The performing duo of Catherine Thomson and Anita Kallen have been paying tribute to noteworthy women since 2019 with their HERstory series of shows. They will be presenting the third installment in the series, “HERstory: A Century of Songwriting Sisters” at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 3 at the Skokie Theatre.
The show includes numbers by “the legendary names — the Carole Kings, the Joni Mitchells, the Carolyn Leighs, the Dorothy Fields — but there are also songs that people may not know the name of the composer but they remain an important part of the 20th century canon of music,” Thomson said.
The song list includes “Let Me Call You Sweetheart,” “Big Yellow Taxi,” “You’re so Vain,” and a medley of Dorothy Fields’ songs, among others.
Choosing which songwriters and songs to feature was a difficult task, the women said.
“When you get to the second half of the 20th century, that’s when women’s songwriters really started to make their mark,” Kallen noted. “There were so many women and so many wonderful songs, it was painful.”
In addition to singing, the two of them will share interesting stories about the songwriters based on intensive research.
“We both consider ourselves not just singers but storytellers,” Kallen said. “That’s an important part of our work. We don’t present just an hour of music. Cabaret for us is a form of musical storytelling.”
The show debuted in March at Davenport’s in Chicago, and they have since performed it at Indian Trails Public Library in Wheeling and a senior living community in Evanston.
The two women first met in 2010 when they were both chosen to attend the International Cabaret Conference at Yale University. A year later, they began their musical collaboration with a two-person show, “Dangerous Women.”
They both indicated that the show was fun but they were interested in creating shows with an educational element.
The pair’s first show in the series, “HERstory: The 19th Amendment and the Power of the Vote,” was about the passage of the 19th amendment, which was ratified in 1920.
“It’s a show about a decade of women who fought to bring voting rights to the women of America,” Kallen explained. The show debuted in 2019 at Davenport’s, and then COVID hit.
“Despite being in COVID, we had a video version that we managed to distribute to various organizations throughout the United States,” Thomson said. That video was recorded at the Skokie Theatre.
The second show was “HERstory: Trailblazing Female Firsts.”
Both shows were performed at Davenport’s in Chicago; the second at the Skokie Theatre.
In addition, the pair continues to perform the two shows for libraries, women’s organizations, senior centers, community centers, corporate groups, and any other group interested in the topics.
“We think we have a product that people are interested in,” Kallen observed. “And some of the stories inspire us. We enjoy bringing them to an audience and finding that they’re inspired as well.”
The women agree that they make a great team.
“We complement each other in terms of what we bring to the research. We’re both very diligent researchers,” Thomson said. “Vocally we blend. I’m typically an alto; she’s a soprano. We play well off each other and can anticipate what’s going to be a good fit for us.”
“We almost have a sense of when it’s time to gesture,” Kallen added. “We have a great chemistry and we really enjoy working together.”
Thomson said, “We come at the work with the same amount of rigor. Then, when it’s time to be onstage, we deliver it with the same amount of fun.”
Myrna Petlicki is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
‘HERstory: A Century of Songwriting Sisters’
When: 7:30 p.m. Aug.3
Where: Skokie Theatre, 7924 Lincoln Ave., Skokie
Tickets: $25
Information: 847-677-7761; skokietheatre.org
