#BroadwayStrong: Broadway at the Women’s March
Photography by Tess Mayer
January 22nd, 2017
During the week of January 16th, 2017, the theatre community got loud for democracy by taking part in a series of events to promote equality and freedom for all, like The Ghostlight Project and Concert for America. The events culminated on Saturday the 21st with #BroadwayStrong, a theatre group that marched with the Women’s March in NYC, a solidarity march with the Women’s March in Washington D.C. The group was organized entirely by women: Molly Barnett, Kristin Caskey, Tracy Geltman, Natalie Gershtein, Randi Grossman, Sally Lindel, Chelsea Nachman, Kristen Rathbun, Kinsley Suer, and Barbara Whitman, and was scheduled for early in the day so people in the theatre community who had rehearsals and performances could still participate. The #BroadwayStrong group was estimated to have over 2,000 participants who joined the estimated 400,000 people who marched in NYC. Women’s Marches all over the country had record and unprecedented turnouts. There were also marches all over the world from London to Tel Aviv to Nairobi to Buenos Aires to Antarctica.
Theatre professionals participated in marches and protests all over the country—costume designer Anita Yavich even became an internet sensation known as “Resistance Auntie.” In addition to organized efforts, many in the theatre community have used their social media to point fans towards civil liberties organizations and towards journalists who have been covering the election and the government.
The below photographs, by Tess Mayer, represent only a fraction of the theatre community to participate in the march and the democratic process.
