Her posthumous success astonished the feverishly competitive world of pop music. Eva Cassidy’s story is so extraordinary it now forms the basis of a compelling musical play, starring Hollyoaks actress Sarah Jane Buckley as the talented song stylist. She tells STEVE BURBRIDGE all about it.

EVA Cassidy’s success is more than she could ever have dreamed of and, sadly, it’s a success she never lived to see.

The wonderfully talented and spiritual song stylist died of skin cancer when she was in the prime of her life, at just 33 years old.

By the time of her death, in 1996, she was unknown outside her native Washington DC but, within four years, Terry Wogan had discovered and promoted her haunting interpretation of Somewhere Over The Rainbow to the British public.

A recording of Eva performing the song at the Blues Alley jazz club was shown on the BBC’s Top of The Pops 2 and, subsequently, sales of her album Songbird outstripped top stars including Madonna, Craig David and Robbie Williams.

"To play Eva Cassidy is quite simply the role of a lifetime," says Sarah Jane Buckley, who is starring in the award-winning Over The Rainbow – The Eva Cassidy Story at The Churchill Theatre in Bromley and Dartford's Orchard Theatre next month.

Since its first performance in 2004, the show has wowed audiences all over Europe and received standing ovations from throughout the UK and Ireland.

In taking on the role of Eva, Sarah Jane follows in the footsteps of other high profile performers including Carmen Cusack, Nicole Faraday, Zoe Tyler and Faye Tozer.

"It’s now become one of the most fabulous female roles in musical theatre," states Sarah Jane.

"To sing 24 songs a night, in a lead role, is phenomenally rare and I don’t think it happens in many other shows.

"I’m on stage constantly and the acting element is as important as the singing. It’s incredibly challenging."

When she discovered she’d won the role of Eva, Sarah Jane spent months studying the singer's performance and techniques to ensure she would bring authenticity to the part.

Sarah Jane added: "When she sang, Eva breathed in a different place from a normal singer so when she took a breath it kind of coincided with where she took a chord.

"That’s why her songs are so different, with that breathiness and very individual style of singing, which was amazing to have to copy. She had an incredible gift."

Many will associate Sarah Jane with her role as crazy Kathy Barnes in Hollyoaks, but she actually began her career as a singer.

"Singing has been my bread and butter for a long time," she says.

Indeed, she made her first television appearance, at the age of 17, singing on ITV talent show Scramble, hosted by Richard and Judy.

She went on to train at The Guildford School of Acting and, upon graduating, entered the world of musical theatre to play roles in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Elvis The Musical.

Sarah Jane went on to form a cabaret duo called The Polka Dots, alongside fellow actress Jo Michaels, and for six years they travelled the world with comedians and artistes including The Chuckle Brothers and Joe Pasquale.

"In the past, I’ve always sang as myself," says Sarah Jane.

"This is the first time I’ve had to perform as someone as vocally iconic as Eva Cassidy.

"The thing is, because there’s very little footage of her on the internet, you don’t really see her visually."

Over The Rainbow – The Eva Cassidy Story charts her life, from her idyllic childhood growing up in a musical family to her studio work with boyfriend and mentor Chris Biondo, to the exuberant live recordings of Blues Alley and, finally, to her tragically premature death.

"Stephen Leatherland, the producer and director, has done a lot of research into her life and he went over to America to meet some of her family members," Sarah Jane explains.

"He has been very instrumental in directing me in how to behave like Eva. She was incredibly shy and actually preferred recording to performing in front of an audience."

Sarah Jane admits she was already a fan of Eva Cassidy’s music before she was even offered the role in the musical and she explains accepting the role was not a difficult choice.

"There was no contest, really," she says. "To be offered the chance to play her was amazing and I was absolutely thrilled.

"It’s such a tough role and I finish each show absolutely exhausted because it’s such a heartbreaking story.

"It takes you on a very emotional journey, but there’s also lots of happiness. I guess it’s a celebration of her music as well as a tribute to her life."

Over The Rainbow – The Eva Cassidy Story is at The Churchill Theatre in Bromley High Street from September 5 to September 7 and Dartford's Orchard Theatre from September 15 to September 17. To book, call The Churchill box office on 0844 8717620 of The Orchard box office on 01322 220000.