College of Physicians of Philadelphia
The Excellent Dr. Blackwell
Partner Event
The College of Physicians of Philadelphia Section on Medicine and the Arts invites you to a reading of the play, “The Excellent Doctor Blackwell”!
This program is sponsored by The Nathan Hatfield Prize & Lectureship Fund, which originated in 1898 with the intent of “furthering original research in medicine”.
About the Play:
The Excellent Doctor Blackwell reimagines the iconic pioneer, Elizabeth Blackwell, not as a portrait in a museum, but as a brilliant, conflicted woman wrestling with legacy, love, and the limits of her own ambition.
Set against the sun-drenched backdrop of 1876 Italy, the play intertwines past and present as a young student and a watchful daughter stir up questions that Blackwell has spent a lifetime avoiding. This time-bending drama reveals the private struggles behind public triumphs and asks what any of us are willing to sacrifice to change the world.
About the Playwright:
Dr. Margo Weishar is a physician–playwright determined to tell the story behind the story, the private, often invisible lives of women who moved ahead of their time. After a long career in medicine, she earned a graduate degree in theatre at Villanova, turning to writing to pursue the questions that stayed with her: the cost of ambition, the tension between purpose and desire, the truths history smooths away. Her plays—The Excellent Doctor Blackwell, Messenger, and a new work on Beryl Markham—blend clarity with emotional depth. Guided by mentors: playwright Michael Hollinger and dramaturg Ed Sobel, she writes with voice that brings overlooked women vividly to life.
Event Timeline:
1:30 pm - Doors Open, Networking, and Reception
2:00 pm – Performance Begins
3:30 pm – Q&A Moderated by Dr. Guy Glass
5:00 pm – Program Ends
For questions or to RSVP via email, please reach out to .
Please note:Tickets are non-refundable but are transferable to other people. By entering the event premises, you consent to photography, audio recording, video recording and its release, publication, exhibition, or reproduction to be used for news, promotional purposes, advertising, inclusion on websites, social media, or any other purpose by The College of Physicians/The Mütter Museum and its affiliates and representatives.