By Bronwyn Cook
What better way to follow-up from the musical theatre Christmas (aka the Tony Awards) than to celebrate the songs we know, some we may not know, but definitely love with a Broadway Diva, otherwise known as Olivia Ruggiero.
In a tightly paced, swift moving, highly entertaining hour, soprano Ruggiero takes the audience on not only a journey of how she was introduced to musical theatre and how she grew to love it, but also a tour of some of the biggest shows, songs and ear-worms in the theatre landscape.
From Anastasia to Westside Story, My Fair Lady to Les Miserables and Come From Away, Puccini to Lin-Manuel Miranda, Ruggiero deftly and beautifully moves between songs, genres, mash-ups, medleys and emotions.
I especially enjoyed “What’s Gonna Happen” from Tootsie, which is an extremely complex song to sing and if you know anything about the trials and torment of the world of musical theatre auditioning – pretty spot on!
Accompanied by Mark Bradley on piano and directed by Carly Fisher (who co-created the show), it’s easy to understand why this show has been such a huge success at the Adelaide Fringe Festival and most recently Claire’s Kitchen in Sydney.
“The Girl in 14G”, made famous by Kristin Chenoweth, is the closing song of the night and perhaps best demonstrates the incredible breadth of Ruggiero’s singing range.
Don’t miss this wonderful celebration of all things musical theatre in one of Melbourne’s funkiest cabaret venues, The Butterfly Club.
