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'Top Girls' Still Packs a Punch in the #MeToo Era

Renaissance Theaterworks

Sometimes it feels like nothing really changes. The same battles seem to come around to be fought again and each generation thinks, "Wait a minute, I thought we settled this one..."

So for Renaissance Theaterworksto stage British playwright Caryl Churchill's 1982 play, Top Girls, now seems fitting. Many of the play's themes - the price women pay to have both families and careers, the definition of success for women - are still relevant today, 36 years after its first production.

"I think Caryl Churchill realized that for women to succeed, at that time and still right now, you have to succeed within the confines of patriarchy," says Susan Fete, one of Renaissance's co-founders and the director of this production. "So if you’re succeeding in a system that’s flawed, your success will be flawed."

We talk with Fete and actors Karissa Murrell Myers, Elyse Edelman, and Cassandra Bissell about the show, which opens Friday, April 6 at the Broadway Theatre Center. 

Bonnie North
Bonnie joined WUWM in March 2006 as the Arts Producer of the locally produced weekday magazine program Lake Effect.