RESPECT: A Musical Journey of Women Extended At The Herberger Theater 2/12

Respect: A Musical Journey of Women, which recounts the exciting story of women in the 20th century through Top 40 songs, has been extended through Feb. 12 at the Herberger Theater Center, 222 E. Monroe.

Based on Vanderbilt University professor Dr. Dorothy Marcic's book, RESPECT: Women and Popular Music which analyzed all Top-40 female song lyrics since 1900, the show has been playing to packed houses and whoops and hollers for hits including "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy," "Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend," "I Will Survive," "Where The Boys Are," "I Am Woman," "At Seventeen" and, of course, Aretha Franklin's "R.E.S.P.E.C.T." Marcic also created the show, which has sold nearly 10,000 tickets since opening in late December at the Herberger.

Performances are Wednesdays at 2 and 7 p.m., Thursdays at 7 p.m., Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 2 and 8 p.m. and Sundays at 1 and 5:15 p.m. Tickets are $45.50 to $55.50 and available at the Herberger Theater Center Box Office at (602) 252-8497 or online at www.herbergertheater.org. Group discounts are available for 20 or more.

This popular, high-energy musical combines excerpts from 60 songs with women's owns stories about finding dreams, lost loves, relationship issues and entering the workplace. It's the story of women from co-dependent to independent and from property of their husbands to presidents of corporations.

The original version of the show began in 1999 featuring the author herself, and was developed into the full-scale musical theater production in 2004. The show has now played all over the USA including Boston, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, West Palm Beach, Ft. Lauderdale, Green Bay and Minneapolis as well as around the world in cities including Melbourne and Brisbaine, Australia.

Marcic started her career in the arts as a production assistant on the TV program Mister Rogers Neighborhood. During the past 25 years, she has conducted more than 1,000 seminars on such topics as leadership, high performance, and communication skills and done consulting for executives at Ford Motor Company, Coca-Cola Corp, AT&T Bell Labs; the Governor and Cabinet of North Dakota; the US Department of State; and Hallmark Corporation. She has worked with health care organizations in the US and Latin America and served as a faculty member in Health Administration. While in Europe, she served as advisor to the US Ambassador of the Czech Republic and was a delegate to the UN Economic and Social Develop Summit in Copenhagen.

Several years ago, she started experimenting with the arts, integrating them into her leadership training programs, leading her to use music as a learning tool and the catalyst for studying the depiction of women in Top-40 music. Respect: A Musical Journey of Women has been a source of empowerment for thousands women around the world. Marcic has started a non-profit organization working with at-risk women and girls to help them with smart thinking, smart behaviors, smart results.

Respect: A Musical Journey of Women is produced by Philip Roger Roy and Dana Matthow, who brought last year's hit, A Jew Grows in Brooklyn to the Herberger, and directed by veteran Broadway Producer and Director Bud Martin, whose recent producer credits include London's current hit Legally Blond and the New York productions of 9 to 5 and Burn the Floor.

From Phoenix, the tour heads to Coral Springs, Fla. and then to Baltimore.

For more information, visit www.respectamusicaljourney.com.

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