Aussie-born Helen Reddy’s 1972 signature song I Am Woman, that reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100, may have been the ultimate girl-power anthem. But long before, Australian women were fighting for equal rights. In 1965, Merle Thornton (Sigrid Thornton’s mother) and Rosalie Bogner chained themselves to the bar of the Regatta Hotel in Brisbane. They were fed up with women being excluded from drinking in public bars just because they were female. So it was that this defining act led to the repeal of the blatantly sexist section 59A of the Queensland Liquor Act.
It is also the starting point for a highly entertaining show by Amelia Ryan and Libby O’Donovan OAM, who take to the stage for a trip down memory lane. Interspersed with a series of musical numbers (songs of a generation), most of which date back to the 1960s, are stories of inequality. Visuals and video clips aid Amelia and Libby’s cause. What serves to shock are a number of pointed ads. Both singers, dressed in the colours of holiday tinsel (one red, the other green), have strong, melodic voices and they harmonise beautifully.
Accompanied by an accomplished four-piece band, they work their way from the fifties through to the seventies, with tunes that include the familiar and the less so. From World of our Own and Blonde Headed Stompie Wompie Surfer Boy to Barefoot Boy, Born a Woman and It’s a Man’s World, there is also a male “16” medley. The latter includes Sweet Little Sixteen, My Sharona, You’ll Be a Woman Soon, Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen, You’re Sixteen and Sixteen Going on Seventeen. Some of the strongest hits – Day by Day, Let Me Be There, Georgy Girl and I Am Woman – are saved for the four-song medley finale. By that time, the “girls” have switched into sparkling, multi-coloured outfits.
Amelia and Libby bounce off each other so, so comfortably. Mixing in easy going humour, they have their patter and choreography finely tuned, having performed the show together for seven years. They are very much into audience engagement. Individually and collectively, they are energetic and enthusiastic. Amelia and Libby are highly talented musos with an important story to tell and good songs to sing – from ballads to rock ‘n roll – that the crowd readily warms to.
In the healthiest of signs, the merchandise counter in the upstairs foyer – manned by the two ladies – was inundated after the show. And the choice item – a tote bag featuring a highly provocative phrase, which I gather is a parody of a female skewed soap ad from the 1950s. To find out more about Morning Melodies and the 2027 season, go to https://www.artscentremelbourne.com.au/festival-and-series/morning-melodies
Alex First
Other reviews you might enjoy:
- Morning Melodies: Silvie Paladino – A Life on Stage, at Hamer Hall – concert review
- Morning Melodies – Orchestra Victoria with Caroline O’Connor: Music and Me at Hamer Hall – concert review
- Macy Gray: Live, at Hamer Hall and touring – concert review
Alex First is the editor of The Blurb. Alex is a Melbourne based journalist and communications specialist. He also contributes to The Blurb on film and theatre.
