In Melbourne briefly before heading off to Edinburgh in August, Brisbane’s sassiest songstress Melissa Western was in fine form, and fine voice.

The occasion was the preview of her revamped show Ella, Marilyn, Marlene And Me about a reclusive singer, desperate for pop stardom, which sold out at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2007.

Not having seen the original, it’s difficult for me to say what has improved or changed, but the show I saw was fresh, fun and very entertaining.

Cleverly written with tongue firmly in cheek, it tells the story of young singer who performs intoxicatingly in front of her bedroom mirror but – after a psychologically damaging incident at high school – suffers dreadfully from nerves in front of an audience.

However, when a genie in a magic hairbrush grants the singer inspiration from three of history’s most divine performers – Ella Fitzgerald, Marlene Dietrich and Marilyn Munro – she soon learns the road to stardom is never as glamorous as it appears and realises she must find her own inner diva.

A talented actor and polished club singer, Western has an intimate understanding of comic and dramatic timing, effortlessly shifting from the ridiculous to the poignant with the simple arch of an eyebrow or the delicate slide of her velvety voice.

In true cabaret style, the whole piece takes place seamlessly before your eyes including costume changes and sudden character shifts as each of the three divas inhabit Western one-by-one, and take hold.

Rather than simply mimicking or impersonating, Western weaves in anecdotes of the women’s early lives and their journeys to success to reveal their vulnerability and humanity, and also what they brought as people to their performances. There may be other performers who look or even sound more like Fitzgerald, Dietrich or Munro but Western manages to latch on to something intrinsic about the vocal style of each one, and the way they carried or conveyed a lyric.

The only disappointment for me is that we didn’t have more singing. One song from each diva was probably enough but it did take a while to get around to the first one, and another couple of songs in the character’s own voice may have established her dilemma and eventual triumph a little more strongly.

Having said that, this is a polished show from a confident, engaging performer who already has her own little dose of magic.