Good Housekeeping Celebrates 125 Years of Inspirational Women

On April 12, in honor of their 125th anniversary, leading women's magazine Good Housekeeping will host a one-night event in honor of our nation's most influential women. According to a release, the event, which is being called "Shine On," will salute icons, visionaries, goddesses, and even "hellraisers." The New York City event is being staged to raise money to build the first permanent location for the National Women's History Museum in Washington D.C.

You may think of Good Housekeeping as "your mother's magazine," but they've been helping American women for over a century now — and have service-y guidance that drives most consumer decisions. This landmark event is a novel way to get females of today inspired by history and excited about their own power and impact in the country. "Good Housekeeping has always been dedicated to informing women, in an effort to enrich and improve their lives," said Rosemary Ellis, editor in chief. "We've spurred government reform, and published landmark studies and some of America’s most distinguished authors. So we feel privileged — and uniquely qualified — to help build the nation's first museum dedicated to women's myriad and wide-ranging achievements."

So what exactly does an event honoring 125 years of inspiring women consist of? "Shine On" will be an original 90-minute long production featuring stars of both the stage and screen including Meryl Streep — who is the NWHM's spokeswoman — Kristen Bell, Fran Drescher and Ann Hampton Callaway. Footloose choreographer Lynne Taylor-Corbett is directing the show, which will honor "women whose combination of intelligence, imagination and nerve changed our lives forever." These luminaries include Susan B. Anthony, Martha Stewart, Sally Ride, Dorothy Parker and Madonna.

The event is being sponsored by Maybelline New York (and what a coincidence, The New York Times points out, that they have a "Shine Sensational" lip gloss line coming out), which will provide 600 free tickets for the event to female high school and college students in addition to several women's organizations. Maybelline will also "provide makeup artists to style the event’s presenters and performers backstage, as well as 'touch-up artists' throughout the theater’s lobby freshening guests’ makeup."

Tickets for "Shine On" are available now on the NY City Center website.

Photos courtesy of Good Housekeeping and Hearst, Shine On logo courtesy of Hearst.