Trevor Ashley’s Liza on an E has cemented itself as one of the highlights of the Midsumma Festival after an opening night performance of pure star quality.

The crowd ate up every one of Ashley and co-writer/director Dean Bryant’s skillfully-written reworking of Minnelli’s classics and infused the intermittent banter with charming comedy that could easily have been lazily lumped together.

A talented backing band – not exempt from hearty laughs at the material themselves – as well as a surprise performance from Prodigal’s Ed Grey made for great additions to Ashley’s flawless delivery of songs such as Some People and a special reworking of Be Our Guest (David Gest).

But among the hilarious quips about the irrelevance of Lorna Luft and material based on much of Minnelli’s own rhetorical banter with the crown during her 2009 Australian tour,were some genuine attempts at providing some reflection on the star’s trouble upbringing that brought an audience silence as deafening as the roars of laughter that came before it.

Ashley has really brought cabaret drag to the Australian mainstream with Liza on an E over the past year, and the massive turn out in Melbourne – no doubt assisted by his well-received performance as Edna Turnblad in Hairspray: The Musical – is surely a portent of thing to come. With Liza, he ensures his ascension from the small bars of Sydney only a year or two ago, to the broader arts community and a bright future with his own work.

Liza on an E is at the Hi-Fi Bar & Ballroom, Melbourne for two more performances on January 30 and February 6. Bookings: www.midsumma.org.au