My dad was a motor mechanic and my mother worked in school administration, but they loved their music and so we always had the record player going. It was Queen and Neil Diamond, then heading into the 80s and 90s it was pop music all the time in our house. I remember growing up listening to Doug Mulray on Triple M and having a lot of powerhouse female vocals in my CD collection. People like Wendy Matthews, Alanis Morissette, Toris Amos, Tina Arena and Tracy Chapman. I probably couldn’t have got through my teenage years without Tracy.

Amanda Harrison, Evie MayAmanda Harrison. Photo supplied

My interest in musicals was sparked when I started performing in primary school. I think the very first one was Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat where I shared the role of the narrator with three other girls. My parents took me to fabulous musicals when I was a teenager...