Set in the early Thatcher years, Top Girls is a seminal play of the modern theatre, revealing a world of women’s experience at a pivotal moment in British history.
The play opens with an anachronistic dinner party hosted by Marlene, the newly-promoted manager of the ‘Top Girls’ employment agency. Her guests are five women from the past: a transvestite Pope, a courtesan-cum-nun, a tireless adventurer, an obedient wife from Chaucer and the leader of a charge into hell from a Bruegel painting. The feminist themes introduced by this cacophonous scene echo throughout the more contemporary action of the play, as Churchill uses the setting of the ‘Top Girls’ agency to allow a glimpse into the lives of several very different working women.
The play presents complex questions about a feminism which mimics aggressive, oppressive behaviour, and success which can only be achieved by abandoning family ties to force a way to the top.
[Source: DramaOnline.com]
Helen Hayes Nominations – HELEN Productions
Outstanding Supporting Actress, Caroline Dubberly, TOP GIRLS
Washington Post Review
“In the new Keegan Theatre staging, director Amber Paige McGinnis guides her cast through the choppy waters of that sometimes hilariously busy and fantastical first act.”
MD Theatre Guide Review
“In this intimate space with this incredible script, a formidable cast, beautiful sets and costumes, and inspired direction, this show is a must-see.”
DC Metro Theater Arts Review
“With fascinatingly effective set design by Matthew J. Keenan and eye-popping costumes…Keegan’s production of Top Girls is delightfully disturbing.”
Metro Weekly Review
“The director and ensemble pinpoint the rhythms of community — the support, commiseration, and competitiveness — that Churchill’s script captures so well.”
DC Theatre Scene Review
“Top Girls is not an easy play to stage…McGinnis and her unflagging ensemble make cracking open the Pandora’s Box of Churchill’s masterwork look easy.”
Dull Gret / Angie Caroline Dubberly
Patient Griselda / Nell Amanda Forstrom
Marlene Karina Hilleard
Pope Joan / Louise Jessica Lefkow
Lady Nijo / Win Alexandra Maria Palting
Waitress / Kit / Jeanine / Shona Daven Ralston
Isabella Bird / Joyce / Mrs. Kidd Susan Marie Rhea
Understudy Madeline Mooney
Director Amber Paige McGinnis
Assistant Director / Dialect Coach Madeline Mooney
Stage Manager Allison Poms
Assistant Stage Manager Ilyana Rose-Davila
Set Designer Matthew J. Keenan
Lighting Designer Laura Eckelman
Co-Sound Designer Justin Schmitz
Co-Sound Designer Gordon Nimmo-Smith
Costume Designer Alison Samantha Johnson
Properties Designer Cindy Landrum Jacobs
Hair and Makeup Designer Craig Miller
Dramaturg Clarke Whitehead
