At the turn of the 20th century, women had little or no rights when it came to their wealth and estate. They themselves were considered the property of their ‘better-gendered’ spouses or fathers. But one woman was not going to settle for that. Her name was Hetty Green, and her story, The Witch of Wall Street!, is making its world premiere at Long Island’s Hofstra University June 16-July 2.

Witch is a musical with book and lyrics by M. Champagne and music by Elliot Weiss. The show has been over a decade in the making and has been tossed around from the Eugene O’Neill Theatre Center to Lincoln Center and as far as the Denver Center Theatre Company before finally making its home at Hofstra.

This strong-minded woman, whose fortune would have estimated around $17 billion by today’s standards, gained a reputation as a witch, not because she was close-fisted with her money, but because it went against the societal norm for what a woman was supposed to amount to. The fortune that Green had acquired was eventually dissipated by her ‘better’ half.

Opening at Hofstra’s Monroe Center Theatre (on the South Campus) in Hempstead, LI , Witch tickets range from $20-$23. Hofstra alums can purchase one full-price ticket and receive another free for opening night. For more information, call the Hofstra box office at (516) 463-6644.

-- by Ernio Hernandez