Limelight — May 2017

http://www.limelightmagazine.com.au MAY 2017LIMELIGHT 91

PANORAMA O

1984 A literary masterpiece meets

sheertheatricalambitionina

newadaptationofOrwell’sclassic

andtimelynovel.State Theatre

Company, SA, Her Majesty’s

Theatre, Adelaide, May 13 – 27

Sista GirlTwo young women

meet face to face for the first

timeacrossthebedofadying

man in a fateful encounter.State

Theatre Company, SA, Space

Theatre, May 30 – June 3

TheLighthouseGirlThis lyrical,

gentle play brings to life the

untoldstoriesofthoseleftat

home during the First World

War.State Theatre Centre, WA,

May 2 – 14

EndgameThe relationship

betweenHammandhislong

suffering servant/son Clov is

beginning to strain.Black Swan

TheatreCompany,StateTheatre

Centre, WA, May 27 – June 11

Marina’sheadingbackwhereshebelongs

Australia’smusicaltheatreiconisstillglowin’,stillcrowin’,andstillgoin’strong

OneofAustralia’smost

popular leading ladies is “looking swell” as

theinimitableDollyLevi–andthrilledtobe

starring opposite her real-life husband.

DollyGallagherLevi,theirrepressible,

meddling matchmaker from Yonkers in Jerry

Herman’sHello, Dolly!,isoneofthemost

colourfulfemalerolesinmusicaltheatre,anda

characterthatMarinaPriorhashadhereyeon.

Now,toherconsiderabledelight,Prioris

abouttostarinanewproductionoftheever-

green musical for The Production Company

in Melbourne, directed by Gary Young.

“It’s been a dream of mine to do this iconic

show,andafterthebodyofworkthatI’ve

doneIfeelthatthisistherighttimetodo

it.It’soneofthosefortuitousthings.

It’sbeenofferedtomeatatimewhenIfeel

readyforthechallengeandexcitedtotake

iton,andthatdoesn’talwayshappensoI’m

really happy about it,” says Prior.

OneoftheleadingladiesofAustralian

musical theatre, Prior landed her breakthrough

role as Mabel inThe Pirates of Penzancein 1983,

leavinguniversitytotakeuptheoffer.Since

thenhernumerousmusicaltheatrecredits

have includedThePhantomoftheOpera,Les

Misérables,The Secret Garden,Guys and Dollsand

The Sound of Musicamong others.

Like Dolly, Marina Prior is “still glowin’

crowin’ and goin’ strong” and ready to take

herplaceinthelonglistofmusicaltheatre

legendstohaveplayedtherole.

When Herman set about adapting Thornton

Wilder’s 1955 playThe Matchmakerasamusical,

hewroteitwithEthelMermaninmind.

However,sheturneditdown,asdidMary

Martin. Other performers were considered,

butitwasCarolChanningwhoeventuallygot

thenodandoriginatedthecharacter,which

wouldbecomehersignaturerole.

AmericanperformerCaroleCookwas

thesecondpersonintheworldtoplayDolly

whenshestarredintheoriginalAustralian

productionin1965,justayearafterthe

show opened on Broadway, winning 10 Tony

AwardsincludingBestMusical.Sincethen,

innumerable star performers have stepped

into Dolly’s shoes, among them Merman,

Martin, Ginger Rogers, Betty Grable, Pearl

Bailey, Phyllis Diller and Australia’s own Jill

Perryman,whilea27-yearoldBarbraStreisand

played the brassy, middle-aged widow in the

1969 film. Now, 71-year old Bette Midler is

starring in the new Broadway revival.

“ThethingIloveaboutit–because

I’ve been researching the piece quite a

lot–isthatsomanydifferenttypes

ofactresseshavebeenabletoplay

DollyLevi,andIthinkwhoever

playsit,youcanbringwhoyouare

to the character,” says Prior.

“It’s an absolutely beautifully

writtencharacterandit’sacharacter

for a middle-aged woman who

is actually the protagonist

ofashow,andthatisnot

very common at all. She is

sodeliciouslydrawn.Her

dialogue is so snappy and

fastandcleverandshehas

incredible generosity of

spirit. She’s a great comic

character. It’s a farce

really,butafarcewith

great heart. The depth

andbeautyoftheJerry

Herman songs gives it

another dimension too,

of course,” says Prior.

“Ithinkmoreand

more at the moment,

in the world that we live in,

audiencesseemtoreally

want to see these sorts

of pieces that are life-

affirming and joyous.”

As “the icing on

thecake”,Priorstars

opposite her husband

Grant Piro in the

role of the grouchy,

wealthy but tight-

fisted Horace

Vandergelder

who enlists the

irrepresibleDollytofindhimayoungbride.

Dolly, however, has other ideas.

Prior and Piro played opposite each other

inDirty Rotten Scoundrelsfor The Production

Companyin2009.“Wefound

thatwehaveareallygood

comedicrapport.Wehavea

similarsenseoftimingsowe

have really been devouring

the script [forHello,

Dolly!],” says Prior.

“He’ssuchanincredibly

accomplished comedic

actorthatit’sfantasticto

work opposite somebody like

that – and it’s very convenient, I can

alwaysgetalifttorehearsal!”

Over the coming months, Prior

is touring with David Hobson in

a new concert calledThe2ofUs,

whichdrawsontheircareerand

friendship. In September and

October, she plays the eccentric

JudithBlissinNoëlCoward’s

Hay Feverfor Melbourne

TheatreCompany.Theday

afterthatcloses,shefliesto

Nouméa to join the 2017 Bravo!

Cruise of the Performing Arts

toperformwithaline-upof

opera and musical theatre

performers led by José Carreras

(“adelightfulman”)whoshedid

a concert tour with in the 1990s.

“This will be my third Bravo cruise,”

says Prior. “It’s quite delightful. We

haveafullorchestraconductedby

GuyNobleandsuchanarrayof

music.Thepeoplewhoareon

board are there specifically to see

thoseconcertssoit’salovelyway

to work. You do two shows and

then sip cocktails!”Jo Litson

Hello, Dolly!runs at the

Playhouse, Arts Centre

Melbourne from

May 27 until June 11

pREVIEW