The UC Theater Department is back with its first production of the semester, Into the Breeches! The play, written by George Brant, is a comedy based on a true story. Set in 1942, Into the Breeches! features a group of women who are determined to put on a production of Henry V by William Shakespeare and keep their local theater alive while the men are away at war. A feelgood play about the beauty of friendship, inclusivity, and the importance of theater, Into the Breeches! is guaranteed to leave you with a smile on your face!
The women are the forefront of the whole production with more than half of the cast playing female characters. Sophia Bush ‘26 says that “one of the things that I was most excited about for this show is that it is a mostly female cast.” Bush pointed out this is different from previous productions that she has done. “I want people to give it a chance.” While it is a comedy, it is important not to separate the play from the historical context that it is set in. Spencer Toth ‘25 explained that “a large part of [the play] is actually giving women the power to do theater because for a lot of history it would be men playing women or there wouldn’t be any female parts.” Throughout history, women have been acting and writing plays, but their stories were overshadowed in patriarchal societies. This play gives their stories a platform.
Into the Breeches! was written in 2020 and stays mostly true to the original story. However, Laisha Torres ‘26 said that while doing research for the production, she found that most of it talks about “white women, white wives. It doesn’t talk about the LGBTQ community, it doesn’t talk about people of color like that. They are kind of like an afterthought. What I like about this [play] is that they are not an afterthought here. They are included in it from the beginning, wholeheartedly. I think that’s something that’s really cool about it and being a part of that and being able to play a person of color in the play is really important.” While including the stories of people of color, the play also discusses the rights of the LGBTQ community. One of the great things about the play is “its intersectionality, it adds other people into it,” Torres ‘26 says. “The script encourages you to change stuff about the location so it’s about where you are. We are trying to change it in a way so that it’s about our local Philadelphia area. It brings it home and makes it much more relevant.” Despite taking place in 1942, the story reaches across decades and still has extreme relevance.
Into the Breeches! obviously has a very feminist message, but it is also “a love letter to the theater” as Gianna Daiuto ‘26 describes it. It is about “appreciating our craft and loving what we do.” Bush ‘26 elaborates on this idea saying that Into the Breeches! emphasizes “women and their importance. Women during World War II did what they could to keep things trudging along at home and the work that they did was so important. You might not think of theater as that important of a job, but it really is. Especially through increasing morale, providing some sort of entertainment and escape, theater is such an important tool and outlet for human expression. Art is absolutely essential and this play really touches on that in a way that’s beautiful.”
At the end of the day, Into the Breeches! has it all! “When it isn’t funny it’s very heartfelt,” remarks Daiuto ‘26. The humor and lovable story shine through but the inspiring message will stick with you. As Toth ‘25 said, “It’s a really good play, it’s a really heartwarming play about people trying to do theater in a space that is not inclusive of them. The theater community creates a space for everyone, it doesn’t matter who you are or what you believe, what you do, you can do it!”
Opening night of Into the Breeches! is September 26th at 7:30 and it will run until the 29th. The 29th is an ASL interpreted performance starting at 2pm. You can buy tickets at TicketLeap or use the QR code on the Into the Breeches! promotional posters. Come out and support the hard working actors of the theater department, you won’t regret it!