What do a formerly enslaved woman running for her freedom, a hidden child during the Holocaust, and Mary Magdalene have in common?

More than you might think. These remarkably strong women are all featured as “characters” in Step Right Up, Ma’am — Stories of Resilience, a new TNW Ensemble Theater production exploring the theme of resilience.

Performances in Overture Center’s Promenade Hall, Madison, Wisconsin at 7:30 pm CT on Friday and Saturday, June 21 and 22, and 3:00 pm CT on Saturday and Sunday, June 22 and 23. Purchase tickets here. 

The production includes the writings of poet, Fabu Phillis Carter, Dale M. Kushner, poet and novelist, and TNW’s own co-producing artistic director, playwright Danielle Dresden. Cut paper collage banners, by upstate New York visual artist Milly Charles, highlight the production’s themes and shape the stage environment. Performers are Nedra Bobo-Boyles, Liz Light, and Atlanta-based actor Eileen Koteles. Donna Peckett, TNW’s co-producing artistic director, stages this multi-disciplinary theater production. Lighting design is by Patricia Micetic, and Shane Heim is Stage Manager.

Poet Fabu’s writings, Say It Loud, I’m Black and I’m Proud, tell the stories of notable black women in history and their connections to Wisconsin. Dale M. Kushner’s poems, M, dive into the transformative experiences of women in myth and history, from desire through loss and grief to awakening. Dresden’s work, Henny & the Strawberries is based on the real-life experiences of her cousins as hidden Jewish children during World War II in the Netherlands. The play concludes with “characters” from each author coming together to find a way forward.

Tickets are $30 and available through the Overture Center Box Office, online, by phone at (608) 258-4141, email, or in person at 201 State Street.