O. C. Diva

Hilary Cole has redefined triple threat, simultaneously singing, acting and adeptly solving a Rubic’s cube in her first foray into cabaret.

With her musical theatre star firmly on the rise, thanks to acclaimed lead performances in Carrie and The Drowsy Chaperone for Sydney independent musical theatre company Squabbalogic, this talented young diva-in-the-making has now embarked on a brave, funny-dark semi-biographical cabaret piece.

O. C. Divais an engaging musicalised personal journey through Ms Cole’s obsessions, and the condition which threatened to derail her musical theatre career before it started. Sounds dark, but she delivers equally in the style and comic flair departments.

Along the way, we’re treated to her impressive vocal versatility through a broad repertoire of cabaret favourites, musical theatre songs from classic to contemporary, and well-mixed pop choices.

Ms Cole greets her audience in stylish elegance; no hint of the descent into the ultra-daggy as her biographical tale unravels.

With minimal lyric changes, Ms Cole transforms Sondheim’s ‘No One Is Alone’ into a witty interaction with her mobile phone and social media.

Drawing on her obsessions, Lord of the Rings is great fun, though richer cabaret material to showcase her comic and vocal range comes with her obsession with diva Bernadette Peters, where she gives vent to a mix of pure tribute, affectionate send-up, and mimicry bordering on caricature.

When Ms Cole’s obsession turns to O.C.D., her fragility is voiced through a moving, intense Sondheim medley of ‘Colour and Light’, ‘You Could Drive a Person Crazy’ and ‘Losing My Mind’, moving into self-discovery via astute pop music choices, before embracing love at the opposite end of the vocal spectrum with a warm, affecting rendition of Jerome Kern classic ‘Bill’.

Ms Cole is well supported throughout, by musical director / accompanist / backing vocalist / sometime prop-shifter Stephen Kreamer.

Within the context of her own story, O. C. Diva cleverly showcases the comic, dramatic and vocal versatility of a sassy, individualistic young artist with her career on a steady, upward trajectory.

Neil Litchfield