The one-woman musical show premieres at the Atlas Performing Arts Center November 16.
Rebecca Magnuson (Courtesy Photo)
After her 2013 divorce, vocal coach, singer and songwriter Rebecca Magnuson turned to music to heal. Fast-forward to 2018: her one-woman musical, She Sings, will premiere this weekend. Produced with Jim Kimball and Country Music Hall of Fame songwriter Bobby Braddock, the music for this show portrays the dangers of intimate partner violence.
“I knew I had to get back to my music to survive. I’ve been writing and performing for years, and it has sustained me,” says Magnuson, who found support in close friends. “My Nashville girlfriends supported me and opened up to me about situations they’d endured, and when I began She Sings I found myself in a position to give them this platform. It has themes so many women have experienced or know someone who has, and represents multitudes of women.
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Rebecca Magnuson. Photo courtesy of Rebecca Magnuson.
After movements like #MeToo have grown, She Sings seems especially timely for the current social climate, a coincidence not lost on Magnuson. “What we see in today’s news on discrimination, harassment and narcissism is present every day,” she says. “The only way to end this is to speak about it, and I am so fortunate I can get a message out there that’s an art form.
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She Sings helped Magnuson find inner power. “It was music that gave me strength,” she says. “I want every woman to know that anything is possible, and whatever your art form is, keep doing it. There are times when things are really bleak, and I’m here and I’ve done it at this level.
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Her goal with the musical is to shed light on abusive situations like emotional, verbal or financial abuse. After the Atlas performance on November 16th and a Nashville show later this month, Magnuson wants She Sings to expand nationally. Upon receiving international reactions to the soundtrack, it’s only encouraged her message. “I’ve gotten responses from women thanking me, telling me how empowered they feel, that the music gives them a voice,” Magnuson says, “and I want to bring a voice to the voiceless.”
Ultimately, Magnuson hopes guests will find healing and build their own abuse awareness from She Sings. “When we endure abuse we often isolate, shut down, and are embarrassed,” she says.
“My goal is for people to leave shows feeling empowered and able to leave these situations, because they see there is a beautiful peace when that abusive person is out of their lives.”
She Sings premieres at the Atlas Performing Arts Center on Friday, November 16, at 8 p.m. 10% of ticket sales will benefit the charity Knock Out Abuse.
Tickets can be purchased at SheSings.com.
