Vaudeville veteran and vixen vocalist Christa Hughes serves up her boozy cabaret show 'Beer Drinking Woman' in Brisbane for the first time as part of Wonderland Festival.
Known for her raunchy stage presence and sultry singing style, Christa takes audiences on a journey through song – from the elegant first sip of the Speakeasy Siren to the despair and pain of the Dive Bar Diva with hair-of-the-dog blues.
“'Beer Drinking Woman' is a show I've been doing for quite a few years now, from little halls to the [Sydney] Opera House, but I've never done it in Brisbane so this is going to be the first outing of 'Beer Drinking Woman' in Brisbane, which I'm looking forward to very much, especially at the Powerhouse,” Christa says.
“It is essentially a cabaret about booze; it's not just beer – the show's title comes from a song I do perform in the show by Memphis Slim, who was a blues singer of the '30s and '40s.”
Christa has concocted an intoxicating cocktail of drinking favourites, such as Tom Waits' 'The Piano Has Been Drinking', Cold Chisel's 'Cheap Wine', Nine Simone's 'Lilac Wine' plus some of her own original composition largely covering what Christa refers to as the “whiskey bracket” of the evening.
She will also be accompanied by pianist Leonie Cohen.
“Even though people like to call it a one-woman show, it is not,” Christa insists.
“It is a two-woman show. Leonie Cohen, without her I wouldn’t be able to do it so 50 per cent of it is her music and 50 per cent of it is my carry-on, which does involve a lot of songs and other silliness; you'll just have to come and see.”
Sexy, stylish and with a dash of sass, Christa isn't one to shy away from working blue, which has earned her the admiration of none other than Barry Humphries who said she “kind of gives vulgarity a good name”.
“He also said I'm exciting, exuberant and inventive,” she laughs.
“I've been trying to live up to that in some form. He's the creator of Sir Les Patterson and God knows he would know a good hangover cure or two. If he says I give vulgarity a good name, then I'm proud and I wear that badge with honour.”
'Beer Drinking Woman' also raises a glass to Christa's father Dick with whom she spent a lifetime performing by his side at the piano. Dick sadly passed away in April this year, and Christa says that the show would never even exist if he hadn't shared his passion for song with his daughter.
“He was the one who played me the record of 'Beer Drinking Woman' and now I've got a show running that he would be so proud it's still going. He saw the show a couple of times and he was very impressed with it, he liked it a lot.”
