About the Show
With the real-life Dr. Joycelyn Elders’ blessing, FCT is in the early stages of developing a play that celebrates her extraordinary life. A brilliant rural Arkansas sharecropper’s daughter becomes a doctor and eventually the Surgeon General of the United States. Along the way, she wrestles with competing instincts…practical compromise vs. passionately promoting change, even when powerful interests urge silence. The play takes us on the whirlwind journey of Dr. Elders’ brief tenure as the Surgeon General of the United States during the Clinton administration, including descriptions around some of the controversies she got into around birth control, teen sexuality and education, drug use, and abortion. Her outspoken speeches took criticism from administration foes, and she was ultimately fired for drawing heat and attention at a time when Clinton wanted to bolster support from “Family Values” voters. She was articulating positions she’d long held, logical and mainstream medical points of view throughout, and if anyone expected anything different, her personal history and her tenure as Director of Public Health for the State of Arkansas tells a different story. The play focuses on Dr. Elder’s evolution to become an advocate and voice of moral courage. FCT will present the first workshop presentation of this solo play to round out the 2022 season! We’ll post location and other details soon…