photo credit: Pamela Raith
Emmeline Pankhurst - Fantastically Great Women Who Changed the World
So, it would be wrong to make a list about strong independent women without including one of the mothers of feminism, legendary suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst. Thanks to the brilliant new musical based on Kate Pankhurst’s picture book, Emmeline and lots of other inspirational women from history have been brought to the stage to tell their stories. Throughout the musical, various brilliant women teach a young schoolgirl how to change the world in her own way and Emmeline, of course, has an empowering song all about making noise and standing up for what you believe in. Emmeline was the leader of the Suffragettes who fought for the right for women to vote in the early 20th Century.
Cher - The Cher Show
Everyone has heard of legendary pop superstar Cher, and The Cher Show follows her amazing story as she rose to fame and became the icon she is. In the show, Cher is played by three different actresses, showing her at different stages of life as she overcomes obstacles and becomes a solo artist. Cher is very ambitious and certainly goes after what she wants. She is not afraid to stand up and say something if she is treated unfairly and is brave enough to leave her partner Sonny and navigate the world of show business alone. In the musical, as Cher reflects on the ups and downs of her life, she realises that as she built an iconic career all by herself, she wasn’t afraid to be unconventional and did everything her way, unafraid of what others would think or say.
Photo credit: Johan Persson
Elsa - Frozen
Elsa is Disney's legendary independent queen. As a child, she was a loving big sister to Anna and even after being shut away for years due to fear about her ice magic, she still only wants the best for her sister, quick to give her advice against marrying a man she only met that evening. Elsa leaves her home for the good of the Kingdom and learns to embrace her powers during the iconic song ‘Let it Go’. In the end though, it is Elsa’s love for her sister that brings everyone together and saves the Kingdom, allowing her to be herself and rule free from fear.
Donna Sheridan - Mamma Mia!
Another strong single mum, Donna has raised her daughter Sophie all alone on a little Greek Island where she single handedly runs a taverna. Before having her daughter, Donna was part of a band with her two friends but after three whirlwind romances, she ended up alone with Sophie. Donna is a loving and protective mother who is struggling with her daughter getting married and leaving - ‘Slipping Through My Fingers’ is enough to get every mum clinging onto their children! When the possible fathers of her daughter show up, Donna is adamant that she doesn’t need any man. Despite struggling with the financial aspect of running the taverna, she would always do anything for Sophie, and is desperately trying to ensure her wedding is perfect.
So, there are our choices for 10 strong independent women from musicals! Who is your favourite female character? Who else deserves a spot on the list? Let us know. Happy International Women's Day, Besties!