When Women Ruled Jackson Hole: A Short History of “Petticoat Rules”
By Andrew Munz
Collection of the Jackson Hole Historical Society and Museum
In 1920, the same year the 19th Amendment granted women the right to vote nationally, five women ran for every available Town seat in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. The ticket featured Grace Miller for Mayor, as well as Rose Crabtree, Mae Deloney, Faustina Haight and Genevieve Van Vleck for Town Council. These five women stepped into leadership not as symbolic figures, but as determined citizens intent on improving their town’s sanitation, roads, and public health through plain old common sense. They governed with efficiency, empathy and tenacity. Three years later, they quietly stepped aside when their work was done.
A New Century, A New Song
Eighty years later, as the country prepared to enter a new millennium, a national arts initiative called Continental Harmony, in collaboration with the National Endowment for the Arts, invited all 50 states to commission original musical works that reflected their unique communities. For a small theatre company in Wyoming, the initiative sparked an opportunity to spotlight Grace Miller and her posse of female politicians. What followed was the creation of a full-length musical that would unite local artists, historians and audiences in a powerful act of remembrance and reinvention. That musical was Petticoat Rules.
The story behind the production is as remarkable as the women it honored. Despite the historical significance of their achievement, the story had largely disappeared from public consciousness. That changed when composer Pam Drews Phillips, a cornerstone of Jackson’s artistic community, was selected to lead Wyoming’s contribution to Continental Harmony. Known for her dynamic presence behind the piano and her incredible musical background, Phillips recognized the dramatic potential of Jackson’s so-called “Petticoat Rule.”
Pam Drews Phillips
Mary Murfitt
But Phillips knew the story needed a voice, one as sharp, funny and grounded as the women it portrayed. That’s where Mary Murfitt came in. Murfitt, a Broadway actress, Theatre World Award-winner and playwright best known for her hit musical Cowgirls, brought theatrical rigor and research savvy to the collaboration. She scoured the archives of the Jackson Hole Historical Society and read decades-old editions of the Jackson’s Hole Courier to understand the personalities and politics of the time.
Like a female version of Elton John and Bernie Taupin, Phillips and Murfitt ended up creating the show thousands of miles apart. Phillips would write music and leave recordings on Murfitt’s New York answering machine; Murfitt would then fax new lyrics back to Wyoming.
The result was a smart, tuneful, and surprisingly emotional musical Petticoat Rules: The Jackson Hole Revue. The show balanced humor with heart, history with theatricality. Songs celebrated the daily grit of town life (“Live and Let Live”), the courage to stand up for what’s right (“Petticoat Rules”), as well as hysterical cowboy numbers (“Get Your Spurs Outta My Heart”). Rather than mythologize the women, the musical made them human, attributing an unexpected colorful and emotional resonance to individuals who now only exist in black-and-white photos. Additionally, iconic Jackson Hole characters such as Nick Wilson, Cissy Patterson, Dick Leigh and John D. Rockefeller Jr. all make appearances, adding to the grander narrative.
By Spring 2000, rehearsals were underway, and excitement rippled through the community. The production became a community effort in every sense: created for the Pink Garter Theatre (neé Mainstage Theater), directed and choreographed by Sha Newman and produced by Julie Bratspis of the Performing Arts Company of JH, the production was bolstered by enthusiastic audiences eager to see Jackson's hidden history come to life.
A Homegrown Triumph
The show premiered to full houses and standing ovations. Local reviewer Richard Anderson, writing for the Jackson Hole News, praised the production as “a homegrown triumph.” He credited the duo of Phillips and Murfitt for their seamless collaboration and the musical’s blend of Broadway-worthy polish with Jackson Hole soul. He noted the performances were “sharp and sincere,” the music “catchy and poignant,” and the script “as smart as it is heartfelt.”
From: Jackson Hole News and Guide 7/22/2009
The review emphasized how rare and refreshing it was to see a locally developed musical succeed not just as entertainment, but as civic storytelling.
What made Petticoat Rules unique was its refusal to flatten history into simply a feminist tale. Instead, it leaned into complexity: the women joke with one another, they strategize and they execute. There’s humor, tension, and a deep respect for the reality that leadership (especially as women in 1920) meant navigating criticism, fatigue and invisibility. Yet it’s also a joyful show, full of songs that bring levity to the Jackson Hole loved by both locals and tourists alike.
As a work of community-based art, Petticoat Rules delivered on every front. It reminded Jackson of its progressive roots, long buried under myths of rugged individualism and capitalistic ventures. It celebrated women whose contributions were dismissed as a novelty, only to reveal their efficiency and vision far outpaced their predecessors. And, ultimately, it demonstrated what’s possible when a town supports its artists not just as entertainers, but as historians, educators and culture-bearers.
In December 2000, the original cast recording was released on CD and featured all 20 songs sung by the debut cast. The album became a bestseller at local retailers. After a short-lived second summer in 2001, the musical all but vanished. Thankfully, Off Square Theatre Co. revived the production at the Center for the Arts in 2009 and 2010, but after that, the production endured a 15-year dormancy, without a single production since.
Coming Full-Circle
I now switch to a first-person narrative, as I am currently directing the 25th anniversary production of Petticoat Rules on the very stage where it debuted: the Pink Garter Theatre. When I was twelve, I saw Petticoat Rules for the first time, and I say this without hyperbole: it was the greatest show I’d ever seen in my life. I became obsessed. Despite growing up in an affluent community like Jackson, my working-class parents were never able to take me on trips to see professional theatre. Local theaters like the Pink Garter and Dirty Jack’s were my home away from home, and Petticoat was basically my Hamilton. And, like a dream come true, I was fortunate enough to be cast as Nat Burt in the 2009 revival.
Andrew as Nat Burt
Andrew as Nat Burt
After starting my nonprofit, Tumbleweed Creative Arts, the current steward of the Pink Garter, I knew I wanted to bring Petticoat back and educate a whole new group of locals and visitors about the women who ruled Jackson Hole from 1920 to 1923. This would be my full-circle moment. With brand new sets, 16 local actors and live musical accompaniment by both Pam Drews Phillips and Mary Murfitt, this production is incredibly ambitious, especially in Jackson’s current artistic climate. But it’s the most important work I’ve ever done.
Petticoat Rules stands as proof that small towns can tell big stories. Even more so, that art when it’s grown from local soil, has the power to restore forgotten stories and inspire others to create new ones. Tumbleweed was created in an effort to cultivate those stories and the individuals who tell them. By creating this anniversary production, we are not only celebrating the creators of the show, but also the local artists who are learning the harmonies and script.
At the heart of this entire production is the synergy between Pam Drews Phillips and Mary Murfitt. Here are two women who believed in the story, in each other and in the idea that history can be preserved not just in print, but also through performance, songs and laughter.
I hope to honor their vision and celebrate the woman who shaped (and continue to shape) this community.
Petticoat Rules runs May 23 - June 14, 2025, at the Pink Garter Theatre.
Andrew Munz is a writer, performer, and director based in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. He is the founder of Tumbleweed Creative Arts, a nonprofit dedicated to cultivating local storytelling and performance. An author, director and playwright, his original works explore the intersections of community, identity and place, often with humor and heart. He is the recipient of two Wyoming Arts Council fellowships (2021 & 2024) and received the 2024 Citizen of the Year Award (Gold) from the Jackson Hole Chamber of Commerce. A lifelong Jackson resident, Andrew is passionate about reviving forgotten histories and celebrating the voices that shape mountain town culture.