Ella, Marilyn, Marlene and Me

The Vault    1-2, 4-10, 12-17, 19-25 @ 22.10    Melissa Western (Australia)

Returning to the Fringe with last year’s sell-out success, Melissa Western charms and beguiles as Abigail, the young performer who yearns for success in front of her bedroom mirror. Her Granny gives her a keepsake from her days as a lavatory attendant in Carnegie Hall – a gift that channels the greatest divas of the stage through our heroine.  The worldwide TV show, ‘Search for a Diva’, is the opportunity to grasp stardom, if only she can overcome the dreaded ‘what-if’s’ that destroy her self-confidence in public.

This show is all about the real ‘x-factor’ – the essence of great performance that distinguishes between the merely good to the great. The divas (Ella, Marlene and Marilyn) each pass on their worldly advice and give the opportunity for Melissa to deliver very good impressions of each charismatic performer.

The audience were enthralled by each and every one of the diva performances and I became a bit of a fan myself. Melissa Western is not only charismatic and engaging, but she has a warmth in her performance that transcends technique and training to create an onstage presence only very rarely seen. Highly recommended for the night-owls – a great end to a day on the Fringe.