Yahoo Finance Ariana DeBose and Bonnie Milligan Team to Sing 'Timely' New Song About a Woman's Choice — Watch
PEOPLE debuts a first look at Female Troubles, A Period Piece, which is aiming for a large-scale production in 2024
Broadway stars Ariana DeBose and Bonnie Milligan hit the recording studio.
The Academy Award-winning West Side Story actress, 32, and the Kimberly Akimbo star, 38, teamed up to record the 11 o'clock number for the new musical Female Troubles, A Period Piece, which aims to take the stage in 2024.
In an exclusive music video shared with PEOPLE, DeBose and Milligan lay down vocals for "A Woman Knows," with music by Curtis Moore (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) and lyrics by Amanda Green (Bring It On, DeBose's first Broadway show).
"It's been so timely for a long time, but yes, it is [now] more timely than ever," Green tells PEOPLE of the musical, which is set in 19th-century England and tells the story of two unwed women, Elinor Benton and her Lady's Maid, who become pregnant and are seeking an abortion.
Related:Martha Plimpton and Ariana DeBose Team Up to Advocate for Abortion Rights: 'They Have Not Beat Us'
"We like to describe it as Jane Austen meets Bridesmaids, but about women's reproductive freedoms," Green explains.
In "A Woman Knows," DeBose and Milligan sing about making a decision that feels right for them. "What the song says is that whatever choice you make is fine as long as you get to make the choice," says Green.
Though DeBose and Milligan — friends of the songwriters — are not officially part of the production's cast, Green says that Female Troubles, A Period Piece is aiming for a large-scale production next year.
Female Troubles, A Period Musical will feature a book by Gabrielle Allan and Jennifer Crittenden.
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The piece has been in development for six years — long before Roe v. Wade, the landmark Supreme Court decision of 1973 that granted women the right to an abortion in every state, was overturned.
"The overturning of Roe v. Wade was not something that was in my playbook," Green admits, adding that Female Troubles is a story about friendship and freedom.
Advocating for abortion rights is something that DeBose is particularly passionate about. Last year, the actress told PEOPLE she thinks it's important to "hear people talking about abortion," adding: "These situations make us human. They don't make us any less."
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She said, "It did and does still feel like [what] I said on The Tonight Show with Jimmy [Fallon]: I do feel a little bit like I'm at war with my country or my country is at war with me, in a way."
DeBose added, "Everybody wants the choice to be able to own guns, right? So what is the difference between owning a gun and being able to make a choice for your body? You want to be able to choose whether or not you got a vaccine? I understand that. I want the ability to choose whether or not my body births a child."
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