THE BALLAD OF LYDIA PINKHAM Moves To The Greenhouse Theatre Center

After a very successful first run at The Annoyance Theatre this past April, Moving Bench Theatre is thrilled to announce that they'll be remounting "The Ballad of Lydia Pinkham's Magical, Miracle, Sure-Cure for all Female Weaknesses" at the Greenhouse Theatre Center in November, 2019.

Chris Causer, the director, and Jenilee Houghton, the writer, are the founders of Moving Bench Theatre and they're thrilled to be continuing their journey with this story. Houghton commented, "The run at The Annoyance was so exciting! We were able to treat it as a bit of a preview where we could test out the concept and gauge audience reaction to our narrative and our storytelling techniques. It was thrilling to sell out so many performances and hear repeatedly that people wanted to see more!"

Causer explained, "The first go, we were required to keep the show under 55 min for the venue, so that's why it was that length. We had so many audience members running up to us completely charged from the show, and what they experienced. But everyone was telling us that they wanted to be with Lydia more than the time allowed. Now we have the ability to turn it into a full-scale production."

So, what can audiences expect in this new expanded version of "The Ballad of Lydia Pinkham"? Houghton explained, "Our intention is simply to give more of what the audiences were so excited about the first go-round. More narrative details, more original music, more dance and even more insight into these intriguing people. Everything people loved from the first version is there: the comedy, the heartbreak, the absurdity, it's all still there. Now, we just get to deliver even more of it!" Causer went on to say, "The message hasn't gotten to everyone that's needing to hear it right now. We still have a ton more people that need to experience this show and we're happy to know that it will be getting a longer life in the form of a 3-week run at Greenhouse Theatre Center. And the fact that our show will be one of the first productions ever presented in GTC's brand-new Studio 44 space is just the icing on the cake!"

This production may be bigger and better than ever before, but the story remains the same. Lydia Pinkham was a humble woman who wanted nothing more than to help the women in her community in a time when getting quality medical advice was nearly impossible. Testimonials called her Vegetable Compound a miracle cure, but when her sons decided to use their mother's face on all of the products and advertisements, it lit a firestorm of criticism and cruelty from the public. Berating her "cast-iron smile" and "nightmare face", Lydia was one of the first women to ever battle the anonymous trolls of the media back in 1873. Despite the success she was able to bring to her family, Lydia had to face a question that seems as relevant today as it did 150 years ago: Am I brave enough to put myself out there and am I strong enough to withstand the harsh backlash of the public?

The Ballad of Lydia Pinkham's Magical, Miracle, Sure-Cure for all Female Weaknesses will be running from November 7-24 at the Greenhouse Theatre Center at 2257 N. Lincoln Ave, Chicago, IL.

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