The Kate Mullany National Historic Site is producing a new musical about Troy, New York, labor pioneer Kate Mullany. Don't Iron While the Strike is Hot! will premiere at Russell Sage College in Troy on May 14 and 15 with both matinees and evening performances.

Mullany and her Irish colleagues formed America's first all-female union,the Troy Collar Laundry Union,and led them on a successful strike in 1864. They enjoyed the support of the mostly Irish Iron Molders Union Local 2 of Troy as well as the largely Irish population of Troy at the time.

The musical, written and directed by Ruth Henry, tells the story of these courageous women and their struggle for dignity and justice in the workplace.

Mullany also became the first woman to serve as an officer of a national union and was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame in Seneca Falls, New York, in 2000. Her home at 350 Eighth Street in Troy was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1998 and a National Historic Site (a unit within the National Park System)in 2004.

Those wishing to purchase tickets or support the production by sponsoring a Playbill ad or become a Patron, can visit the Mullany web site at www.KateMullanyNHS.org for details.

Plans are in place to record the musical so it can be seen more widely. A lesson plan will be created to assist teachers to use it in their classrooms to highlight the Irish immigrant experience in the United States.

For additional information contact Paul F. Cole at paulfcole@gmail.com.