This isn't perfect, but it's fun and it's unique and it's inspiring! And it's so so relevant. There is drama, historical context, and so many musical numbers. The style feels dated, which actually made it appropriate for the content. I hope schools get hold of this so kids can learn about these important issues in a fun way. Thanks to NetGalley for letting me listen to this full performance audiobook

Loved the idea of a musical audiobook! I learned a lot and enjoyed the uniqueness to this book, but I would've enjoyed it more if the music were a bit more upbeat. Finished it in a day.

I love historical fiction and I love musicals so to me this was perfect! I am constantly blown away realizing how little I know about history. 19: The Musical does an incredible job of packing in, both information and emotion. I'll probably listen again, because there was so much that I didn't catch. It was also harrowing to see what an uphill battle equality was then and how we're still fighting for fighting for equality today.

While I appreciated the voice and perspective of Ida B. Wells, I wish the story focused on her more. Her inclusion kind of reminded me of Mercedes treatment on Glee - she only comes in at the end to belt out an emotional number. I also wish that the musical production was a bit more over-the-top. I remember moments of the story but can't really remember any of the songs.

Overall, an enjoyable and educational listen!

As a huge fan of musicals/theatre and history, I could not wait to immerse myself in the production. Unfortunately, at the halfway point is when I could not listen anymore. The storyline felt extremely choppy and the random modern references despite it being in the early 1900's was extremely cringey.
Love the idea of sharing the stories of these women, but this musical needs a lot of fine tuning before I would finish the audiobook or buy tickets to see it.

This is a very educational musical and I think it will mostly find an audience in classroom settings. I did learn a lot and it's always fun to hear history put in a more entertaining format.

That said, it feels a bit rough around the edges. The characters aren't well developed and none of the songs were particularly catchy; I wouldn't ever go back and listen to them again. I was also sometimes confused about who was speaking. Some musicals really work when you just listen to the cast recording as opposed to seeing the stage version, but I just don't know that this was one of them.

Thank you Net Galley and Through the 4th wall publishing for this ARC! This was a wonderful musical with depth. I particularly enjoyed how it concluded in a way to keep you thinking about where we are today and a reminder that anything can change on a dime. I think it brings crucial equality issues to light and is really appropriate for today, in light of Roe v wade overturning, equal pay and other women’s rights we continue to struggle with today.

Amazing for lovers of history and musicals.
Music is so good. Songs are so catchy and fun!
This musical also give amazing history on a major event in history.
LOVE IT!!

Thank you to Net Galley for the digital recording of 19: The Musical for exchange of a review. This was an interesting musical about the Women Suffrage Movement, The Passage of the 19 Movement and the people were the driven force behind it.

Thanks to NetGalley and Through the 4th Wall for the digital audiobook of 19: The Musical.

Do you know who Alice Paul, Ida B. Wells, Susan B. Anthony, Carrie Chapman Catt, and Inez Milholland were? They were just some of the high-profile suffragists who fought for a woman's right to vote in the United States. I wouldn't say their stories are little-known as some are known better than others. The main character that drives the show is Alice Paul; check out PBS documentary The Vote and Ken Burns Not For Ourselves Alone for documentaries that cover the suffrage movement.

As educational as Hamilton, this audio version of the musical would be great to put on in local middle and high schools. Some of the songs are really catchy. However, I felt like Ida B. Wells was just thrown in there for representation and then promptly forgotten. I would love to see this on stage somewhere.

Have you ever had occasion to sit through a school play in which you don't know any of the students? If not, listening to this book will recreate that sensation without the need to leave your house.

I sympathize with the creators of this musical - they opened in late 2019 (as you will quickly figure out from the VERY time-stamped theme of "Reclaiming My Time" that repeats throughout the show), and I'm sure that many of the rough edges would have been sanded down after more extensive audience feedback. And of course, when Broadway reopened, the world had changed, and then Suffs came along, providing the final knockout punch to this being professionally staged again.

I also understand the desire to preserve all of the work that was presumably put into developing the musical by releasing it in audiobook form. And I imagine that funds were likely limited, so the capacity to revise the recording of the show to make it more suited to an audio-only format was limited.

