Marina Prior
Encyclopedia
Marina Prior (born in Port Moresby
, Papua New Guinea on ) is an Australian singer and actress.
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 Melbourne State College (which later became a faculty of the University of Melbourne
) in 1983, she auditioned for the Victoria State Opera
production of The Pirates of Penzance
, and was cast as "Mabel", launching her career in musical theatre
.
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 H.M.S. 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 the original "Christine Daaé
" 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).
Other 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; in 2003 in John Misto's play Harp on the Willow ("Mary O'Hara") at the Ensemble Theatre
, Sydney; as "Jane Smart" in The Witches of Eastwick
(2002); 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
. She appeared as "Miss Adelaide" in Guys and Dolls at the Princess Theatre, Melbourne
in March 2008 and with the Melbourne Theatre Company in The Hypocrite
in November 2008. She reprised her role in Guys and Dolls from March 2009 in Sydney.
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 also appeared with Hobson at "Opera by the Lock" in Mildura, Victoria, in 2008.
In 2011, Prior appeared as Mrs Banks in the Australian production of the musical Mary Poppins
.
reality television series It Takes Two.
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.
Prior has received numerous awards; these include two Mo Awards
(1991, 1995), two Green Room Awards
(1989 and 1990) and in 1993 the Advance Australia Award for her contribution to the performing arts.
by the Melbourne festival's committee.
Marina Prior has been the Goodwill Ambassador for Samaritan's Purse
Australia since 2005. In this capacity she has visited several development projects in Asia, including schools, water projects and distribution of Operation Christmas Child shoe boxes. In 2009 she featured in "A Short Film About Shoe Boxes" to promote Samaritan's Purse and Operation Christmas Child.
Marina Prior is married to Peter Lowrey; they have three children: Olivia, Campbell and Jacob.
Port Moresby
Port Moresby , or Pot Mosbi in Tok Pisin, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea . It is located on the shores of the Gulf of Papua, on the southeastern coast of the island of New Guinea, which made it a prime objective for conquest by the Imperial Japanese forces during 1942–43...
, Papua New Guinea on ) is an Australian singer and actress.
Early life
When she was a young child her parents returned to Australia and she grew up in Melbourne, attending Syndal South Primary SchoolSyndal South Primary School
Syndal South Primary School is situated in the suburb of Mount Waverley, Victoria, east of the city of Melbourne. The school was founded in 1964, and serves about 380 students...
and Korowa Anglican Girls' School
Korowa Anglican Girls' School
Korowa Anglican Girls' School is an independent, Anglican, day school for girls, located in Glen Iris, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia....
. 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
Bachelor of Music
Bachelor of Music is an academic degree awarded by a college, university, or conservatory upon completion of program of study in music. In the United States, it is a professional degree; the majority of work consists of prescribed music courses and study in applied music, usually requiring a...
at Melbourne State College (which later became a faculty of the University of Melbourne
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia and the oldest in Victoria...
) in 1983, she auditioned for the Victoria State Opera
Victoria State Opera
The Victoria State Opera, based in Melbourne, Australia, where it was founded in 1962 as the Victorian Opera Company, collapsed in 1996 due to financial difficulties. At this point, the former Australian Opera merged with this company and renamed itself Opera Australia, taking on the...
production of The Pirates of Penzance
The Pirates of Penzance
The Pirates of Penzance; or, The Slave of Duty is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. The opera's official premiere was at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in New York City on 31 December 1879, where the show was well received by both audiences...
, and was cast as "Mabel", launching her career in musical theatre
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
.
Theatre career
The following year saw Prior as "Guinevere" in the Australian production of CamelotCamelot (musical)
Camelot is a musical by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe . It is based on the King Arthur legend as adapted from the T. H. White tetralogy novel The Once and Future King....
with Richard Harris
Richard Harris
Richard St John Harris was an Irish actor, singer-songwriter, theatrical producer, film director and writer....
. In 1985, she performed the dual roles of "Jellylorum" and "Griddlebone" in the Australian premiere production of Cats
Cats (musical)
Cats is a musical composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T. S. Eliot...
. In 1987, she appeared as "Josephine" opposite Paul Eddington
Paul Eddington
Paul Eddington CBE was an English actor best known for his appearances in popular television sitcoms of the 1970s and 80s: The Good Life, Yes Minister and Yes, Prime Minister.-Early life:...
in Gilbert and Sullivan's H.M.S. Pinafore
H.M.S. Pinafore
H.M.S. Pinafore; or, The Lass That Loved a Sailor is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and a libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It opened at the Opera Comique in London, England, on 25 May 1878 and ran for 571 performances, which was the second-longest run of any musical...
