{"id":364796,"date":"2025-02-23T15:26:49","date_gmt":"2025-02-23T20:26:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/?p=364796"},"modified":"2025-02-23T15:26:49","modified_gmt":"2025-02-23T20:26:49","slug":"raised-voices-power-bethesda-little-theatres-new-musical-got-it-good","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2025\/02\/23\/raised-voices-power-bethesda-little-theatres-new-musical-got-it-good\/","title":{"rendered":"Raised voices power Bethesda Little Theatre’s new musical ‘Got It Good’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Life is filled with inflection points that challenge us to reaffirm, choose, or create who we are time and time again. In the case of the three women of the Kirby family, that means three inflection points at the same time. High school senior Becca Kirby balances endings and beginnings as she runs for class president to prevent the banning of books. New college graduate Abby Kirby strives to prove herself at her first job while confronting the contradictions and degradations of corporate America. And soon-to-be empty-nester Kate Kirby is faced with rediscovering herself after decades of putting others first. Woven together in an original book by Sharen Camille featuring the music of New York power pop\/rock band Iridesense, Got It Good<\/em> by the Bethesda Little Theatre considers the moments, choices, and beliefs that add up to who we become and what we stand up for.<\/p>\n

A single mother trying to make it through and be there for her girls, Kate Kirby, played by Maureen Freshour, was a consistent presence of support, love, and guidance. With her clear, compassionate voice that reminded me of Carole King, you could tell that Freshour was a maternal figure on and off the stage for this production. She was also responsible for more than a few humorous moments, particularly in \u201cNice Try\u201d as she churned through a cycle of cringe-worthy first dates and in \u201cFantasies\u201d as she refocused herself on dreams for the future. Also responsible for the choreography of the show, Freshour looked for opportunities to move within each moment.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Susanti Rodger as Crush, Payton Woodruff as Abby Kirby, and John Lynch as Charlie in \u2018Got It Good.\u2019 Photo by Leslie Blaha.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The eldest daughter, Abby Kirby, played by Payton Woodruff, brought a soft and sometimes self-sacrificing enthusiasm to the character. With a sweet innocence that instantly reminded me of Mandy Moore, Woodruff\u2019s face shone, and her smile radiated to the back of the black box theater. Often at her side were friends Crush, played by the never-too-over-the-top Susanti Rodgers, and former (or should I say current) flame, Charlie, played by the mild-mannered John Lynch. Whether giving each other a supportive push as in \u201cLately\u201d with Crush and Charlie or shoulder as in \u201cVoice of Reason\u201d with Abby and Charlie, this trio offered windows into the highs and lows of figuring out how to stand up for what you want and what you believe in within the working world.<\/p>\n

Matching the sisterly struggle, but from within the confines of high school, was Becca Kirby, played by Charlie Tell. Deeply concerned by the efforts of the school board and her fellow classmates to ban a list of books from the school library, Becca takes matters into her own hands to protect access to all ideas and stories, no matter how challenging \u2014 as on particular display in \u201cBelieve\u201d and \u201cMy Revelation.\u201d Not without risk and consequences, she navigates the challenges of senior year with best friends Lola, played by the vivacious Beatrice Ieronimo, and Liam, played by the snappy Joshua Pinchback. Also, walking the high school halls were antagonist Cooper, played by Audrey Mollo, and voice of caution Toni, played by Jenny Gleason. Each brought solid performances that added depth and ideological counterpoints to the questions of the Kirby women.<\/p>\n

Together with the rest of the cast \u2014 Dr. Arthur Glover (Stevie), Stephanie Levin (Diane), Amanda Rollins (Aubrey), and Caroline Smith DeWaal (Julia) \u2014 the ensemble gave it their all to add heart and energy to opening night. This was best on display during the striking and unsettling \u201cMind Control Society.\u201d From inside the soul-crushing corporate conference room, the direction by Sharen Camille, lighting design by Matthew Cheney, and choreography by Maureen Freshour easily made for the most memorable scene in the show, recoiling from the ways corporate America treats people and the environment in pursuit of profits.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Maureen Freshour as Kate Kirby in \u2018Got It Good.\u2019 Photo by Leslie Blaha.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Music director Paul Rossen allowed for this creative take on a jukebox musical to test out its rhythm for the first time in front of an audience, one where characters could process their circumstances through the external music of Iridesense, as opposed to traditional musicals that rely on plot advancing musical numbers that begin from within. In Got It Good<\/em>, the songs served as meditative moments for characters to further sit in and process where they are and what they are feeling.<\/p>\n

