Hairspray and Chicago Star Asabi Goodman Sings Aretha Franklin at SunPAC

Asabi Goodman has played Motormouth Maybelle in Hairspray and Matron "Mama" Morton in Chicago. On Tuesday 17 November she takes on the Queen of Soul.

ARETHA – A Natural Woman: Live in Concert is an 80-minute show at SunPAC in Sunnybank. It starts at 11am, Magnifico Live presents it, and tickets are $39.

Born in the United States, Goodman now performs in Australia. Her Motormouth Maybelle toured the country in Hairspray in 2022–23, opposite Shane Jacobson, Todd McKenney and Rhonda Burchmore. In 2023 she carried the part to America for the last six weeks of the US tour. Next came Mama Morton in the 2023–24 Australian tour of Chicago, alongside Anthony Warlow, Zoë Ventoura and Lucy Maunder. According to Magnifico Live, that tour played Brisbane.

The concert draws on the gospel roots and emotional honesty that carried Franklin's music across generations. The programme swings from stirring numbers to quiet ballads. The set list runs through Respect, Think, Chain of Fools, Rock Steady, Freeway of Love, Bridge over Troubled Water, Ain't No Way, I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You) and (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman.

"I want people to come along, sing their favourites and let themselves feel something," Goodman says. "Whether it's the energy of Respect or the tenderness of A Natural Woman, there's so much in this music that brings people together."

James, the show's producer, says Goodman can deliver the huge vocal moments and still pull listeners into the quiet ones. The aim, he says, is for people to leave uplifted.

The daytime start suits a group outing for friends, family or a community club.

From the ARETHA concert.

ARETHA – A Natural Woman: Live in Concert

• Starring: Asabi Goodman
• Presented by: Magnifico Live
• When: Tuesday 17 November 2026, 11am, 80 minutes
• Where: SunPAC, 470 McCullough Street, Sunnybank
• Tickets: $39, at sunpac.net.au or 07 3323 9650
• Access: call SunPAC on 07 3323 9650 to arrange wheelchair accessible bookings