by Bonnie Collings

Lovers of musical theatre, powerful voices and beautiful gowns are in for a treat when incredible Australian talents, Marina Prior and Michael Cormick bring their concert "Centrestage" to the West Gippsland Arts Centre on Thursday, December 5.

Having been friends for decades, first performing together in the production of "Cats" in 1986, Marina and Michael have taken their remarkable voices and stage craft on tour around the country. The two hour show features all the classic musical theatre hits, accompanied by renowned pianist Andrew Ross.
"We've both been involved in really big and exciting productions over our many years, and I'm just as proud of what we create on stage (in this show)," Marina said. "We've crafted something that's really exciting, it's got a beautiful arc, the audiences are loving it and we're having the best time."
Starting from the origins of musical theatre, including hits written by Cole Porter and Rodgers and Hammerstein, before moving into contemporary classics like Sondheim and Lloyd Webber, Marina and Michael take the audience on a journey through musical theatre. In addition to fabulous singing, the pair will share some exciting behind the scenes stories with the audience.
"Together I think we have 84 years on the boards, so there's a lot to talk about," Michael said. "We take the audience on a musical theatre journey."
"I think the audiences don't expect the laughter and hilarity that ensures on stage, and that's born out of a genuine friendship, chemistry and shared experiences over the years," Marina added.
Michael said creating a concert like "Centrestage" is something he and Marina had "wanted to do for years".
"Between us and our incredible musical director Andrew Ross, it was really lovely creating this," he said.
"We've done shows together and concerts together, but we've never done a series of our own concerts together," Marina added. "We have such a rapport together and a very similar experience of theatre. For me, Michael is the perfect person, it just seemed like a no-brainer."
When asked what they love about performing together, Marina said it was their combined passion for performance.
"We have a genuine respect for each other," Marina said. "When I'm working with Michael, he pushes me to be better. He sings so beautifully and inhabits a song so beautifully and that inspires me to match him. We laugh a lot when we're supposed to, but when it comes to the performance and the singing, we're both as passionate as each other."
"We can't go out there and give anything less than 110 per cent, it's just who we are," Michael said.
Having been on the road since mid September, Marina and Michael said they had enjoyed exploring regional towns during the tour and meeting local audiences.
"When you're travelling by road, you get to see the country and realise what a beautiful place we live in, and how vastly different the towns are that we go to," Marina said.
"It's like a really fabulous road trip with great friends, and then at the end of the day, we go into the theatre and do what we love. At the end of the night, we sell CDs and meet the audience, that is a really powerful thing because there is so much gratitude and warmth."
"It's so beautiful for us to actually go to the regional areas and give that experience to people," Michael added. "We're Australian artists being supported by Australian people and that really does mean a lot."
Both Marina and Michael have performed in Warragul before and said they were excited to return to the West Gippsland Arts Centre.
"What I also love about regional performing arts centres is that they really are a hub for the community," Marina said. "A lot of the time in regional centres, it's all about the footy and the cricket and local kids' sport, which is really important, but not everybody is a "sporto". It's wonderful to see other elements of the community being backed in those arts centres."
One of the highlights of the "Centrestage" performance is the powerful medley of songs from "Les Misérables".
"There's so much that is so special, but you can really feel the audience lift (during) our medley of Les Misérables at the end," Marina said. "I find it really emotionally lifting and you can feel it from the audience."
Another highlight moment is the section dedicated to "The Phantom of the Opera". Having both performed in productions of Phantom, Michael and Marina said they had plenty of stories to share.
"We do a whole chat about things that went wrong on stage over the years in shows like Phantom, and then we sing a lot of songs from Phantom which the audience really loves," Marina said.
When asked if they had a favourite song from their setlist, Michael and Marina said they enjoyed the technical challenge of their Stephen Sondheim medley.
"We do all the big bangers, the real traditional music theatre that everyone knows, but when we do our Sondheim section, I find that really musically exciting," Marina said.
"I think because we've done all the really recognisable songs, when we take the audience a little bit further (with the medley), they come with us."
"It's special for us because we could go out there and sing all of our hits, but we wanted to add something for us to be challenging so we get excited every night as well," Michael added.
Marina and Michael will perform "Centrestage" at the WGAC on Thursday December 5 at 7:30pm. Tickets can be purchased online at sales.wgac.com.au