Founded as a Shakespeare theatre a remarkable 90 years ago, The Old Globe continues to be a home for the greatest dramatist. In addition, we continue to produce classic plays by Shakespeare’s descendants and new works that will be the revered classics of the future. But over nine decades another theatrical form has come to define us just as powerfully as has the literary drama. That form is the musical comedy. The Globe is now one of the country’s leading producers of new musicals, 27 of which—from Into the Woods in 1986 to The Heart of Rock and Roll last year—have taken flight here and soared all the way to Broadway. So when we premiere a new musical comedy, as we will twice in 2025, it’s an event.

This new American musical comedy is a big event, for many reasons. Regency Girls is funny. Very funny. Its book scenes deliver laughs from the slapstick to the sarcastic to the scabrous with clockwork regularity. Its lyrics are stunningly witty, full of surprise and audacity. Its score covers a staggering range of genres, from post-Sondheim musical theatre to decades of pop styles, to nods toward the Regency period in which the show is set. It does all this in service of a story that follows the dreams and yearnings of a gallery of beguiling characters whose hearts are as open as the sky. And it puts the desires of women—complicated, smart, ferocious women—center stage. We fall in love with Elinor and her crew, and we do so because they love each other with generosity and compassion. 

All of these achievements are the product of four truly clever theatremakers: book writers Jennifer Crittenden and Gabrielle Allan, composer Curtis Moore, and lyricist Amanda Green. That their musical is funny and touching is notable enough, but something else lifts it to yet another level: it is entirely original. Not based on a movie or a songbook or a novel or some piece of “IP” (not that there’s anything wrong with that, insists the producer of Almost Famous and The Grinch!) this musical is sui generis, newly imagined, and fresh-minted. My team and I consider dozens of projects every year, and I’m not exaggerating when I report that only a teeny-tiny percentage of musicals we review are original. Regency Girls is a rare bird.

And it’s a brave bird. Regency Girls dares to be funny about some very serious subjects. It walks—no, it runs—straight into one of the most controversial issues of our time: the reproductive autonomy of women (though why that issue should remain so divisive is a discussion for another time). It pokes at the conventional wisdom around gender. It gleefully tweaks pieties in every direction. This—beyond all its other distinctions—is what made me want to program it this season. Everyone who’s read these notes or heard me speak over the decade knows that I believe that theatre matters, especially in the sense that the ancient Greeks thought it did. They created theatre as a public forum, a place where strangers could gather together, sit in the dark, and think through great human issues, including the great political issues of the day. In daring to make a musical comedy about women who take their own destinies into their hands, especially their reproductive destinies, the authors of Regency Girls do something essentially and totally theatrical in the most ancient sense. They embrace the social and civic dimensions of this art form and deploy its power to make us laugh, think, and feel in a manner that’s simply breathtaking. I admire them all, and I’m very proud to have this work at the Globe. 

I also admire the Globe’s dear friend Josh Rhodes, whose directing career, which started here, has in the past few years soared to the highest heights. Josh moves people around a stage with unmatched assurance and inventiveness, and I’m in awe of his work whenever I’m around it. He’s brought an amazing team of designers and performers to the Globe: yet one more reason I cherish him. Regency Girls also comes to the Globe thanks to three Broadway producers of the highest caliber, and everyone here has enjoyed our partnership with them. To Robyn Goodman, Josh Fiedler, and Nicole Hudson I also express this company’s thanks.

This is a special one, as I know you’ll agree.

Thanks for coming. Enjoy the show.

Barry Edelstein is the Erna Finci Viterbi Artistic Director of The Old Globe.
Any feedback on tonight’s show or any of the Globe’s work?
Email Barry at HiBarry@TheOldGlobe.org and he’ll get back to you!