This episode features a conversation with Emma Ashford about her new musical, MISS AMERICA.

MISS AMERICA, a dystopian musical tragicomedy, tells the story of Eve - a driven, idealistic, and accidentally pregnant Indiana 17-year-old on the eve of her freshman year at college. After a failed illegal abortion attempt, Eve ends up at the New Life Center: a pilot prison created by the McGowan administration, which has codified abortion as murder. Over the next 8 months, Eve, alongside her fellow inmates, must reckon with parenthood, purpose, and the gendered expectations that confine all of us. With comedy, heart, and a sweeping score of pop/rock and pastiche, this uniquely American coming-of-age musical nods to hits such as Orange is The New Black and The Handmaid's Tale as it confronts what the reproductive laws of today could mean for us tomorrow.

This episode features recordings of the songs “Not Today” performed by Emma Ashford, and “Choices” performed by Bella Copolla and the Company of Miss America.

Connect with Emma Ashford:

Instagram: @emmmaashh

Website: https://www.emma-ashford.com/

Connect with New York Theatre Barn:

• Twitter: @nytheatrebarn

• Instagram: @newyorktheatrebarn

• Facebook.com/nytheatrebarn

• nytheatrebarn.org

• Pauls’s personal instagram: @paulsmacs

• Teresa’s personal instagram: @terijoyeaux