Based on Kate Pankhurst’s picture book, this musical has been described as the “little sister of SIX” and is brought to the stage by the same producer, Kenny Wax. This time it is pitched at a younger audience, 7+, and their families.
Jade (Georgia Grant-Anderson) is on a school trip to the museum. Being helpful, she’s returned to the bus for some supplies for her classmate and teachers and returns to find they have moved on without her. She’s alone outside a new ‘Gallery of Greatness’
Pankhurst’s book, and her choices of the women who shaped the world, have been shaped into a stage musical by Chris Bush (book/lyrics), Miranda Cooper (music/lyrics), and Jennifer Decilveo (music).
Amy Hodge directs a six-person cast, most of which do multiple roles, while the colourful and numerous, set, and costume designs are by Joanna Scotcher.
The ‘great’ women depicted are a mixture of household names and those less familiar. They are depicted as rather ‘badass’ and very modern.
Some numbers, especially the ones teaming Mary Seacole (Anelisa Lamola) with Mary Anning (Charlotte Jaconelli) and Marie Curie (Elena Breschi), feel derivative of SIX. Others suggest that girl power, or simply being a woman, is enough to make a change.
There is plenty here to entertain younger audiences while giving them a bit of historical context. Facts about Amelia Earhart (Lamola) and Gertrude Ederle (Jaconelli) sit beside exaggerated versions of these trailblazers.
Arts, sciences, sports, nursing, and exploration are all covered by the ‘fantastically great choices”, although there is little in the way of plot or storyline.
Emmeline Pankhurst (Meg Hateley), complete with no-nonsense Manchester accent, is as political as Rosa Parks (Lamola), but the surface is barely scratched.
As for Jane Austen (Jaconelli), who Jade remembers ” is Bridgerton,” she keeps a low profile beside Frida Kahlo (Breschi), a 20th century artist who is a riot of colour and energy.
This is a fun show that celebrates the breadth and depth of female achievement in a man’s world. It’s pitched right for girls growing up with ideas of what they’d like to do.
Although it throws out the ‘anything is possible’ line, it does recognise that not every life is groundbreaking. But, as Jade discovers, being born into the club of ‘fantastically great’ women may be enough.
A shout-out, too, to the three-person band of Audra Cramer, Nicola T Chang (who, at one point, climbs down onto the stage to add some wild percussion) and Isis Dunthorne.
***.5
You can see Fantastically Great Women Who Changed The World – The Musical at The Other Palace until 8 September with tickets here.
Image credit: Ellie Kurttz