, as "Kathy" in The Student Prince
The Student Prince
The Student Prince is an operetta in four acts with music by Sigmund Romberg and book and lyrics by Dorothy Donnelly. It is based on Wilhelm Meyer-Förster's play Alt Heidelberg. The piece has elements of melodrama but lacks the swashbuckling style common to Romberg's other works...
at the Lyric Opera
Queensland Performing Arts Centre
The Queensland Performing Arts Centre is part of the Queensland Cultural Centre and is located on the corner of Melbourne Street and Grey Street in Brisbane's South Bank precinct....
in Brisbane and as "Hope Harcourt" in Anything Goes
Anything Goes
Anything Goes is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. The original book was a collaborative effort by Guy Bolton and P.G. Wodehouse, heavily revised by the team of Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. The story concerns madcap antics aboard an ocean liner bound from New York to London...
. This was followed by "Cosette" the Australian premiere production of Les Misérables
Les Misérables (musical)
Les Misérables , colloquially known as Les Mis or Les Miz , is a musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg, based on the novel of the same name by Victor Hugo....
in Melbourne and later, Sydney.
From 1990 to 1993, she starred as the original "Christine Daaé
Christine Daaé
Christine Daaé is the main female character in Gaston Leroux's novel The Phantom of the Opera , the young singer with whom the main character Erik, the Phantom of the Opera falls in love.- Character history :...
" in the Australian premiere of The Phantom of the Opera
The Phantom of the Opera (1986 musical)
The Phantom of the Opera is a musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on the French novel Le Fantôme de l'Opéra by Gaston Leroux.The music was composed by Lloyd Webber, and most lyrics were written by Charles Hart, with additional lyrics by Richard Stilgoe. Alan Jay Lerner was an early collaborator,...
, opposite Anthony Warlow
Anthony Warlow
Anthony Warlow is an Australian opera and musical theatre performer, noted for his character acting and considerable vocal range ....
and later Rob Guest. This was followed by roles in many major productions, including "Maria" in West Side Story
West Side Story
West Side Story is an American musical with a script by Arthur Laurents, music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and choreographed by Jerome Robbins...
, "Lily" in The Secret Garden
The Secret Garden (musical)
The Secret Garden is a musical based on the 1911 novel of the same name by Frances Hodgson Burnett. The musical's book and lyrics are by Marsha Norman, with music by Lucy Simon...
(1995), "Magnolia" in Show Boat
Show Boat
Show Boat is a musical in two acts with music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. It was originally produced in New York in 1927 and in London in 1928, and was based on the 1926 novel of the same name by Edna Ferber. The plot chronicles the lives of those living and working...
(1998) and the title role in The Merry Widow
The Merry Widow
The Merry Widow is an operetta by the Austro–Hungarian composer Franz Lehár. The librettists, Viktor Léon and Leo Stein, based the story – concerning a rich widow, and her countrymen's attempt to keep her money in the principality by finding her the right husband – on an 1861 comedy play,...
(1999).
Other appearances include "Miss Adelaide" in Guys and Dolls
Guys and Dolls
Guys and Dolls is a musical with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows. It is based on "The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown" and "Blood Pressure", two short stories by Damon Runyon, and also borrows characters and plot elements from other Runyon stories, most notably...
(2000); the title role in Annie Get Your Gun
Annie Get Your Gun (musical)
Annie Get Your Gun is a musical with lyrics and music written by Irving Berlin and a book by Herbert Fields and his sister Dorothy Fields. The story is a fictionalized version of the life of Annie Oakley , who was a sharpshooter from Ohio, and her husband, Frank Butler.The 1946 Broadway production...
(2004), both in staged concert versions with The Production Company; in 2003 in John Misto's play Harp on the Willow ("Mary O'Hara") at the Ensemble Theatre
Ensemble Theatre
The Ensemble Theatre is an Australian theatre company, situated in Kirribilli, New South Wales. It is promoted as Australia's longest continuously running professional theatre group, established in 1958.- References :...
, Sydney; as "Jane Smart" in The Witches of Eastwick
The Witches of Eastwick (musical)
The Witches of Eastwick is a 2000 musical based on the novel of the same name by John Updike. It was adapted by John Dempsey and Dana P. Rowe , directed by Eric Schaeffer, and produced by Cameron Mackintosh....
(2002); and as "Belinda Blair" in Noises Off
Noises Off
Noises Off is a 1982 play by English playwright Michael Frayn. The idea for it was born in 1970, when Frayn was standing in the wings watching a performance of Chinamen, a farce that he had written for Lynn Redgrave...
