“The show must go on,” director Denny Lawrence told the audience at the postponed opening night of Peter Quilter’s hit comedy Glorious! at Queanbeyan’s Q Theatre.

With script in hand, and at only two days’ notice, Alister Kingsley notably stood in for an incapacitated Joshua Sanders in the role of Cosme McMoon, long-time accompanist to the eccentric and remarkable “first lady of the sliding scale”, Florence Foster Jenkins (Diana McLean). Glorious! is the intriguing true story of a wealthy Manhattan socialite, who warbled her discordant way through imperfect pitch, teetering tempo and perplexed phrasing, only to become the city’s darling of querulous song, in spite of earning the dubious accolade of ‘the world’s worst opera singer".

Quilter’s award-winning play traces Foster Jenkins’ unusual road to success from her meeting with McMoon to her triumphant concert at Carnegie Hall only a month before her death.

At first the opening scene appears flat and tentative, possibly because of the recasting. Then I realize that it is the naturalness of the scene and the truthful, realistic performances of Kingsley as the gentle, unassuming musician and McLean, carrying the natural authority of her status, that creates an instantly engaging plausibility. Kaarin Fairfax in one of her three roles injects a touch of comical absurdity as Maria, the volatile, Spanish-speaking Mexican maid.

McLean is outstanding in the role of Jenkins and, sensitively cajoled by the directorial intuitiveness of Lawrence, creates an embracing aura of affection for a woman whose love of singing and joyful renditions of operatic arias arises from a pure and unambiguous passion.

It is an honesty that evokes devotion in her admiring friend, Dorothy, also convincingly played by Fairfax. Fairfax also takes on the role of an indignant critic of the caterwauling diva. Independent spirit Foster Jenkins comes into direct conflict with the voice of strict expectation, Mrs Verrinder-Gedge. Even with script in hand, Kingsley exudes a quiet charm as McMoon, and a deep affection for a woman whose spirit wears no artifice.

In Act Two, McLean’s rendition of Johann Strauss ll’s Adele’s Laughing Song from Die Fledermaus is an awfully funny celebration of Foster Jenkins’ love of opera, hilariously child-like in its extravagant gesticulation and confident in its self-belief. Laughter does not erupt from mocking derision, but from an innate and spontaneous sense of shared joy.

Glorious! spins a web of heartwarming charm.

Jacob Battista and Sophie Woodward’s’ design with projected images of New York and scenes from the Big Band era and some familiar faces of the 1940s draws us into an era of seductive musical melodies. In the wings, pianist Colin Forbes complements the onstage atmosphere with Someone to watch over me by George and Ira Gershwin and At long last love by Cole Porter.

Finally, brief archival footage of Foster Jenkins in performance brings to a close a delightfully staged production and an affectionate tribute to an eccentric and original woman, whom many claimed could not sing, but who did. Glorious! is a lesson for us all.