1972

Musical, Rock Opera (2026)
Music and Lyrics by Chadwick Stokes
Book by Chadwick Stokes and Jessie Nelson
Created by Chadwick Stokes
Directed by Jessie Nelson
American Repertory Theater
Farkas Hall
Harvard Square, Cambridge, MA
October 27 – December 6, 2026

Music Director: Jacob Yates; Choreographer: Jill Johnson; Scenic Designer: Amy Rubin; Costume Designer: Nicole Jescinth Smith; Lighting Designer: Ben Stanton; Sound Designer: Justin Stasiw; Hair, Wig & Make-up Designer: Krystal Balleza>

With Gracie McGraw (Hannah), Chadwick Stokes (Depot), Will Urmston (Pinto), Darren Buck (Eddy/Dr. Don/Officer O’Reilly), Jackera Davis (Louisa), Hannah Foxman (Jane/Lawyer), Brit King (Jane), JR King (Demi), Jhardon DiShon Milton (Ensemble/Milt), Tommy Ng (Ensemble), Darby Patterson (Jane), Khaila Wilcoxon (Harlan)

Musicians: Chadwick Stokes (guitar, vocals), Will Urmston (guitar, banjo, vocals), JR King (drums), Darren Buck (vocals), Brit King (violin, vocals), and vocals by the rest of the ensemble

Hannah (Gracie McGraw) is a nineteen year old fleeing a brutal relationship and she’s pregnant. She encounters Depot (Chadwick Stokes) who invites her to join him and his gang hopping freight trains. Somewhere along the line, Hannah goes to a bad abortionist and encounters Louisa (Jackera Davis) who is in a similar predicament. When things look bad there, Hannah and Louisa escape, but not without consequences. (See Spoilers section below.) Later on, in Chicago, Hannah encounters the Janes (Brit King, Hannah Foxman, Khaila Wilcoxon, Darby Patterson), a group of women who nobly support people like Hannah, despite the current state of the law at the time which forbade legal abortion. Of course, this is 1972, the year before the Supreme Court passed Roe v. Wade which gave women the right to abortion before the stage of fetal viability.

What a lively and wonderful production this is, with music and lyrics beautifully written by Chadwick Stokes, a book by him and Jessie Nelson, and performed exuberantly by a wonderful troupe of musicians and actors. There is such incredible energy in this show that it is hard to not be swept up in it. The music is rambunctious and varied, sometimes filled with acid rock modalities, sometimes with folkie soft rock ones. It all comes off magnificently well.

Clearly, the musical inspirations come from the early 1970s and the garb is suited to the era. Stokes, a bristling man of fifty, wears his hair from the rockdom of the era and dons a headband to boot – he’s perfectly suited up – and he plays guitars – electric and acoustic – like a magician, wired and reverberant. So do his musical sidekicks: Will Urmston, on the second guitar, JR King on the drums, Darren Buck on third vocals, and Brit King on the violin. Each of them is a superb musician, riveting with energy, and versatile. When Brit King puts down her fiddle, she joins the women’s chorus of Jane’s with gusto and verve. JR King, on the drums, is a whirlwind of rock energy, and in vocal harmony, Stokes, Urmston and Buck are like a second coming of Crosby, Stills and Nash, eloquent and lyrical.

The music is vivid and beautifully played, and the lyrics, at times, are sometimes truly out of this world. There is a piece near the end which smacks of Hamilton-ianism, with an endless alliterative detailing of words that the cast puts out energetically and effortlessly, to great effect.

As Hannah, Gracie McGraw offers a wonderfully tender rendition, supported by a clear and penetrating voice. As Louisa, Jackera Davis offers, as well, a wonderful presence with reverberant and eloquent vocals. All of the Janes are great in different way, and, as their main spokesperson, Harlan, Khaila Wilcoxon offers particular distinctiveness and dramatic vitality.

Though cast as a rock opera, this is really more of an oratorio, with musicians arrayed on the stage, and action, dramatized but not fully staged, interspersed among them. Whatever one calls it, the production is great, and moving. Its treatment of a significant issue – the plight of women, especially, as in this case, those wrongfully impregnated, to not be able to receive safe abortions – is thoughtful and evocative. That such a show can deal with such a challenging and difficult issue and give it such incredible verve and energy is a significant achievement.

– BADMan (aka Charles Munitz)