[1] It premiered off-broadway at The Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theater on July 10, 2019, as part of The New York Musical Festival, as a main stage production, and was directed by Samantha Saltzman.

[3] On board, women convicts were often subjected to poor conditions, violence, meager food, sickness, disease, and some gave birth during the journey.

[4] However, if they survived the boat journey and completed their sentences of seven years or more, women could potentially keep any money they earned, own land, and start their own businesses, which they were not legally allowed to do in Britain at the time.

[5] In 1789 London, England, Irish teenage sisters Alice and Mary Reed have been accused of committing a petty crime and are standing trial for stealing a handkerchief.

They meet Abigail Gainsborough, a card sharper, and Mrs. Pickering, a mother in debt, and soon learn they are all victims of a government plan that tries to rid the streets of the poor by doling out punishments that severely outweigh the crimes (“The Bloody Code”).

Alice and Mary see a girl hiding in the corner, Kitty MacDougal, an orphan falsely accused of theft, and they survive the night by hanging to a glimmer of hope (“A Way Out”).

As weeks pass and hope fades, Abigail suggests there is a way to get protection, warmth and better food by becoming “temporary wives” to the seamen, an old seafaring custom (“Only the Strong Survive”).

After a month docked in Rio ("Até Logo"), Lady Jane confronts the Captain about what the future will be for the women convicts and their unborn children (“I Need An Anchor”).

Act I Act II The debut production of Ladyship was directed by Samantha Saltzman and featured Maddie Shea Baldwin (Bright Star) as Alice Reed, Caitlin Cohn (Lolita, My Love) as Mary Reed, Jennifer Blood (Matilda the Musical) as Lady Jane Sharp, Jordon Bolden (TV: Daredevil, Law & Order: SVU) as Marcus "Finn" Findley, Noelle Hogan (Fun Home, US Tour) as Kitty MacDougal, Justin R.G.

[9] For the performance run, The CB Players partnered with Hands of Justice, a survivor-led anti-trafficking nonprofit organization that helps survivors of sex-trafficking reclaim their lives.