Broadway Stars Are Coming to Cedar Falls

For many of us, it's been well over a year since we've been to a live performance. Whether that be a concert or even a play, we've all been missing out on that special feeling you get when you see someone perform live right in front of you.

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Cedar Falls is premiering a brand new musical to eager crowds this month. The show will have its world premiere at the Gallagher Bluedorn Performing Arts Center on July 16th.

The Suffragist is the brand new show premiering right here in Iowa. The story revolves around a few well-known activists in the women's suffragist movement and Equal Rights movement. Women like Alice Paul, Carrie Chapman Catt, Lucy Burns, Inez Milholland, and Ida B. Wells are all depicted in the musical.

The show is described on their website as,

"This inspirational and absorbing true story dramatizes their struggles against the government, society, and each other. It is a hard-fought battle with both women moving towards a shared goal: winning the vote."

Not only is this the world premiere of a new musical, but the project has some veteran Broadway players. Tony nominee Nancy Opel will be playing Carrie Chapman Catt. Opel played Yente in the 2004 production of Fiddler on the Roof, and appeared in Broadway productions of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical as well as Wicked.

Rachel Klein, the director of the musical said, “As a storyteller in a world turned upside down, I am grateful to be working on a piece about significant, necessary change. It's an honor to be working with Nancy Opel on this vital story from history."

Cathryn Wake of The Great Comet and several other television roles will play Alice Paul. Along with those Broadway veterans, several notable University of Northern Iowa alum will be joining these seasoned actors for this production.

MaKayla McDonald, originally from Waterloo will be playing the role of Ida B. Wells. Wells was a pro-Black activist and journalist who played a crucial part in the Equal Rights movement.

You can get tickets for the show here.