A Commission for a new musical from River & Rail

Our friends at River & Rail Theatre Co. in Knoxville have commissioned a new musical from Chris Cragin-Day, Lori Chaffer, and me (Don Chaffer) with an eye on a full production in 2020 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment-the amendment which granted women the right to vote. The 19th Amendment passed in Tennessee, with the deciding vote coming from Harry T. Burn, a 23-year-old state legislator, the youngest in Tennessee's history. He had planned to vote “no” to honor what he thought were his constituents' wishes. But then—sitting on the floor of the legislature—he remembered an unopened letter in his pocket from his mother. He opened it, read it, changed his vote, the amendment passed, and women got the right to vote. Amazing. This show is the story of the remarkable mother, Febb Burn, her son, and how American women got the right to vote.