Women, what is it about them? In a season made up of hundreds of artists on the creative side, we wanted to honor Women's History Month by recognizing the women who helped create Broadway shows this season—especially in disciplines that have historically been male-dominated. 

This list includes women like Larissa FastHorse (The Thanksgiving Play), the first Native American woman to write a Broadway play; Helen Park (KPOP), the first Asian female composer on Broadway; and Adrienne Kennedy (Ohio State Murders)—who made her belated Broadway debut at the age of 91.

Other highlights of the season include the revival of 1776, co-helmed by Diane Paulus, and with a cast made up entirely of female, transgender, and non-binary performers. Barriers continue to be broken down as Amy Herzog became the first woman to adapt A Doll’s House for Broadway. Emma Donoghue’s Room is set to open on Broadway in April with six female creatives on the team (the most women of the season on one team). We did not include the even longer list of female-identifying actors this season. But with this list of lead creatives, we want to make it clear, women did the thing on Broadway!  

Direction

Arpita Mukherjee (The Kite Runner)
Cora Bissett (Room)
Diane Paulus (1776)
Jessica Stone (Kimberly Akimbo)
Jo Bonney (Cost of Living)
LaTanya Richardson Jackson (The Piano Lesson)
Lear deBessonet (Into The Woods)
Lisa Peterson (Good Night, Oscar)
Miranda Cromwell (Death of a Salesman)
Nina Goodheart (Walking With Ghosts)
Rachel Chavkin (The Thanksgiving Play)
Susan Stroman (New York, New York)

Composers and Lyricists

Ayanna Witter-Johnson (Music, The Collaboration)
Brandy Clark (Music & Lyrics, Shucked)
Cora Bissett (Music & Lyrics, Room)
Helen Park (Music and Music Production, KPOP)
Jeanine Tesori (Music, Kimberly Akimbo)
Kathryn Joseph (Music & Lyrics, Room)
Rebecca Lucy Taylor (Composer, Prima Facie)
Sinéad Diskin (Music, Walking with Ghosts)

Choreography/Movement Direction

Christine Colby Jacques (Bob Fosse's Dancin')
Corinne McFadden Herrera (Bob Fosse's Dancin')
Emily Jane Boyle (Leopoldstadt)
Galen Hooks (Room)
Jennifer Rias (A Doll’s House)
Jennifer Weber (& Juliet, KPOP)
JoAnn M. Hunter (Bad Cinderella)
Kitty Winter (The Kite Runner)
Lauren Yalango-Grant (Parade)
Lorin Latarro (Into the Woods)
Sarah O’Gleby (Almost Famous, Shucked)
Susan Stroman (New York, New York)

Book

Alexis Scheer (Bad Cinderella)
Amber Ruffin (Some Like it Hot)
Amy Herzog (A Doll’s House)
Emerald Fennell (Bad Cinderella)
Kirsten Childs (Bob Fosse's Dancin')
Sharon Washington (New York, New York)

Playwrights

Adrienne Kennedy (Ohio State Murders)
Emma Donoghue (Room)
Larissa FastHorse (The Thanksgiving Play)
Lolita Chakrabarti (Life of Pi)
Martyna Majok (Cost of Living)
Suzan-Lori Parks (Topdog/Underdog)
Suzie Miller (Prima Facie)

Scenic Design

Anna Fleischle (Death of a Salesman, The Collaboration)
Gabriela Tylesova (Bad Cinderella)
Lily Arnold (Room)
Mimi Lien (Sweeney Todd)
Miriam Buether (Prima Facie)
Rachel Hauck (Good Night, Oscar)
Sinéad McKenna (Walking with Ghosts)
Soutra Gilmour (& Juliet, A Doll’s House)

Lighting Design

Bonnie Beecher (Room)
Carolina Ortiz Herrera (Good Night, Oscar)
Heather Gilbert (Parade)
Jeanette Oi-Suk Yew (Kimberly Akimbo, The Thanksgiving Play)
Jennifer Schriever (1776, Death of a Salesman)
Jennifer Tipton (Pictures from Home)
Jiyoun Chang (KPOP)
Natasha Chivers (Prima Facie)
Natasha Katz (Almost Famous, Some Like It Hot, Sweeney Todd)

