The Path to Catherine by
The Path to Catherine is the true backstory of the teenage girl, Sophie, who will eventually become Catherine the Great, and the two women who shaped her.
There is not much a noblewoman can do in 1740’s Germany. She can marry or become a nun if she fails at a betrothal. Or, on the other hand, she can marry. Teenage Princess Sophie plans to marry and do it well. She has had a lifetime of...
There is not much a noblewoman can do in 1740’s Germany. She can marry or become a nun if she fails at a betrothal. Or, on the other hand, she can marry. Teenage Princess Sophie plans to marry and do it well. She has had a lifetime of...
The Path to Catherine is the true backstory of the teenage girl, Sophie, who will eventually become Catherine the Great, and the two women who shaped her.
There is not much a noblewoman can do in 1740’s Germany. She can marry or become a nun if she fails at a betrothal. Or, on the other hand, she can marry. Teenage Princess Sophie plans to marry and do it well. She has had a lifetime of witnessing her mother, Princess Joanna’s, frustration and resentment at the life she lives after being married off beneath her rank. Because Sophie has trouble containing her lively mind and physically active nature, Joanna despairs of finding a desirable match for Sophie.
Russia’s Empress, Elizabeth, is childless and desperate to find a suitable heir in order to protect herself and her throne. Her nephew and current heir, Peter, is incapable. She invites Joanna and Sophie to visit, implying that Sophie might make a proper wife who can produce a proper heir. Joanna and Sophie are ecstatic at this prospect.
But Joanna also receives a letter from her own King, Frederick. He “asks” Joanna to spy for him while in Russia. Joanna is flattered to become a shadow diplomat and doesn’t tell Sophie. Instead, Joana instructs Sophie on proper court behavior during the journey to Moscow. Unfortunately, when they meet Elizabeth, Joana and Elizabeth take an immediate dislike to one another. Joanna attempts to ingratiate herself with Elizabeth while secretly allying herself with the French ambassador, gathering information for King Frederick.
Sophie wants very much to fall in love with Peter, or at least like him, but he is callow and dismissive. Though disappointed, Sophie resists Joanna’s advice to ply Peter with feminine wiles and seeks Elizabeth’s counsel instead. Sophie and Elizabeth begin a tentative friendship.
Elizabeth and Joanna vie for Sophie’s allegiance. Elizabeth counsels Sophie to consider the slim likelihood of both falling in love and also gaining high ranking. Joanna, stalling for time while she waits for state information, resists the conversion to Orthodoxy which would initiate Sophie’s betrothal.
Sophie is torn. She becomes ill. Joanna and Elizabeth disagree about treatment and Joanna relents, fearing Elizabeth will discover her espionage. During her illness, Elizabeth decides to choose Sophie, and stays by her side until she pulls through. After this, Joanna feels she can safely visit her daughter. When Joanna arrives, she and Sophie quarrel; Sophie declares that she will, indeed, convert to Orthodoxy.
Elizabeth discovers Joanna’s treachery and berates her. In a rage, she cancels the marriage. Joanna pleads Sophie’s case to no avail. Thinking it through, Elizabeth cools down, concluding that Sophie is nothing like her mother, and will make a suitable wife for Peter. To ensure that Sophie fully understands what her position will be in the royal court, Elizabeth announces that she will ban Joana. She further requires that Sophie choose whether she will stay or go.
Sophie accepts these terms, choosing life in Elizabeth’s court. Joanna ruefully understands this choice; Sophie is her mother’s daughter.
Elizabeth has accepted her life’s role as monarch. Joanna goes home chastened. Sophie has learned that power has a price; that price is family.
The Path to Catherine features a cast of three women and a sung-through score with modern musical elements combining percussive grooves and soaring, emotional melodies bringing this untold, true, historic story into the 21st century.
The Path to Catherine is an easily producible musical, with a cast of 3 women
and a 4-piece band. It’s a 90 min fast-moving one-act with minimal design requirements that appeals to the audiences of shows such as Six and Bridgerton the Musical.
There is not much a noblewoman can do in 1740’s Germany. She can marry or become a nun if she fails at a betrothal. Or, on the other hand, she can marry. Teenage Princess Sophie plans to marry and do it well. She has had a lifetime of witnessing her mother, Princess Joanna’s, frustration and resentment at the life she lives after being married off beneath her rank. Because Sophie has trouble containing her lively mind and physically active nature, Joanna despairs of finding a desirable match for Sophie.
Russia’s Empress, Elizabeth, is childless and desperate to find a suitable heir in order to protect herself and her throne. Her nephew and current heir, Peter, is incapable. She invites Joanna and Sophie to visit, implying that Sophie might make a proper wife who can produce a proper heir. Joanna and Sophie are ecstatic at this prospect.
But Joanna also receives a letter from her own King, Frederick. He “asks” Joanna to spy for him while in Russia. Joanna is flattered to become a shadow diplomat and doesn’t tell Sophie. Instead, Joana instructs Sophie on proper court behavior during the journey to Moscow. Unfortunately, when they meet Elizabeth, Joana and Elizabeth take an immediate dislike to one another. Joanna attempts to ingratiate herself with Elizabeth while secretly allying herself with the French ambassador, gathering information for King Frederick.
Sophie wants very much to fall in love with Peter, or at least like him, but he is callow and dismissive. Though disappointed, Sophie resists Joanna’s advice to ply Peter with feminine wiles and seeks Elizabeth’s counsel instead. Sophie and Elizabeth begin a tentative friendship.
Elizabeth and Joanna vie for Sophie’s allegiance. Elizabeth counsels Sophie to consider the slim likelihood of both falling in love and also gaining high ranking. Joanna, stalling for time while she waits for state information, resists the conversion to Orthodoxy which would initiate Sophie’s betrothal.
Sophie is torn. She becomes ill. Joanna and Elizabeth disagree about treatment and Joanna relents, fearing Elizabeth will discover her espionage. During her illness, Elizabeth decides to choose Sophie, and stays by her side until she pulls through. After this, Joanna feels she can safely visit her daughter. When Joanna arrives, she and Sophie quarrel; Sophie declares that she will, indeed, convert to Orthodoxy.
Elizabeth discovers Joanna’s treachery and berates her. In a rage, she cancels the marriage. Joanna pleads Sophie’s case to no avail. Thinking it through, Elizabeth cools down, concluding that Sophie is nothing like her mother, and will make a suitable wife for Peter. To ensure that Sophie fully understands what her position will be in the royal court, Elizabeth announces that she will ban Joana. She further requires that Sophie choose whether she will stay or go.
Sophie accepts these terms, choosing life in Elizabeth’s court. Joanna ruefully understands this choice; Sophie is her mother’s daughter.
Elizabeth has accepted her life’s role as monarch. Joanna goes home chastened. Sophie has learned that power has a price; that price is family.
The Path to Catherine features a cast of three women and a sung-through score with modern musical elements combining percussive grooves and soaring, emotional melodies bringing this untold, true, historic story into the 21st century.
The Path to Catherine is an easily producible musical, with a cast of 3 women
and a 4-piece band. It’s a 90 min fast-moving one-act with minimal design requirements that appeals to the audiences of shows such as Six and Bridgerton the Musical.