Asking if we will walk the straight or crooked line in life (\u201cThe Line\u201d), Got It Good<\/em> by Bethesda Little Theatre is an example of the heart of what community theater does: create spaces for experimentation and exploration of the choices of life no matter how messy or imperfect. In the current cultural moment \u2014 where the enormity of upheaval, division, and harm seems overwhelmingly unjust \u2014 the ideas within Got It Good<\/em> act as a reminder of the power of raising your voice in service of what you believe in and encourage moments of community and individual action as constructive outlets for frustration, anxiety, and fear. \u201cBe the change you want to see in the world,\u201d as the Kirby motto says, is an invitation to all of us \u2014 you never know who you might inspire, support, and become along the way.<\/p>\n

Running Time: Approximately two hours, including one 15-minute intermission.<\/p>\n

Got It Good<\/a><\/em><\/strong> plays through March 2, 2025 (Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm; Sundays at 2:30 pm), presented by the Bethesda Little Theatre <\/a>performing at the Writer\u2019s Center (4508 Walsh St, Bethesda, MD). Purchase tickets ($28 for adults; $22 for seniors, military, and students; $18 for children) online.<\/a><\/strong> For more information, call 202-796-3431, email\u00a0bethesdalittletheatre@gmail.com<\/a>, or go to Bethesda Little Theatre\u2019s website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

