MALVERN, Pa. (KYW Newsradio) — A local playwright is shining a light on a little-known Philadelphia first: the first degree-granting medical school for women.
Suli Holum’s new play, “The Woman Question,” follows the 1894 class of the Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania.
“All of these women were coming to Philadelphia to become doctors before they could vote,” Holum said. The school was founded in 1850, when women were banned from most professions.
The title refers to the debate over whether or not women should be allowed to work, vote and take on roles in society outside the household.
“There was a study that was conducted by a male doctor,” Holum explained, “that proved that [women’s] reproductive health was negatively impacted if they left the house when they were menstruating.
“Thanks to Dr. Jacoby, who graduated from the Pennsylvania Woman’s Medical College — she published a study that proved that women could do anything that they wanted to do when they were menstruating, and that studying would not … negatively impact their reproductive health.”
Holum described the play as a “docu-fantasy” — think “Little Women” meets “The Pitt,” she said — based on real people, with imagined scenarios.
“All of the students that are represented in the play did overlap at the Woman’s Medical College, but I have taken the liberty of putting them all in the same class, so they’re all in the class of 1894,” said Holum.
The school was originally located at Sixth and Arch streets in Old City. It later moved to East Falls and eventually became part of the Drexel University College of Medicine. Holum dug deep into the archives at Drexel’s Legacy Center over the 10 years she spent developing this play.
“We not only went into the archive but also interviewed experts and community members,” she said, “so that the play really is a reflection not only of historical research, but also how that research lands on contemporary people.”
Holum shared the play with current Drexel medical students. “They get so excited,” she said. “They’re like, ‘I didn’t know I was going to see myself in this. And I can’t believe that these women, med students in the 19th century, were going through the same things that I’m going through now.’”
“The Woman Question” runs from May 6 to 24 at People’s Light theater in Malvern. Tickets and information can be found on the People’s Light website.
Elizabeth Hawks
