Adelaide Cabaret Festival aficionados have been treated to a smorgasbord of Broadway legends since the Festival’s inception including Mandy Patinkin, Bernadette Peters, Chita Rivera and Ben Vereen. However, aside from Maria Friedman in 2008, West End musical stars have been thin on the ground. This year, however, the Festival featured celebrated West End star Ruthie Henshall, who has famously played three roles in Chicago: Roxie Hart in London and on Broadway, Velma Kelly on Broadway, and Mama Morton in the West End revival last year. Her numerous other West End credits include Crazy for You, Cats, Miss Saigon, She Loves Me, Les Misérables and Billy Elliot.

Ruthie Henshall. Photograph © Kurt Sneddon

Making her Australian debut, Henshall delighted a packed Spiegeltent with a show that was not only a collage of songs from her most memorable roles, but a glimpse into life as a musical star – the good, the bad and the ugly.

Carole King’s Beautiful was a sweet if unexpected introduction. However, musical theatre then took command as Henshall launched into Electricity from Billy Elliot, the musical that confirmed in her, as a wide-eyed 10-year old, that she had found her dream....