(2003). Most recently, Prior performed in the Australian premiere of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is a one act musical comedy conceived by Rebecca Feldman with music and lyrics by William Finn, a book by Rachel Sheinkin and additional material by Jay Reiss. The show centers on a fictional spelling bee set in a geographically ambiguous Putnam Valley...
with the Melbourne Theatre Company
Melbourne Theatre Company
The Melbourne Theatre Company is a theatre company based in Melbourne. Founded in 1953, it is the oldest professional theatre company in Australia, and has its own theatre, The MTC Theatre – which houses the 500-seat Sumner Theatre and the 150-seat Lawler Studio – located in Melbourne's Arts...
and later with the Sydney Theatre Company
Sydney Theatre Company
The Sydney Theatre Company is one of Australia's best-known theatre companies operating from The Wharf Theatre near The Rocks area of Sydney, as well as the Sydney Theatre and the Sydney Opera House Drama Theatre....
. She appeared as "Miss Adelaide" in Guys and Dolls at the Princess Theatre, Melbourne
Princess Theatre, Melbourne
The Princess Theatre is a 1488-seat theatre in Melbourne, Australia.It is listed by the National Trust of Australia and is on the Victorian Heritage Register.-History:...
in March 2008 and with the Melbourne Theatre Company in The Hypocrite
Tartuffe
Tartuffe is a comedy by Molière. It is one of his most famous plays.-History:Molière wrote Tartuffe in 1664...
in November 2008. She reprised her role in Guys and Dolls from March 2009 in Sydney.
Prior toured Australasia in 1994 with José Carreras
José Carreras
Josep Maria Carreras i Coll , better known as José Carreras , is a Spanish Catalan tenor particularly known for his performances in the operas of Verdi and Puccini...
. She has performed concerts with many Australian symphony orchestras. She is a regular performer at Melbourne’s Carols by Candlelight
Carols by Candlelight
Carols by Candlelight is an Australian Christmas tradition that originated in southeastern Australia in the 19th century and was popularised in Melbourne in the 1930s. The tradition has since spread around the world. It involves people gathering, usually outdoors in a park, to sing carols by...
and regularly appears at Opera in the Alps with David Hobson. She also appeared with Hobson at "Opera by the Lock" in Mildura, Victoria, in 2008.
In 2011, Prior appeared as Mrs Banks in the Australian production of the musical Mary Poppins
Mary Poppins (musical)
Mary Poppins is a Walt Disney Theatrical musical based on the similarly titled series of children's books by P. L. Travers and the Disney 1964 film. The West End production opened in December 2004 and received two Olivier Awards, one for Best Actress in a Musical and the other for Best Theatre...
.
Television, recording, awards
Prior has been a judge on both the 2006 and 2007 Seven NetworkSeven Network
The Seven Network is an Australian television network owned by Seven West Media Limited. It dates back to 4 November 1956, when the first stations on the VHF7 frequency were established in Melbourne and Sydney.It is currently the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach...
reality television series It Takes Two.
She has released three albums, Leading Lady (1991), Aspects of Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber is an English composer of musical theatre.Lloyd Webber has achieved great popular success in musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 13 musicals, a song cycle, a set of...
(1992) and Somewhere – The Songs of Sondheim
Stephen Sondheim
Stephen Joshua Sondheim is an American composer and lyricist for stage and film. He is the winner of an Academy Award, multiple Tony Awards including the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre, multiple Grammy Awards, a Pulitzer Prize and the Laurence Olivier Award...
and Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, author, music lecturer and pianist. He was among the first conductors born and educated in the United States of America to receive worldwide acclaim...
(1994) and was inducted into Australia's 100 Entertainers of the Century.
Prior has received numerous awards; these include two Mo Awards
Mo Awards
The Mo Awards are long running annual Australian entertainment industry awards. They recognise achievements in live entertainment in Australia....
(1991, 1995), two Green Room Awards
Green Room Awards
The Green Room Awards are peer awards which recognise excellence in cabaret, dance, drama, fringe theatre, musical theatre and opera in Melbourne....
(1989 and 1990) and in 1993 the Advance Australia Award for her contribution to the performing arts.
Other
Prior was appointed 1996 Queen of MoombaMoomba
Moomba is Australia's largest free community festival and one of the longest running festivals in Australia. Held annually in the city of Melbourne, Australia, Moomba is celebrated during the Labour Day long weekend , and has been celebrated since 1955...
by the Melbourne festival's committee.
Marina Prior has been the Goodwill Ambassador for Samaritan's Purse
Samaritan's Purse
Samaritan's Purse is a non-denominational evangelical Christian humanitarian organization that works worldwide to assist people in physical need alongside their Christian missionary work. The organization’s president is Franklin Graham, son of Christian evangelist Billy Graham...
Australia since 2005. In this capacity she has visited several development projects in Asia, including schools, water projects and distribution of Operation Christmas Child shoe boxes. In 2009 she featured in "A Short Film About Shoe Boxes" to promote Samaritan's Purse and Operation Christmas Child.
Marina Prior is married to Peter Lowrey; they have three children: Olivia, Campbell and Jacob.