REVIEW| “Em Rusciano is NOT a Diva”
WITH a giant letter ‘E’ grandly positioned at the centre of the stage alongside an unstoppable showgirl entrance to The Weather Girls signature hit “It’s Raining Men” (swapped to Raining Em), a night out with Em Rusciano is one not to miss.
Donning a Kylie Minogue inspired headdress and a fabulously camp costume; Em is raw, honest and screamingly hilarious as she delves deep into her comedic banter where nothing (.. and I mean NOTHING), is off limits. Commentary on the love affair between James Packer and Mariah Carey, details of her brutal exit from Perth’s 92.9, her move from being a billboard girl to Centrelink mother living with her parents, her somewhat cringe worthy time on the 2004 season of Australian Idol, relentless stories of her excessive menstrual flow, and the excruciatingly agonising anecdote of how she gate-crashed a funeral and wound up saving the mother of the man she lost her virginity to are all incredible highlights that left the sold-out Astor Theatre in hysterics.
Her childhood dream of becoming the first person to win an Oscar, a Grammy, a Logie, a Tony and an Olympic Gold medal are talked about, with a stellar acceptance speech that launched straight into an impressive Madonna medley, followed by stalker-like fantasy of how Madonna may in fact be the comedienne’s mother.
Perhaps the most surreal moment of the show is Em’s stellar vocals. While a lot of the show is fabulously hilarious, the vocals she produced left goosebumps on the arms of everyone inside the theatre - particularly with her rendition of ‘Over the Rainbow’, dedicated to her late Grandmother.
Em is a jack of all trades - she’s a comedian, a writer, a TV and radio presenter, a singer, MC and mother of two, but the stage is her absolute calling. Filled with enough energy to knock even the biggest diva off her perch, Em Rusciano is a force to be reckoned with - and thankfully there’s plenty more to come!
Em Rusciano is NOT a Diva is heading to Adelaide next, followed by performances in Darwin, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and The Gold Coast.
Image: Lisa Walker (instagram.com/LisaWalkerRoxIt)