This transcript was automatically generated and might contain errors.

[0:00] Charlotte Cushman: I'm concerned that Miss Cushman, that is the other Miss Cushman, that your sister may not be quite ready to perform by the time we open the play.

[0:09] Susan Cushman: Susan will perform next week.

[0:12] Charlotte Cushman: I'll have no other Juliet.

[0:14] Edwin Forrest: Can you please do Hamlet for me just one more time? You know what it does to me to hear you speak those words.

[0:20] Charlotte Cushman: I've kept your secrets, polished your performances, kept your name in the papers for the right reasons, and out of them for the wrong ones.

[0:28] Charlotte Cushman: When I was carrying Ned, and that horrible old man abandoned me, just as Father abandoned us as girls. Sisterly love is pure.

[0:36] Susan Cushman: It won't stop any talk.

[0:39] Charlotte Cushman: There's been talk that I'm somehow too real of a man. My stage love for women too convincing. These gossips prefer a bad actress.

[0:47] Charlotte Cushman: It's Forrest, I'm certain of it. He arrived in town from New Orleans, and then the whispers began. A woman playing Romeo. It's a joke. Nearly as ridiculous as your Hamlet.

[0:57] Charlotte Cushman: You didn't come to see me. Not once. I was all alone.

[1:01] Susan Cushman: Because I was working twice as much so I could send you more money.

[1:05] Charlotte Cushman: I didn't need money. I needed my sister.

[1:07] Susan Cushman: I'm your friend, you insufferable narcissist. The least you can do is acknowledge what we mean to each other.

[1:14] Edwin Forrest: Men invented the theater. Refined it over centuries. Created every great work in existence. We've earned our place.

[1:26] Gather by the Ghost Light presents Romeo and Her Sister.

[1:30] Narrator: A historical audio drama limited series written by Jillian Blevins, starring Anna Demetriou, Charlotte McBurney, Kezia Burrows, Devora Wilde, Paris S. Pringle, Neil Hellegers, and Jonathan Cook.

[1:44] Narrator: Available February 23rd wherever you listen to podcasts.