Review: Christmas with Marina Prior is filled with charm and goodwill

Christmas with Marina Prior | The Astor Theatre | Friday 14th December | ★ ★ ★ ★

Marina Prior is synonymous with Christmas, in fact to many Australians she’s more recognisable from her annual appearance on Carols by Candlelight than her impressive career in musical theatre. So to spend an evening with Marina Prior hearing some of the great Christmas songs was a charming and nostalgic experience.

Prior took to the stage in a stunning ball gown which she modestly described as her ‘around the house’ clothes. Backed by accompanist David Cameron who alternated between piano and guitar Prior delivered some of the most loved Christmas carols showcasing her impressive vocal skills.

For some songs the crowd sang along, becoming a massive choir backing the singer, for others they sat back and enjoyed her delivering beautiful seasonal music. The show wasn’t all about Christmas though, there were welcome diversions into popular song and musical theatre.

While Prior’s career in musical theatre began with a role in Cats, and later she starred in the first Australian production of Phantom of the Opera, she shared that her association with Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber went back much further.

In her youth she was a massive fan of Jesus Christ Superstar and her parents used to patiently watch her concert production in the lounge room where she played Jesus, Mary, Pontius Pilate and every other character in the show.    

Prior treated the audience to renditions of several of Lloyd Webber’s songs including Don’t Cry for Me Argentina, I Don’t Know How to Love Him and Memory. A selection of celtic songs representing Prior’s Scottish and Irish ancestry was also beautiful to listen to.

Local performer Jeremy Ryan who appeared on the TV series The Voice appeared as a special guest and performed several solo numbers and also joined Prior to duet.

The most surprising part of the show was Prior’s comedic skills. Throughout the show she shared a number of humorous anecdotes and did a fantastic impression of a morning TV sales girl, promising a free set of steak knives if you bought a copy of her latest Christmas album.

The most fun moment of the night was when Prior invited 12 audience members on to the stage to sing the Twelve Days of Christmas. It was a magical mix of beautiful, comical and community building.

For a few hours Marina Prior created a lovely space where people sang together, laughed out loud and enjoyed the moment of Christmas – something that is becoming a rare occurrence in our modern busy lives.    

Graeme Watson


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