Sound Design

Beth Lake (Camelot)
Carolyn Downing (Life of Pi)
Ella Wahlström (Peter Pan Goes Wrong)
Emma Laxton (The Collaboration)
Jessica Paz (A Beautiful Noise)
Sinéad Diskin (Walking With Ghosts)

Costume Design

Alexis Forte (Between Riverside and Crazy)
Andrea Hood (Into the Woods)
Annie J. Le (A Beautiful Noise)
Brigitte Reiffenstuel (Leopoldstadt)
Dede Ayite (Ohio State Murders, Topdog/Underdog)
Dominique Fawn Hill (Fat Ham)
Donna Zakowska (New York, New York)
Gabriela Tylesova (Bad Cinderella)
Harriet Jung (Dancin’)
Jennifer Moeller (Pictures from Home, Camelot)
Jessica Pabst (Cost of Living)
Joan O’Clery (Walking with Ghosts)
Lily Arnold (Room)
Linda Cho (Take Me Out)
Lux Haac (The Thanksgiving Play)
Miriam Buether (Prima Facie)
Paloma Young (& Juliet)
Sarah Laux (Kimberly Akimbo)
Sarita Fellows (Death of a Salesman)
Sophia Choi (KPOP)
Soutra Gilmour (& Juliet, A Doll’s House)
Susan Hilferty (Parade)
Tilly Grimes (Shucked)
Toni-Leslie James (The Piano Lesson, The Old Man & The Pool)

Music Department

AnnMarie Milazzo (A Beautiful Noise, Almost Famous)
Kimberlee Wertz (Bob Fosse's Dancin', Parade)
Kimberly Grigsby (Camelot)
Kristy Norter (Some Like It Hot)
Kristen Blodgette (Bad Cinderella)
Nadia DiGiallonardo (1776)
Mary-Mitchell Campbell (Some Like It Hot)
Sujin Kim-Ramsey (KPOP)

Hair, Wig, and Makeup Design

Ashley Wise (Bob Fosse's Dancin', Ain't No Mo')
Carol Robinson (The Collaboration)
Cheryl Thomas (Some Like It Hot)
Cookie Jordan (Camelot, The Piano Lesson)
Earon Chew Nealey (Fat Ham)
Karicean "Karen" Dick (The Collaboration)
Mia M. Neal (Shucked, Ain't No Mo')
Milagros Medina-Cerdeira (Some Like It Hot)
Nikiya Mathis (Death of a Salesman, Topdog/Underdog)
Sabana Majeed (New York, New York)
Suki Tsujimoto (Bob Fosse's Dancin', KPOP)

Dialect/Voice Coach

Andrea Haring (Walking With Ghosts)
Dawn-Elin Fraser (Parade, 1776)
Deborah Hecht (Sweeney Todd, The Collaboration)
Deborah Lapidus (Fat Ham)
Gigi Buffington (Between Riverside and Crazy)
Julie Congress (Ain't No Mo')
Kate Wilson (Camelot, Pictures From Home)

Intimacy/Fight Director

Ann James (Sweeney Todd)
Chelsea Pace (KPOP, Leopoldstadt)
Claire Warden (Death of a Salesman)
Crista Marie Jackson (Between Riverside and Crazy)
Lisa Kopitsky (Fat Ham)
Teniece Divya Johnson (Almost Famous)

Projection/Video Design

Hana S. Kim (Summer, 1976, The Old Man and The Pool)
Lucy Mackinnon (A Christmas Carol, Kimberly Akimbo)

After receiving feedback from our readers, Playbill has expanded this list to include more creative categories. This list seeks to spotlight the women working behind-the-scenes of Broadway. It is not exhaustive and does not include the names of women currently working in associate, assistant, and other supportive roles to make Broadway happen.