That said, however - this is not a fun listen. The show is underdeveloped, with inconsistent themes both musically and tonally, and the voices of the cast are not at a level that is consistent with listener expectations of cast recordings. No character is fully developed, including Alice Paul who is the primary focus of the story - but the inclusion of Ida B. Wells as a symbol (which is conveniently forgotten when the "real" story gets going) is particularly problematic.

I can see this having moderate success in licensing to schools until the rights to Suffs become available, so the audio version may be of use to those involved with those productions - but for everyone else, spend your two hours going to see (or at least streaming) a better production of a different musical.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

NetGalley people, it is a "Listen Now" selection.
Like all great art, it evoked many emotions as I listened, especially "I will vote for Mother's freedom"
Because of the long history of oppression, some more violently than others, MAGA is a term I find so offensive. I have to wonder what period in history people think we need to revert to that was so great. Unless a candidate is working to progress our country for the good of all people, they don't get my vote.
I hope to see this production live because the audiobook is so good.

I really enjoyed this. I love musicals and I am also a feminist. I wish they taught our journey as women in school. All of it. I was deeply moved by the performance and I’ll be thinking about it for days… well done (lots of clapping!)
Thanks Through the 4th Wall via NetGalley.

19: The Musical by Jennifer Schwed and Doug Bradshaw is a full cast musical.

The write is about a group of women that paved the way for women to have the rights that we have today. Without these women and the trials and tribulations they experienced and suffered, women would still be viewed as nothing but an accessory to a male. They would not have the ability to work outside the home or have the opportunity to shape the world.
The women’s suffrage movement is often glossed over in history lessons, so I enjoyed learning details that I hadn’t known. I was aware prior to this about the marches, including the night of terror, and the conditions that the women paving the future suffered. This was great in highlighting that even during their journey, they often warred with themselves over how to protest. This was educational but in a very fun way. I had never heard of Alice Paul before this. I felt that current trends and references were entertaining but also seemed out of place.

The music is fun and keeps you engaged. The musical was educational, told in a quick entertaining way. I would definitely recommend listening.

19 the Musical is a full cast audio recording of the musical 19, which is based on the Women’s Suffrage Movement and the journey of Alice Paul. Therese were many things that I enjoyed from this audiobook! I Liked how the scenes were introduced I found this really helpful to understanding the scenes. I Loved the vocals, and the lyrics. I enjoyed how so many things were expressed through the songs, one that stood out to me was the song Dear Mama, where you are really shown how these women were formed by their mothers, and those that came before them. I Enjoyed how the songs told the stories of the different women, How the suffragettes got to know each other and learned from one another. I did not realize that Alice Paul began working towards women’s equality in London, before doing the same in the United States. I Liked how media and quotes from current times were used in the songs.
“Nevertheless she persisted,” and one character asking another to take a selfie.
I overall really enjoyed this audiobook, and definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys musicals or would like to learn more about the women’s rights movement. Thank you to NetGalley and to the author and publisher of this audiobook for an ALC in exchange for an honest review.

I’m a theatre person so it was fun to hear what was basically a cast recording as an audiobook. In general I thought this was good and would love to actually see the show, but I did feel that the modern day references/quotes really dated it. It’s a historical story, I would’ve much rather it stuck to using historical quotes than to shoe horn in modern references that immediately took me out of the story.

I found 19: The Musical to be highly educational. As with many areas of history, my education on women's suffrage is surface level at best. I appreciated that this musical acknowledged that women's suffrage quickly became *white* women's suffrage, I also did not know of the connection to prohibition for some factions of this movement.

I would classify this musical as primarily educational, it provides wonderful information in a very palatable form. I don't see myself going back to re-listen to any particular song. Readers going into this expecting Six or Hamilton will be disappointed, but with appropriate expectations, I think 19: The Musical will educate and entertain.

