Early in the new cabaret about Chrissy Amphlett, Sheridan Harbridge observes that no one can replicate this legend of Australian rock. We could perhaps think of her interpretation as Chrissy Pamphlet, she quips.

This wise and witty observation sets the tone for a tragi-comic show that exudes deep admiration for The Divinyls frontwoman, but never threatens to become a mere tribute show.

Unfortunately, Amplified: The Exquisite Rock and Rage of Chrissy Amphlett needs more rehearsal. Bizarrely, reviewers were invited to what Harbridge said more than once was “the very first performance”, and at times it showed.

Sheridan Harbridge in Amplified. Photo © Pia Johnson

More than that, this 90-minute show needs a rewrite to bring more clarity to its ode to Amphlett – which I hasten to add has huge potential.

Co-created by Harbridge (Prima Facie) and director Sarah Goodes (Julia), Amplified explores Amphlett’s difficult youth in Geelong, wild rise as The Divinyls’s trailblazing singer-songwriter during the 1980s and 90s, and her final years.

That period included playing Judy Garland in The Boy From Oz and, shortly before she died from breast cancer in 2013, developing a one-woman biographical show. Never completed,...