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You might think that glittering cabaret star Dolly Diamond, with her sparklier-than-life stage presence and sassy line in salty clap-backs, would never deign to share the limelight. But you鈥檇 be wrong.听

When she takes to Melbourne鈥檚 Alex Theatre stage in St Kilda to depict overbearing theatre agent Sylvia St. Croix in the magnificently camp musical spoof Ruthless!, she鈥檒l gladly stand shoulder to shoulder with her fellow cast members. 鈥淚鈥檇 never want to be in the chorus,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 couldn鈥檛 do that anymore and I never really enjoyed it, but I don鈥檛 mind sharing as long as you give me my moment.鈥�听

Luckily, Sylvia gets plenty of moments in a wild show 鈥� with a book by Joel Paley and music by Marvin Laird 鈥� that plays off classic Broadway productions like Mame and movies like All About Eve, with their show-stopping dames and out-there plot twists, only dialled up to delirious. Dolly is joined by Chloe Halley and Luisa Oro sharing the role of wannabe starlet Tina Denmark, with producer Britni Leslie as her pushy stage mom and Emma Clair Waxman as scathing critic Lita Encore, who also happens to be Tina鈥檚 grandmother, and Stephanie Astrid John as the teacher, Miss Thorn, tasked with bringing Tina鈥檚 high school musical debut to life.听

Expect double crossings, unmasked identities and dastardly plots a go-go in a show that contains the hit numbers 鈥楤orn to Entertain鈥� and, ironically, 鈥業 Hate Musicals鈥�. Not everybody makes it to the final curtain alive. 鈥淚t鈥檚 ridiculously camp, but it鈥檚 also so well written, brilliantly pieced together, and the music鈥檚 great,鈥� Dolly says. 鈥淚鈥檓 a big fan of musicals like Victor/Victoria and Rocky Horror that really allow you to play with unique characters you can have fun with. I live for laughter. I was probably never going to get cast in Les Mis.鈥�

Which makes the gloriously absurd code-switching of Ruthless! the ideal show for Dolly, who first caught it off-Broadway and fell head over towering heels for its frenetic flipping of who鈥檚 really who and what they鈥檙e up to. When she recently saw it again while performing in Manchester, England, it felt like destiny calling. 鈥淚 was immediately like, 鈥極h my god, I鈥檇 love to play the role of Sylvia鈥�.鈥�

Having tread the boards as the eponymous lead in Annie as a young lass, Dolly had wondered if her days of musical theatre were in the past. 鈥淧erhaps with the right lighting I could still do the role now, but I think I鈥檓 beginning to believe that that might not be true,鈥� she says. 鈥淵ou鈥檝e got to come to grips with reality, and I鈥檓 almost there.鈥�

Dolly needs to be centre stage, spotlight trained on her. 鈥淎s I鈥檝e gotten older, I haven鈥檛 bothered auditioning for musicals,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 produce my own stuff, because that way I know I鈥檒l always get the lead.鈥�

But when she spotted Stage Bug Productions announcing their new production at the Alex Theatre, only the second time it鈥檚 been staged in Australia, Dolly knew she had to seize the day and step into Sylvia鈥檚 stilettos. Good thing she reached out, too, because Britni Leslie already had her heart set on casting Dolly as Sylvia, in a twist of pure stage magic. 鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 feel like that happens very often in your career, so of course I was interested,鈥� she says.

Leslie is a powerhouse both on stage and behind the scenes. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think I鈥檝e ever done anything where the producer is also one of the leads, and you really make a rod for your own back when you do, but my god, has she proven herself to be absolutely incredible. She was definitely meant to play Judy Denmark.鈥�

The backstage buzz during rehearsals is terrific. 鈥淭here鈥檚 an incredible six-piece band performing with us and there鈥檚 a lot of underscoring in the show, which I鈥檓 not used to,鈥� Dolly says. 鈥淚 demand that absolutely everything around me is silent so the audience can hang off my every word, but the music adds to the drama.鈥�

Everyone鈥檚 in it together, Dolly insists. 鈥淓verybody gets a moment,鈥� she says. 鈥淚鈥檓 listening to the rest of the cast in rehearsals and, Jesus Christ, they can sing. I know how to perform, but your vocal cords are a muscle, and it鈥檚 really brought my game up. You forget how much work goes into a musical, though believe me, I鈥檓 remembering now.鈥�听

Dolly鈥檚 ready to belt out Sylvia鈥檚 show-stopping numbers, including 鈥楾alent鈥� and 鈥業 Want the Girl鈥�. 鈥淚鈥檓 feeling so refreshed and passionate about the show,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 love what I do, and I won鈥檛 stop doing it, as much as some people might want me to. Petitions have been signed. So it鈥檚 great to land a role like Sylvia now that I鈥檓 in my late, ummmmm, late.