Music, Lyrics & Book by Hannah Epstein
Based on the true story of Elizabeth Blackwell
Cast: 8 women/nonbinary actors
Running Time: 2 hours
In 1847, Elizabeth Blackwell is a teacher at a school for girls in Jersey City, but finds herself unsatisfied. When her dying friend suggests that Elizabeth become a doctor, Elizabeth initially rebuffs the idea, but decides to explore medicine at a hospital in Philadelphia. Through the mentorship of a physician, she gains the experience and resolve she needs to apply to medical school. Elizabeth applies to and is rejected from twenty-eight schools, but is finally accepted at Geneva Medical College. She struggles to connect with classmates and overcome the gruesome realities of 19th century medical care. After months of long nights, Elizabeth graduates at the top of her class, but the dean refuses to write her the letters of recommendation she needs to continue her studies in surgery. Desperate, Elizabeth moves to Paris to study midwifery at a women’s hospital. While treating a child with a syphilitic infection, Elizabeth accidentally squirts pus onto her face, rendering her permanently blind in one eye. Returning to America in disgrace, unable to practice surgery, Elizabeth finds that there are many women in America who need the care of a female physician. She dreams of opening the New York Infirmary for Indigent Women and Children, the first American hospital staffed entirely by women.
Based on the true story of Elizabeth Blackwell
Cast: 8 women/nonbinary actors
Running Time: 2 hours
In 1847, Elizabeth Blackwell is a teacher at a school for girls in Jersey City, but finds herself unsatisfied. When her dying friend suggests that Elizabeth become a doctor, Elizabeth initially rebuffs the idea, but decides to explore medicine at a hospital in Philadelphia. Through the mentorship of a physician, she gains the experience and resolve she needs to apply to medical school. Elizabeth applies to and is rejected from twenty-eight schools, but is finally accepted at Geneva Medical College. She struggles to connect with classmates and overcome the gruesome realities of 19th century medical care. After months of long nights, Elizabeth graduates at the top of her class, but the dean refuses to write her the letters of recommendation she needs to continue her studies in surgery. Desperate, Elizabeth moves to Paris to study midwifery at a women’s hospital. While treating a child with a syphilitic infection, Elizabeth accidentally squirts pus onto her face, rendering her permanently blind in one eye. Returning to America in disgrace, unable to practice surgery, Elizabeth finds that there are many women in America who need the care of a female physician. She dreams of opening the New York Infirmary for Indigent Women and Children, the first American hospital staffed entirely by women.