The Heidi Chronicles featured in Maryland Today

Thirty years ago, “The Heidi Chronicles” was a Broadway sensation, bringing the experiences, concerns and joys of working women to the stage in a way never seen before.

Heidi (Amber Smithers ’20) and Peter (Koki Belikow ’21) share a moment at a high school dance in a staging of "The Heidi Chronicles" at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center. Photo by David Andrews.

Thirty years ago, “The Heidi Chronicles” was a Broadway sensation, bringing the experiences, concerns and joys of working women to the stage in a way never seen before. Now, the School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies has reimagined the Pulitzer Prize-winning Wendy Wasserstein play, refracted through the lens of 21st century gender and sexual politics.

“As students were reading through the play, they were saying it could have been written today, which is sad—and a comment about where we are now,” said Scot Reese, professor of theatre performance and the play’s director.

Amber Smithers ’20, who plays Heidi as the story follows her from high school in the 1960s through her career as an art historian, agrees that the show continues to ring true with younger generations. “When I first read the script, I was like, ‘Oh, this is just me,’” she said. “This play is a beautiful, simple play saying that women’s voices matter—that’s what really resonates with me in this time.”

The production opened Saturday and runs through this Saturday at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center. Tickets are available here. Take a peek at the production in the photos below.

By Sala Levin '10