“Shout! The Mod Musical” featured five powerful women singers, a live orchestra and soulful pop anthems and ballads by household names like Dusty Springfield, Petula Clark, Lulu, The Seekers, and others. Some of the songs included: “Wishin’ and Hopin'”; “To Sir With Love”; “Son of a Preacher Man”; “You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me”; “Georgie Girl”; “These Boots Are Made for Walking”; “Downtown”; “I Know a Place”; “All I See is You”; “Those Were the Days”; “A World Without Love”; and “Shout!”
The show is set in London capturing the swinging sixties and the dawning liberation of women. The story follows five women:
The women all send letters to Gwendolyn Holmes, an advice columnist for the magazine “Shout!”, seeking guidance on their problems.
I lived through that decade and the sexist rules — for example, a girl could not wear pants/slacks to school. And The Sexual Offenses Act…. In 1967 that act made sex between two men who were 21 years or over legal. The legal age of consent for different-sex couples was 16, and a male could marry at age 16 but a female could not marry until age 18. Unless she was pregnant.
Technically I was still a 15 year-old girl on New Years Eve, 1965, when WE got pregnant, and a 16 year-old girl when WE got married on March 19, 1966. WE had to get our marriage license through Probate court, and WE just celebrated our 59th anniversary this past Wednesday.
I avoid saying “I” got pregnant or married. It took both of us for those things to happen, however, in 1966 “I” was the only one of us who was not allowed to attend high school. John graduated in 1967. I graduated in 1993. I was class president and valedictorian.
“Shout! The Mod Musical” was rich with eye-popping fashions, psychedelic dances, and new arrangements of familiar hits that made me want to sing along! The tears during the second act came as a surprise….
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