Kristin, you had me from ‘hello…’ The musicals diva proves she is everything a Broadway legend should be, and more.

Adelaide Festival Theatre, June 8 (Adelaide Cabaret Festival)

It’s almost impossible to describe Kristin Chenoweth without falling into a gush of superlatives. As she stepped onto the Festival Theatre stage, as part of the 2013 Adelaide Cabaret Festival and marking the start of her Australian tour, the audience went wild. She hadn’t even said anything; she just waved and smiled, and radiated a brilliance and warmth that charged the auditorium. And then, after her opening number, she made a joke about Farmers Union iced coffee and sipped a Boost smoothie; we were under her spell. Old fans, diehard devotees, new followers, everyone loved it.

Supported by her long-time friend and Music Director, Mary-Mitchell Campbell, three accomplished backing singers and the Adelaide Art Orchestra, Chenoweth moved seamlessly from one number to the next, placing trademark favourites next to classics. Technically she is brilliant; her clarity, breathtaking and her range, astounding. This, combined with great emotion and sensitivity in every note and word, makes her performance sheer genius. With each song, it felt as if the music physically touched you, wrapped around...