GenQ - For the not so straight individual

Respect: A Journey of women is a new musical created by Vanderbilt professor Dr. Dorothy Marcic. Based on her book; RESPECT: Women and Popular Music, Respect takes the reader through an analysis of all top 40 female song lyrics since the turn of the 20th century.

Staring an all women cast including main roles by Rhonda Burchmore, Lucy Durack, Belinda Wollaston and Elenoa Rokobaro, and set in the magnificently intimate State Theatre in Sydney, Respect is an intelligent and entertaining musical for all.

From ‘Can’t help loving that man’ and ‘mean to me’ to ‘girls just wanna have fun’ and ‘you don’t own me’, the audience is taken through the journey of how women were regarded in society and how they saw themselves through the ages. Respect is not only a musical but is an educational and emotional experience in one.

Whilst entertaining and funny throughout, I found the first half of the show to be awkwardly distressing in a small way, due to the lyrical content of the songs. For the first half of the 20th century in particular, women seemed dependent on and submissive towards men. Songs such as ‘stand by your man’ and ‘If I knew you were coming I’d have baked a cake’ gave a clear indication of a women’s place at the respective times.

It wasn’t until the latter part of the century that women began to voice their opinions and become more independent, and the lyrics of songs such as ‘I am woman, hear me roar’ and ‘these boots are made for walking’ definitely reflected a more up-beat and empowered mood.



The performances were mesmorizing. Rhonda Burchmore lit up the stage with her every movement and Lucy, Belinda and Elenoa shone both individually and collectively. Each had such different voices and characters to play, but when they came together it was truly a magnificent sound.

Importantly, Respect has a story to tell, and isn’t just a show for women. Likewise, it can definitely be enjoyed by people of all ages. I must admit, when discussing the show afterwards with my older guest, she admitted fondly to knowing every one of the songs performed, whereas I only knew about half. However, I think we both enjoyed it equally, large in part to the performances, but mostly because of the power behind the journey.

Available through Ticketmaster (www.ticketmaster.com.au), you can see Respect in Sydney now!

Please see http://www.respectamusicaljourney.com/index.html for more details.