Page 197 - Weiss, Jernej, ur./ed. 2021. Opereta med obema svetovnima vojnama ▪︎ Operetta between the Two World Wars. Koper/Ljubljana: Založba Univerze na Primorskem in Festival Ljubljana. Studia musicologica Labacensia, 5
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288 metres of velvet, 16 pairs of shoes, 12 yellow top hats, 5 bathtubs ...
Because of their intense socialising,64 some of the girls moved from
the Hotel Royal to the Hotel Bristol, with a view of the Danube. The press
romanticised this by claiming “In the Bristol lived the rich and aristocrat
ic [girls], in the Royal the poor and the ones in love.”65 We don’t know much
for sure about their actual financial status. The reports are contradicto-
ry, but apparently some of the girls had some money to spare, others did
not. When the Orient Express left Budapest after the production finished
its run, six of the girls decided not to go back to England but rather stay,
particularly those who established good connections with members of the
aristocrat club, Nemzeti Casino [National Casino].66 Indeed, two of them
were already engaged or married to Hungarian counts. Those who were
not, were aware of the fact that if they left Hungary they would lose their
celebrity status. Lala Collins and Edna May started working in a Buda-
pest nightclub (the Pele Mele), then in the same year they appeared on the
stage of Magyar Színház [Magyar Theatre] and Kis Komédia [Small Come-
dy Theatre], advertised as “world famous English dancing girls.”67 This news
appeared in provincial Hungarian papers too,68 showing the continuous in-
terest in them even in the countryside. Hungarian press referred to them
even ten years later.69 From intercultural point of view, this Hungarian job
provided the English girls a chance to step up from their ensemble posi-
tion and become established performers or marry into high society, which
would have been more difficult to achieve in their homeland.
The 60 Hungarian girls selected for this production, however, did not
enjoy such a status. They were “regular” girls at the bottom of theatre hi-
64 Flirting with the audience was part of the show: “Then suddenly as if they were grow
ing from the ground, enormous ladders are built towards the proscenium boxes and
the girls start climbing. From the top they bend to the box and start flirting in English.
But Biller does not allow them to act naughty. She follows them quickly, grabs them by
their hair, and pulls them down. The girls jump metres to the bridge which replaced the
first two rows of the orchestra and as they breathe, they start dancing again [...].” Világ,
January 25, 1925.
65 Színházi Élet XV, no. 22 (31 May–6 June 1925): 43, https://epa.oszk.
hu/02300/02343/00564/pdf/.
66 Színházi Élet XV, no. 21 (24–30 May 1925): 19, https://epa.oszk.hu/02300/02343/00563/
pdf/.
67 Pesti Hírlap, November 3, 1925.
68 Miskolci Napló, May 1, 1926.
69 “A Halló, Amerika! görlsztárja öt évig várt hűségesen férje kiszabadulására” [Girl
star of Halló, Amerika! waited patiently five years for the release of her husband],
Pesti Napló, July 19, 1936.
195
Because of their intense socialising,64 some of the girls moved from
the Hotel Royal to the Hotel Bristol, with a view of the Danube. The press
romanticised this by claiming “In the Bristol lived the rich and aristocrat
ic [girls], in the Royal the poor and the ones in love.”65 We don’t know much
for sure about their actual financial status. The reports are contradicto-
ry, but apparently some of the girls had some money to spare, others did
not. When the Orient Express left Budapest after the production finished
its run, six of the girls decided not to go back to England but rather stay,
particularly those who established good connections with members of the
aristocrat club, Nemzeti Casino [National Casino].66 Indeed, two of them
were already engaged or married to Hungarian counts. Those who were
not, were aware of the fact that if they left Hungary they would lose their
celebrity status. Lala Collins and Edna May started working in a Buda-
pest nightclub (the Pele Mele), then in the same year they appeared on the
stage of Magyar Színház [Magyar Theatre] and Kis Komédia [Small Come-
dy Theatre], advertised as “world famous English dancing girls.”67 This news
appeared in provincial Hungarian papers too,68 showing the continuous in-
terest in them even in the countryside. Hungarian press referred to them
even ten years later.69 From intercultural point of view, this Hungarian job
provided the English girls a chance to step up from their ensemble posi-
tion and become established performers or marry into high society, which
would have been more difficult to achieve in their homeland.
The 60 Hungarian girls selected for this production, however, did not
enjoy such a status. They were “regular” girls at the bottom of theatre hi-
64 Flirting with the audience was part of the show: “Then suddenly as if they were grow
ing from the ground, enormous ladders are built towards the proscenium boxes and
the girls start climbing. From the top they bend to the box and start flirting in English.
But Biller does not allow them to act naughty. She follows them quickly, grabs them by
their hair, and pulls them down. The girls jump metres to the bridge which replaced the
first two rows of the orchestra and as they breathe, they start dancing again [...].” Világ,
January 25, 1925.
65 Színházi Élet XV, no. 22 (31 May–6 June 1925): 43, https://epa.oszk.
hu/02300/02343/00564/pdf/.
66 Színházi Élet XV, no. 21 (24–30 May 1925): 19, https://epa.oszk.hu/02300/02343/00563/
pdf/.
67 Pesti Hírlap, November 3, 1925.
68 Miskolci Napló, May 1, 1926.
69 “A Halló, Amerika! görlsztárja öt évig várt hűségesen férje kiszabadulására” [Girl
star of Halló, Amerika! waited patiently five years for the release of her husband],
Pesti Napló, July 19, 1936.
195
