Indie rock star, artist, and writer Bitch – known to followers for her band Bitch and Animal, as the opening act for Indigo Girls and Ani Difranco, and for her cameo appearance in John Cameron Mitchell’s 2006 film Shortbus – takes an autobiographical deep dive into her life and career, our American patriarchy and cancel culture in B*tchcraft: A Musical Play. Conceived by Bitch and director Margie Zohn, with a book by Bitch and Zohn, music and lyrics by Bitch, additional music and lyrics by Faith Soloway, Bitch and Animal, Melissa York, Jon Hyman, and Greg Prestopino, and starring Bitch, the limited-engagement world-premiere production at NYC’s wild project is bold, funny, open, and touching, and if you aren’t already a fan of the proud queer feminist icon, this is sure to make you one.
The fast-paced show combines segments of direct-address narration, re-enactments, live musical performances, tap dancing (choreography by Michelle Dorrance), and voiceovers (provided by Seth Bodie, Ian Brownell, Amy Goldfarb, Ron Goldman, Jenna S. Hill, Mal Malme, Soloway, and Zohn) of other significant figures who had an impact on the evolution of Bitch’s journey to self-actualization. It’s all filled with genuine emotion, active movement, hilarious wordplays and double-entendres, and the determination of this fearless feminist warrior to fight for respect and equality, to end the rampant misogyny in our society, to change the complimentary phrase “You’re the man!” to “You’re the woman!” and the exclamation “Oh, my God!” to “Oh, my Goddess!,” and to give new meaning to such common epithets as “pussy” and “bitch” as positive indicators of female sexuality and strength, not insults.
We see the young Bitch from her beginnings as Karen Mould, “a quiet child” from suburban Michigan in the ‘70s and ‘80s, the third daughter of dispirited and abusive British-born artists, with a bestie beaver named Beavy (first seen as a stuffed animal toy, then embodied by Francesca, and indicative of Bitch’s reappropriation of the vulgar slang for the female genitalia), through her discovery of the violin (which she plays, along with a variety of other electric string instruments, throughout the show), to her time as a theater major in college, where she meets her trans partner Danny (self-renamed Animal), forms the band, tours the continent, and finds her voice and mission.
She was thrilled to be invited to perform at the annual Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival – a weeklong event built, staffed, run, and attended exclusively by women – where she felt welcome and at home. But its “womyn-born womyn” policy of excluding trans women engendered protests and criticism of the artists who participated in the festival, Bitch was uninvited from other previously scheduled appearances and concerts, and became a target of cancel culture. Her subsequent activities outside of music were unsatisfying and her emotional state was pained and deteriorating, so she returned to playing local bars, to regaining her theatrical roots, and to sharing her story in this dynamic and triumphant musical play.
Along with Bitch, Cary Curran and Donovan Fowler appear on stage as The Crone, a mysterious figure clad in a black witch’s hat and cape, who manifests the broomstick with which Karen was ordered to sweep her childhood home by her parents, then rode to feminist awakening and stardom as Bitch, and continues to employ in her multi-disciplinary art as an omnipresent symbol of her eponymous gynocentric B*tchcraft.
The exciting and compelling performance is supported by an eye-popping artistic design, with costumes (by Andrea Lauer), make-up (by Angela DiCarlo), and hair and wigs (by Natasha Speth) that define the star’s personality and look at the different stages of her life, sound (by Sean Hagerty) that delivers the voiceovers and music with clarity, and lighting (by Amina Alexander) that sets the moods of the scenes and creates the ambiance of a rock concert. A simple set (by Samantha Tutasi) centers on a movable cube that serves as a fiery cauldron, sandbox, bed, and the stage for Bitch’s performances, enhanced with the germane props (also by Tutasi) of the broom, toy beaver, notebooks for her writing and drawing, and tampons that characterize her childhood and growth, and projections (by Brian Pacelli) that indicate the changing locations, from bedroom to classroom, on-the-road touring, the venues she played, and her cabin in the woods, filled with images of her original art, and portraits of famous women who’ve been, and are, central to the feminist movement.
At a time when both women’s rights and gay rights in our country are being threatened, denied, and repealed, Bitch makes a powerful and insightful statement about self-expression and pride that is not only highly entertaining but also deeply resonant, while encouraging the audience to embrace their gender and sexuality, to stay strong, to speak out, to act out, and to be inspired to create their own B*tchcraft now, when we need it most.
Running Time: Approximately 95 minutes, without intermission.
B*tchcraft: A Musical Play plays through Saturday, March 1, 2025, at wild project, 195 East 3rd Street, NYC. For tickets (priced at $35, plus fees), go online.
