The Pirate Queen Tickets

Built around the legend of 16th Century Irish hero Grace O'Malley, this tale of romance and empowerment challenges popular perceptions of women in a way that hasn't been done since Rosemary Harris stole every scene with her Tony-winning Eleanor of Aquitaine in The Lion in Winter.

The hero of the tale, you see, is a real, actual, complex human being. It's refreshing to see art that creates a female character who goes beyond what Hillary Rodham Clinton refers to as the "talking dog syndrome" (you don't expect a dog to speak at all so when it does you are impressed regardless of what it says... the same goes for women speaking well as leaders). The Pirate Queen rejects that simplistic view and instead paints a nuanced portrait of Grace that will resonate strongly with younger female audience members.

Certainly O'Malley was a feminist in every basic sense of the word, defying chauvinist stereotypes and living life on her own terms. Here on the stage her story is being told in a way that honors the power of women not merely as defiant tomboys, but also as nurturing mothers, level-headed politicians, fierce warriors and passionate lovers. All those things, at the same time, in the same woman. That's the insightful hand of two writers (both married heterosexuals, mind you...) who have woven into their story the many competing ideas of what a true heroine should look like. Their lead character alone, deftly play by Stephanie J. Block (The Boy from Oz, Wicked Nat'l Tour) is reason to see the show.