SEE ALSO:<\/strong>
\nBethesda Little Theatre to present original musical about power of family, friends, and finding yourself <\/a><\/strong>(feature by Kaitlyn Gibbens, February 14, 2025)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In a creative take on the jukebox musical, two sisters and their mother consider the choices and inflection points in their lives. By EM SKOW<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":40,"featured_media":364812,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,17],"tags":[187,188],"class_list":{"0":"post-364796","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-community-theater","8":"category-maryland","9":"tag-iridesense","10":"tag-sharen-camille"},"acf":[],"apple_news_notices":[],"yoast_head":"\nRaised voices power Bethesda Little Theatre's new musical 'Got It Good' - DC Theater Arts<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In a creative take on the jukebox musical, two sisters and their mother consider the choices and inflection points in their lives.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2025\/02\/23\/raised-voices-power-bethesda-little-theatres-new-musical-got-it-good\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Raised voices power Bethesda Little Theatre's new musical 'Got It Good'\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In a creative take on the jukebox musical, two sisters and their mother consider the choices and inflection points in their lives.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2025\/02\/23\/raised-voices-power-bethesda-little-theatres-new-musical-got-it-good\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"DC Theater Arts\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-02-23T20:26:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/IMG_0060A-800x600-1.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Em Skow\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Em Skow\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2025\/02\/23\/raised-voices-power-bethesda-little-theatres-new-musical-got-it-good\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2025\/02\/23\/raised-voices-power-bethesda-little-theatres-new-musical-got-it-good\/\",\"name\":\"Raised voices power Bethesda Little Theatre's new musical 'Got It Good' - DC Theater Arts\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2025\/02\/23\/raised-voices-power-bethesda-little-theatres-new-musical-got-it-good\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2025\/02\/23\/raised-voices-power-bethesda-little-theatres-new-musical-got-it-good\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/IMG_0060A-800x600-1.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-02-23T20:26:49+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/#\/schema\/person\/7fa01accb3d34615e5a2c30daf91fb6f\"},\"description\":\"In a creative take on the jukebox musical, two sisters and their mother consider the choices and inflection points in their lives.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2025\/02\/23\/raised-voices-power-bethesda-little-theatres-new-musical-got-it-good\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2025\/02\/23\/raised-voices-power-bethesda-little-theatres-new-musical-got-it-good\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2025\/02\/23\/raised-voices-power-bethesda-little-theatres-new-musical-got-it-good\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/IMG_0060A-800x600-1.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/IMG_0060A-800x600-1.jpeg\",\"width\":800,\"height\":600,\"caption\":\"Susanti Rodger as Crush, Payton Woodruff as Abby Kirby, and John Lynch as Charlie in \u2018Got It Good.\u2019 Photo by Leslie Blaha.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2025\/02\/23\/raised-voices-power-bethesda-little-theatres-new-musical-got-it-good\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Raised voices power Bethesda Little Theatre’s new musical ‘Got It Good’\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/\",\"name\":\"DC Theater Arts\",\"description\":\"Washington, DC's most comprehensive source of performing arts coverage.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/#\/schema\/person\/7fa01accb3d34615e5a2c30daf91fb6f\",\"name\":\"Em Skow\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5fcaf9b4cc405c8aaea511536765744f41d5be2f04e954198ba5f3b57de995ed?s=96&d=blank&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5fcaf9b4cc405c8aaea511536765744f41d5be2f04e954198ba5f3b57de995ed?s=96&d=blank&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Em Skow\"},\"description\":\"Ever since she can remember, Em has been transfixed by the performing arts and sought to immerse herself in them in any way she could; from choir to theater to creative writing to photography. By day, she's a Marketing Director at a PR & Marketing agency. By night, she's a Soprano & Communications Director of the 18th Street Singers; and Theater Reviewer for the one and only DC Theater Arts. All-in-all, a self-professed theater, choral, arts nerd, and she likes it that way!\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/author\/em-skow\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Raised voices power Bethesda Little Theatre's new musical 'Got It Good' - DC Theater Arts","description":"In a creative take on the jukebox musical, two sisters and their mother consider the choices and inflection points in their lives.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2025\/02\/23\/raised-voices-power-bethesda-little-theatres-new-musical-got-it-good\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Raised voices power Bethesda Little Theatre's new musical 'Got It Good'","og_description":"In a creative take on the jukebox musical, two sisters and their mother consider the choices and inflection points in their lives.","og_url":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2025\/02\/23\/raised-voices-power-bethesda-little-theatres-new-musical-got-it-good\/","og_site_name":"DC Theater Arts","article_published_time":"2025-02-23T20:26:49+00:00","og_image":[{"width":800,"height":600,"url":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/IMG_0060A-800x600-1.jpeg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Em Skow","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Em Skow","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2025\/02\/23\/raised-voices-power-bethesda-little-theatres-new-musical-got-it-good\/","url":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2025\/02\/23\/raised-voices-power-bethesda-little-theatres-new-musical-got-it-good\/","name":"Raised voices power Bethesda Little Theatre's new musical 'Got It Good' - DC Theater Arts","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2025\/02\/23\/raised-voices-power-bethesda-little-theatres-new-musical-got-it-good\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2025\/02\/23\/raised-voices-power-bethesda-little-theatres-new-musical-got-it-good\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/IMG_0060A-800x600-1.jpeg","datePublished":"2025-02-23T20:26:49+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/#\/schema\/person\/7fa01accb3d34615e5a2c30daf91fb6f"},"description":"In a creative take on the jukebox musical, two sisters and their mother consider the choices and inflection points in their lives.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2025\/02\/23\/raised-voices-power-bethesda-little-theatres-new-musical-got-it-good\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2025\/02\/23\/raised-voices-power-bethesda-little-theatres-new-musical-got-it-good\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2025\/02\/23\/raised-voices-power-bethesda-little-theatres-new-musical-got-it-good\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/IMG_0060A-800x600-1.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/IMG_0060A-800x600-1.jpeg","width":800,"height":600,"caption":"Susanti Rodger as Crush, Payton Woodruff as Abby Kirby, and John Lynch as Charlie in \u2018Got It Good.\u2019 Photo by Leslie Blaha."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2025\/02\/23\/raised-voices-power-bethesda-little-theatres-new-musical-got-it-good\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Raised voices power Bethesda Little Theatre’s new musical ‘Got It Good’"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/","name":"DC Theater Arts","description":"Washington, DC's most comprehensive source of performing arts coverage.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/#\/schema\/person\/7fa01accb3d34615e5a2c30daf91fb6f","name":"Em Skow","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5fcaf9b4cc405c8aaea511536765744f41d5be2f04e954198ba5f3b57de995ed?s=96&d=blank&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5fcaf9b4cc405c8aaea511536765744f41d5be2f04e954198ba5f3b57de995ed?s=96&d=blank&r=g","caption":"Em Skow"},"description":"Ever since she can remember, Em has been transfixed by the performing arts and sought to immerse herself in them in any way she could; from choir to theater to creative writing to photography. By day, she's a Marketing Director at a PR & Marketing agency. By night, she's a Soprano & Communications Director of the 18th Street Singers; and Theater Reviewer for the one and only DC Theater Arts. All-in-all, a self-professed theater, choral, arts nerd, and she likes it that way!","url":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/author\/em-skow\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/364796","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/40"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=364796"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/364796\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/364812"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=364796"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=364796"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=364796"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}