“We’ve Come a Long Way, Ladies!” is an interactive, multisensory experience that takes the audience back in time to the American Women’s Suffrage Movement and the passage of the 19th Amendment. Mezzo soprano Audrey Johnson has combined her vocal talents and experiences from her operatic performing career with her patriotic passions to create the series Of Thee I Sing: American Heritage Through Song. Celebrating the 100th anniversary of American women’s right to vote, this program is a combination of historical songs, engaging narratives, corresponding historical images, captivating on-stage costume transformations, and lively audience participation, creating a performance experience that is truly one of a kind. She is joined by collaborative pianist James J. Morehead.

The program showcases historical songs that take the audience on a journey back in time into the lives of these brave American patriots. Historical images, authentic costuming, an engaging spoken narrative, and audience participation make this a performance experience unlike any other. ​Program highlights include the foreshadowing warning of Abigail Adams to the founding fathers that they should “Remember the Ladies”; the role of ladies’ fashions within the movement and the strategies – and scandals – that ensued; and Frederick Douglass’s vital role and contribution to Women’s Suffrage at the official beginning of the movement.

A native of South Georgia, Audrey Johnson received her Bachelor of Music degree from Simpson College and her Master of Music Degree from the University of Houston. She is also a graduate of the Improvisation Program at the Second City Training Center in Chicago as well as the Nautilus Program in Minnesota, which trains opera singers in the holistic singer-actor approach of renowned opera director Wesley Balk. 

James J. Morehead is the Artistic Director of the Chicago Gay Men’s Chorus, the Music Director at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Evanston, Illinois, and a sought-after coach, accompanist, and music director in the city of Chicago. He previously taught at the Theater Conservatory of Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University, where he has also served as Adjunct Professor of Music Theory/History and German Diction. James received his MM in Piano Performance and Music Theory from Roosevelt University and his BM from Duquesne University. 

For more information on Ms. Johnson and the “Of Thee I Sing” programs, go to https://www.oftheeising.com.

NOTE: Students 18 and under FREE with paid adult admission. This event is entirely in-person. No virtual tickets are available. If you are having trouble purchasing tickets please contact us at culturalevents@barringtonswhitehouse.com or 224-512-4066.