The Library of Congress will host StageStruck! VI: Women and the American Musical, a free three-day conference May 14-16. This conference will focus on the centrality of women to the American musical on stage and screen and showcase the role of the Library’s musical theater collections in advancing musical theater studies.
May 13, 2025, update: Camille A. Brown, Marjuan Canady, Helen Park, Shaina Taub, and Jeanine Tesori will no longer appear at the Library on May 14 due to unforeseen circumstances.
Revised Schedule for Wednesday, May 14, 2025
12:00 pm: SHOW & TELL OF TREASURES, West Dining Room (LM 632)
2:15 pm: INTRODUCTORY REMARKS, Mumford Room (LM 649)
2:45 pm: INTERVIEW with Julie Taymor, Mumford Room (LM 649)
4:15 pm: REMARKS by Conference Organizers, Mumford Room (LM 649)
We apologize for any inconvenience. Contact us at concerts@loc.gov with any questions.
Best wishes,
The Library of Congress
StageStruck! VI: Women and the American Musical features industry panel discussions, 25 presentations on the works and many roles women play in the history of the American musical and a display of items from the Library’s renowned musical theater collections – including from the papers of Pearl Bailey, Florence Klotz, Ethel Merman, Mary Rodgers, Jeanine Tesori and Bob Fosse/Gwen Verdon.
The public can register to attend in-person or virtually here.
The program for the first day of the conference, Wednesday, May 14, includes two industry panels featuring leading songwriters, directors and choreographers for stage and screen. There will also be a display of collections from the Music Division of the Library of Congress, focusing on the achievements and contributions of women.
Opening day panels feature Tony Award-winning luminaries including:
- Composer Jeanine Tesori (Kimberly Akimbo and Fun Home).
- Songwriters Shaina Taub (Suffs) and Helen Park (KPOP).
- Director and designer Julie Taymor (The Lion King).
- Director and choreographer Camille A. Brown (Gypsy and Hell’s Kitchen).
- Producer Marjuan Canady (Hell’s Kitchen).
May 15 and 16 will feature over 25 papers on the works and many roles women play in the history of the American musical.
StageStruck! VI: Women and the American Musical runs May 14-16, 2025 in the Library of Congress James Madison Memorial Building, West Dining Room and Mumford Room, 101 Independence Ave. SE, Washington, DC 20003. It will also be streamed online. This event is free and open to the public, registration is required. Find the full event lineup and register online.
About StageStruck
StageStruck! is a semi-annual international musical theater studies conference.Past conferences were held at the University of Sheffield (2014, 2016), at the Great American Songbook Foundation in Indiana (2018, 2024), and online (2021).
About the Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is home to one of the world’s preeminent performing arts collections. With over 28 million items in its custody, the Music Division preserves and provides access to general music collections comprising musical scores, instructional books and music literature, as well as special collections that include the personal papers of notable creative artists, the business papers of publishers and artistic foundations, and more. Special collections related to women and musicals include Pearl Bailey, Peggy Clark, Barbara Cook, Katherine Dunham, Sylvia Fine, Dolores Gray, Harriet Hoctor, Yuriko and Susan Kikuchi, Florence Klotz, Ethel Merman, Mary Rodgers, Jeanine Tesori, Gwen Verdon, and many more. Additional musical theater collections include the papers of George and Ira Gershwin, Oscar Hammerstein II, Irving Berlin, Richard Rodgers and Tony Walton.
The Library of Congress is the world’s largest library, offering access to the creative record of the United States — and extensive materials from around the world — both on-site and online. It is the main research arm of the U.S. Congress and the home of the U.S. Copyright Office. Explore collections, reference services and other programs and plan a visit at loc.gov; access the official site for U.S. federal legislative information at congress.gov; and register creative works of authorship at copyright.gov.
