Marina Prior
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Marina Prior (often spelled Pryor) (born in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea on October 18, 1963) is an Australian singer and actress.
When she was a young child her parents returned to Australia and she grew up in Melbourne, attending Syndal South Primary School and Korowa Anglican Girls' School. She began to take singing lessons at the age of twelve and also learnt piano, flute and guitar.
While studying for a Bachelor of Music at the University of Melbourne in 1983, she auditioned for the Victoria State Opera production of The Pirates of Penzance; she was accepted and cast as "Mabel", launching her career in musical theatre.
The following year saw Prior as "Guinevere" in the Australian production of Camelot with Richard Harris. In 1985, she performed the dual roles of "Jellylorum" and "Griddlebone" in the Australian premiere production of Cats. In 1987, she appeared as "Josephine" opposite Paul Eddington in Gilbert and Sullivan's HMS Pinafore, as "Kathy" in The Student Prince at the Lyric Opera in Brisbane and as "Hope Harcourt" in Anything Goes. This was followed by "Cosette" the Australian premiere production of Les Misérables in Melbourne and later, Sydney.
From 1990 to 1993, she starred as "Christine Daae" in the Australian premiere of The Phantom of the Opera, opposite Anthony Warlow and later Rob Guest. This was followed by roles in many major productions, including "Maria" in West Side Story, "Lily" in The Secret Garden (1995), "Magnolia" in Show Boat (1998) and the title role in The Merry Widow (1999).[1]
Recent appearances include "Miss Adelaide" in Guys and Dolls (2000); the title role in Annie Get Your Gun (2004), both in staged concert versions with The Production Company[2]; in 2003 in John Misto's play Harp on the Willow ("Mary O'Hara") at the Ensemble Theatre, Sydney[3]; as "Jane Smart" in The Witches of Eastwick (2002);[4] and as "Belinda Blair" in Noises Off (2003). Most recently, Prior performed in the Australian premiere of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee with the Melbourne Theatre Company and later with the Sydney Theatre Company.[5] She is scheduled to appear as "Miss Adelaide" in Guys and Dolls at the Princess Theatre, Melbourne, in March 2008.[6]
Prior toured Australasia in 1994 with José Carreras. She has performed concerts with many Australian symphony orchestras. She is a regular performer at Melbourne’s Carols By Candlelight and regularly appears at Opera in the Alps with David Hobson. She will sing with him again at Opera by the Lock in Mildura, Victoria in 2008.[7]
Prior was appointed 1996 Queen of Moomba by the Melbourne festival's committee.[8]
Marina Prior has been a judge on both the 2006 and 2007 Seven Network reality television series It Takes Two.[9]
She has released three albums, Leading Lady (1991), Aspects of Andrew Lloyd Webber (1992) and Somewhere — The Songs of Sondheim and Bernstein (1994) and was inducted into Australia's 100 Entertainers of the Century.[10]
Prior has received numerous awards; these include two Mo Awards (1991, 1995)[11][12], two Green Room Awards (1989 and 1990) and in 1993 the Advance Australia Award for her contribution to the performing arts.
[edit] References
- ^ Van Straten, Frank, There's life in the old widow yet, Sydney Morning Herald, 14 May 2003
- ^ Annie Get Your Gun (2004)
- ^ Harp on the Willow
- ^ Devilishly hard to get just right
- ^ Sydney Theatre Company
- ^ Westwood, Matthew (2007-09-11). Musical is no gamble after dicing with dunnies. The Australian. Retrieved on 2007-09-11. “They will join ... Marina Prior as Miss Adelaide.”
- ^ Opera by the Lock
- ^ Craig Bellamy, Gordon Chisholm, Hilary Eriksen, 'Moomba: A festival for the people', www.melbourne.vic.gov.au pp. 17–22
- ^ Judge on It Takes Two
- ^ Variety Victoria
- ^ Mo Award 1991
- ^ Mo Award 1995
- Bragge, Lily, Don't call me nice, The Age, 18 August 2002 (profile and interview)
- Dunne, Stephen, Harp on the Willow, The Sydney Mornig Herald, 10 October 2003
- Jim Murphy, Jim, Kiss me, Kate, The Age, 22 July 2005
- Usher, Robin, An absolute farce, The Age, 16 June 2003
