Early in the second act of the Old Globe’s hilarious world premiere musical “Regency Girls,” a London midwife sings ruefully about her shock that women still don’t have reproductive rights — in 1810. “It’s like the 1750s all over again,” she croons in the highly anachronistic Regency Era romp that opened Thursday night in Balboa Park.
Set in England during the first decade of the 19th century, but clearly signaling conservative America in 2025, “Regency Girls” is a laugh-packed (and curse word-sprinkled) road trip comedy about four women who embark on a rocky carriage ride toward personal, career, sexual, matrimonial and maternal autonomy.
San Diego is one of America’s most fruitful birthing grounds for new plays and musicals, and local theatergoers know that new shows always need cuts and rewrites. But “Regency Girls” — directed and choreographed with a brilliantly detailed comedic eye by Josh Rhodes, and featuring an excellent cast end to end — is one of those rare shows that felt nearly Broadway-ready on opening night.
Its first act could use some tightening, and not every song is a home run. But the two-hour, 40-minute script by Jennifer Crittenden and Gabrielle Allan is smart, biting, playful and swift-paced.
The song lyrics by Amanda Green are so funny it’s sometimes hard to hear them over the audience’s laughter; and Curtis Moore’s toe-tapping, up-tempo score is a lively mix of ballads, pop songs and musical theater styles.
Some of the best songs in the score are the afore-mentioned showstopper “How Long (in 1810),” the wacky multilayered patter song “Take a Letter,” and the eye-opening, trigger word-laden act-two opener “Leave It To the Men,” where male London judges, lords and police proclaim their sacred duty to decide on behalf of “scatter-headed” women, even “though they persist.”
Clearly inspired by Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice,” “Regency Girls” ends where the 1813 Regency Era novel ends — with pretty elder sister Jane engaged to the handsome but dull Dingley and brainy, restless sister Elinor finding her intellectual equal in the wealthy gentleman Stanton, despite the disapproval of his haughty aunt, Lady Catherine.
But that’s where Austen ends and “Regency Girls gone wild” begins. A funny song lyric warns the audience of the rapid tonal shift approaching: “We hope that you’re not too genteel, cause sh– will soon be getting real.”
After a night of ion with Stanton, Elinor ends up pregnant, but their marriage has been delayed by a year due to his overseas voyage. Facing social ruin for herself and her family, Elinor takes the advice of her maid Dabney, who is also “up the spout” with an unwanted pregnancy, and they, along with Elinor’s sister Jane and Elinor’s best friend, Petunia, embark on a journey to meet with the midwife/abortionist Madame Restell.
Tony-nominated San Diego costume designer calls ‘Regency Girls’ assignment a full-circle moment
Along the way, these women discover personal liberation dressed in male attire, unexpected love, self-pleasure and even some wild French BDSM fashions. The production’s wonderfully designed, detailed and colorful costumes by David I. Reynoso add a great deal of nuance and insight to the characters and their gradual transformations.
Isabelle McCalla gives an endearing, heartfelt and sometimes tearful performance as Elinor, who sings poignantly about her desire to be more useful in society than just a child-bearing ornament. Her many entrepreneurial ideas include roller skates, hot dogs, fertilizer and dresses with pockets.
Vocal powerhouse Janine LaManna steals several scenes with her dual performances as the witchy Lady Catherine and benevolent Madame Restell. Kate Rockwell is sweet and wide-eyed as the kind but unsophisticated Jane. Gabe Gibbs is a gifted physical comedian as Jane’s two loves, the philandering Dingley and the dashing masked bandit Galloping Dick.
Ryann Redmond is charming, bold and exuberant as seen-it-all Petunia, who has umpteen children due to the lack of birth control. Krystina Alabado is warm and understated as the wise maid Dabney. Nik Walker is gentle and reserved as Elinor’s aspiring stay-at-home-dad Stanton, and Sav Souza, as the family’s big-hearted but illiterate manservant Scutter, has a great comic moment in the song “Take a Letter.”
The show’s playfully stylized scenery was designed by Anna Louizos, Adam Honoré designed lighting, Jason Crystal designed sound and Patrick Sulken served as music director.
“Regency Girls” may not be for everyone. It’s a feminist comedy about sex, freedom and a women’s right to choose whether or not to terminate a pregnancy. It’s also got some naughty language and humor. But it’s one of the funniest new musical I’ve seen in years.
‘Regency Girls’
When: 7 p.m. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays; 8 p.m. Fridays; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturdays; 2 and 7 p.m. Sundays. Through May 11
Where: Old Globe Theatre, 1363 Old Globe Way, Balboa Park, San Diego
Tickets: $45 and up
Phone: 619-234-5623
Online: theoldglobe.org