Thank you to Jennifer Schwed, Doug Bradshaw, ​​​Charlie Barnett and Through the 4th Wall for the opportunity to listen to this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

19 the musical is about females fighting for the vote and women suffragettes. It mainly focuses on Alice Paul’s life from her first attendance at a Susan B Anthony speech to what would be her life’s passion she would pickit get arrested be force-fed she was also in the Washington DC jail on “the night of terror” until they get the vote and it’s all set to music. Some of the songs were pretty good the singers were very talented I do want to say when the guards were going into the jail cell on the night of terror and one of the solo singers sang my country ‘tis of the I’d really thought that was a bad look to take the word prey out of this song. It makes me wonder what else they changed but either way they hit all the highlights and although I didn’t hear a peep from Ida B Wells one of my favorite historical heroes They just mention her name at the beginning of the musical but I Degress this is still a great learning tool in only two hours long and I listen to all of it and probably will listen to it again. I want to thank the publisher and Net Galley for my free arc copy. Please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

"19: The Musical" is an audio full cast version of the musical called "19" about the Women's Suffrage Movement in America. The songs are excellent and very catchy. The musical tells of the biggest challenges and public actions of the movement. They used the phrase, "Organize, Agitate, Educate," to define their methods. In this play, Alice Paul was the leader for most of the public events.

A lot of the peaceful protests and marches were met with violence and imprisonment. Hunger strikes in jail were handled with forced feedings. This was hard to listen to.. but must have been truly horrifying to live through! Telling this part of our history in a musical makes it more approachable. Think "Hamilton," for instance.

During one march, the women were attacked in the street by men. Then, it was the women who were thrown in prison. One night in 1917, the guards were told to attack the female prisoners. It was called the Night of Terror. This injustice finally got out to the press, and this began to change public sentiment. The 19th Amendment giving the right to vote to women was finally passed on August 26, 1920!!

All my gratitude to the leaders of the Women's Suffrage Movement - Susan B. Anthony, Alice Paul, Lucy Burns, Carrie Chapman Catt, Inez Milholland, Ida B. Wells, as well as to all the participants!

Highly recommend to all! Know your herstory!

Thank you to Netgalley and Through the 4th Wall for providing this audio recording in exchange for my honest review.

Firstly I would like to thank Jennifer Schwed , Doug Bradshaw , Through the 4th Wall Publishing and Net Galley for providing me with a copy of ' 19 : The Musical ' on audiobook to listen to and review .

I am personally an avid follower of musical theatre and have watched many documentaries about the suffragette movement, so this book was the perfect blend for me. I had heard a little about the stage production at the time of its opening , but in all honesty I feel that it is a production that is not widely known about.

The story follows the defiant tale of the women who risked their lives to stand up to oppression and fought for their rights to vote. Their fearlessness paving the way for a better future for subsequent generations. The title '19 ' refers to the 19th amendment that needed to be passed for the suffragist movement to be victorious and for females to be given equal rights.
Whilst we have all heard of Emily Pankhurst , embarrassingly I had not heard of Alice Paul before today. Hearing her story retold in such a modern and unique way was inspiring . Like ' Hamilton' and 'Six' before it , this musical brought history back to life.

The whole book is very immersive combining the spoken word with haunting musical numbers. The first song giving a very lively and upbeat introduction with a jazzy composition which has honkytonk vibes . I felt it was very reminiscent of Chicago and Bonnie and Clyde.
Any Musical that can rhyme ' Crusading and Persuading' Is an absolute winner for me .
The tale translates well from the stage book to an audiobook version and it is very easy to visualise . I only wish there were more stage shows told in this way.

I was completely awestruck by both the physical and psychological abuse these women endured whilst imprisoned , but they didn't falter . The story is completely harrowing and the music reflects the turmoil of this . This is a book for all ages especially as it's told in such a modern way to engage the younger listener. Whilst providing historical accuracy it is told in an engaging up to date way with contemporary terminology such as ' scratch that' ' slow your roll' and ' #blessed'
I also adored the letters that Alice wrote to her mother that were emotional as Alice tells her of her plight and her hopes and dreams.

I devoured this book in one sitting and enjoyed every single minute to a point that I want to listen to it all over again in the near future. The cast performs so well and their voices are outstanding. The finale is exceptional , the vocal blending and the way the story is drawn to a close stayed with me for a long while after the final note had reverberated.
I wish I could give this book more than 5 stars

#19TheMusical #NetGalley