Imagine, if you can, that someone took the classic diva spirit of Liza Minnelli, plonked it in the body of Clark Kent, threw in the rapid-fire wit of Robin Williams, and placed the social consciousness of the best leftie lesbian you know on those broad shoulders. Oh, and he’s Australian, too. Scatter in some snazzy costumes, and you’ve got Reuben Kaye.

As one of the most charismatic presences you’ll ever see tread the boards, there’s not really a bad way to see Kaye perform. However, if you do get the chance to witness this fabulously fierce icon of comedy and cabaret with the backing of an 18-piece orchestra, darling, you simply must. 

Making its Victorian debut at the Melbourne Recital Centre after premiering at Brisbane’s Melt Festival, enGORGEd is another riotous collection of songs and stories studded with hilarious quips, dirty jokes, poignant social commentary and oversharing from the red-lipped chanteuse himself. (Standing some several feet tall in those heels, Kaye should also be commended for, in an incredible show of restraint, only indulging in two costume changes! Heavy is the head that holds up those lashes.)

Reuben Kaye. Photo © Naomi Jellicoe

From upbeat jazzy numbers to emotionally rich ballads, Kaye serves up a smooth cocktail concoction of new material and greatest hits, inviting the audience into his latest semi-auto-biographical performance – touching on experiences like his recent mainstage musical debut (playing Jesus Christ Superstar’s King Herod) and the highly publicised death threats that sort-of inadvertently led to his casting (related to a certain quip he made about the lord and saviour on prime-time television).

However, for the hometown crowd, it was his stories about growing up and finding his place as a misfit queer kid that cut the deepest – including the catharsis of ending up with a number of former classmates “forming a queue” to apologise for the homophobic beatings and bullying he was subjected to at their private boys school. 

Sorry is an original ballad that reflects on personal experiences like this, and the dangerously fragile stakes of masculinity. Taking a detour from the hot and heavy laughs, moments like this not only introduce the emotional heart of the performance, but also the message of kindness and compassion that underscores all the sparkles. 

He closes the pleasingly paced, two-ish-hour-long show with another emotional gut-punch, in the form of a cover of Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow? For the two-night Melbourne run, this classic of the American songbook took on a new resonance, with Reuben dedicating it to all the lives lost to the AIDS epidemic – a statement in response to the news that the US government will no longer commemorate World Aids Day. 

As theatregoers continue to enjoy gender-bending antics and the fabulous fun of queer entertainment on the stage and screen, Reuben dares to ask: “Will you still love me tomorrow? Will you still support us, when it’s no longer cool to be down with the queers?”

It’s decisions like this which prove that Kaye is not just a white gay man who grew up in an affluent suburb, but that he is also politically queer, and a fierce ally to the broader LGBTQIA+ community (something which is not always a given, in my experience). It will be exciting to see how these principles apply to his foray as the next Artistic Director of Adelaide Cabaret Festival.

enGORGEd doesn’t exactly reinvent the wheel for a Reuben Kaye show, and it needn’t. This is a performer who has spent years developing his schtick and honing his craft, and whether you’re a returning fan or a new inductee, it’s always a fresh and fabulous experience. But with the addition of the orchestra (beautifully steered by Kaye’s long-time musical director, Shannon D Whitelock), dynamic stage lighting, and the inherent spectacle of a special concert venue, this is the most elevated way to see one of the greatest performers Australia has ever produced.

Reuben Kaye: enGORGEd comes to the Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House on January 16, part of the 2026 Sydney Festival